Why do I get itchy all the time?
Asked by
Breefield (
2733
)
February 11th, 2009
This has been happening to me a tooooon.
I’ll be in a…moderately warm area, pleasant really, and my skin will just start crawling. It’s horrible and unbearable, I can’t concentrate on anything but getting cool again. I had to run outside into the freezing cold a few times today because of this.
It also tends to happen when I have a good laugh.
I’m pretty sure it’s just me sweating, and having dry skin from winter, so I guess a good answer, aside from “it’s not because you’re dry” would be to offer an alternative solution to getting rid of the itches!
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13 Answers
Could be stress.
If your skin is dry, use a good moisturizer until spring.
You likely have cholinergic urticaria induced by heat (translation: itching brought on by heat). Cholinergic urticaria is fairly common, and can occur due to heat, cold, wind, sun exposure or most commonly exercise. You might try an antihistamine to prevent and/or treat your problem.
@shilolo: great answer! Guess that’s why you’re a doctor and I’m a nurse.
@cdwccrn Who are you kidding. Nurses know more than doctors.
Besides, according to another (unnamed) user, I’m not really a doctor, I’m just faking it.
< < after scouring the fluther-net a bit (thanks new, improved search!), I’m wondering if (unnamed) user is a certain fan of the Rocky Horror Picture Show?
@shilolo: AHHHHH!! You just answered a question I had long wondered about. I tend to get really itchy after I exercise – particularly snowshoeing or x-c skiing. I assumed it was just a histamine response of some sort. Thank you!
@figbash. It sounds like you have two potential triggers, cold and exercise. You were right to suspect histamine. If it is bothersome, an antihistamine like benadryl or a non-sedating brand can help.
@shilolo: Thank you!!!! As Breefield can probably attest, that itch is one that you just cannot scratch no matter how long you try . . .
could also be a hypoglycemia.
This is still happening to me, and the source is becoming less pin-point-able, and the frequency is far more offten. I need to decide if it’s worth a trip to a dermatologist or not…
Yes, the person above was right, this definitely sounds like Cholinergic Urticaria. I have had this condition for nearly 8 years on/off.
For most people, it will eventually go away on its own (just as mysteriously as it appeared). For others, it may persist for years (up to 30 or 40). In many cases, you may even experience periods of remissions and recurrences of the condition.
The most common treatment (and probably safest) is to take an antihistamine. There are many available, and you should work with a dermatologist to find one (or a combination of them) that reduce your symptoms. It really is annoying having this, but I hope you get better soon.
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