Itch Relief…

It’s 2:30 am and I can’t sleep because of this maddening itch I have going on my left upper arm. I’ve been dealing with it off and on for about 2 months or so. At first I chalked it up to maybe coming in contact with something out in the woods as I spend a fair amount of time out doors. But when I look at my arm I see nothing like a rash. I describe it to my husband as, “it feels like there’s something under my skin driving my crazy. I scratch to no avail. I have tried all types of sprays and creams one would usually have around the house for poison Ivy. Nothing works. I have noticed it seems worse in the evening or late afternoon. It does wake me from sleep and forces me to get up and attempt to treat it. I try not to scratch, ya right. I am fair skined, dark blonde hair, green eyes, freckles on the face. I’ll turn 40 in a couple months. I used to lay in the sun in my teens and burn then tan. I have not been to a Dr. yet as I do not carry health Ins. so I only go when I absolutely have to and have found in the past I usually do better at figuring out what is wrong with my body and treating it. I also suffer with Urinary Track infections and have for 20 years. Sugar seems to cause me problems. Not diabetic, Thyroid is fine although my mom has a under active Thyroid, so I don’t know but since were all on the hunt for answers and looking for a common thread I thought I’d add my thoughts to the collection. Now I’m going to fix a bag of ice and try to go back to sleep.

Went to see a chinese doctor about my itching and she thinks maybe it would be worth trying acupuncture. She can’t guarantee it’ll work but it just might. She say’s that as it started during pregnancy it could be more dificult to stop. I can’t start the acupuncture yet as she is not available for a few weeks. In the mean time I am going to my doctors surgery to consult an alternative therapist for her opinion on acupuncture. Some surgery’s offer complimentery therapies, it’s worth asking if you are in England. Will write back when I have some news. Keep the ice blocks chilling and sleep if you can.

I have had this itch problem on one or both arms since sometime during 1994. Yes, people think we’re crazy but WE KNOW WE AREN’T!! Last night, I wanted to amputate since I couldn’t get any relief from the itch. I had a specialist at the University of Alabama tell me I had Brachial Radial Puritis. The nerve that runs down the upper surface of our arms is called the brachial radial nerve. I was told that if you have a neck injury, this nerve runs up to your neck, therefore, could affect your arms. I found out I have a herniated disc – C5/6. OK, great, now we’re getting somewhere. From there, I went to a neurologist to test for nerve damage in my arms. None. So there went THAT theory. Like all the rest of you, I’ve used every prescription and non-prescription drug out there that might possibly relieve the itch. Nothing has. Mine is seasonal like everyone elses but I can’t pinpoint it to a particular time frame. I first thought it was due to sun damage. When I first got it in 1994, I lived in Panama City FL. In 1995, I moved to the northern border of Maine. Lived there for two years and my arms didn’t itch at all. Should have stayed there!! In 1997, I moved to Alabama and less than a year later the itch was back. That’s when I finally went to a doctor. He put me on Doxepin (25mg) and Clobetasol cream. That seemed to get rid of it but a year or so later it was back. I don’t think anything gets rid of it – no matter what, it will subside but it always comes back. I just want something to give me some relief from the itch and help me sleep. No matter what I take for sleep, the itch breaks through that barrier and I’m up several times a night, as you all can relate to, I’m sure. There are times, I will purposely scratch my arms till they’re raw just so I can pour rubbing alcohol on them. Better to burn than itch, any day. My son has resorted to hiding the rubbing alcohol from me! Ice doesn’t work for me because one my arms thaw out, they itch more than ever.
Thanks to all of you for letting me know I’m not the only one with this dastardly ailment!!!!

I have had itchy arms for about seven years now. Always beginning in late August and continuing until late November, early December. It’s always worse at night. I live in Canada, am 51, have red hair and brown eyes. Sometimes when the itching get’s unbearable I’ll spray on Aveeno anti itch gel and it seems to help. My girlfriend also has this condition but she gets it all over her body, and with her it only started when she became pregnant with her first child, but has continued to plaque her. I think that a doctor needs to become afflicted with this before they’ll take it seriously. It is obviously very common, but is not being taken seriously by the medical profession. Hope we all get help soon.

This sure is a miserable condition. I am trying to type with right hand only as my left hand in numb from having ice on forearm for several hours. I have been to doctors many times and have been given every perscription they can think of–shots, lotions and pills. Nothing helps. The only relief I have found is ice and pain. I have many scars on my arm where the itch has been so severe I have cut holes in my arm and poured alcohol over them as the pain is better than the itch. But, I have found something that helps and hope others can benefit. I am blonde with light skin so no one notices–I took this devise my wife uses that pulls hair out rather than shaving. I figured it would hurt, which again, is better than the itch, and for the first time in months–no itch. I used it continuously for several months and the itch was gone. It took several uses before the itch stopped as the itch would come back as the hair grew in and had to wait for it to get long enough to pull out again. A lot of little bumps would appear while hair was growing in, so I would ice it until numb or scratch and alcohol. After time, the itch stopped and I was able to let the hair grow back, but after about 3 months the itch is back so I just started using this devise again. Again, the itch stops for a few days until the hair starts to grow back. This time I will not stop the treatment if I am able to rid myself of the itch again. I am thinking of permanent hair removal. I strongly recommend trying the hair removal–but dont shave. I tried that once while in a state of intense itch as I was simply trying to remove the top layer of skin. This condition really sucks!!! Good luck to all–hope the hair removal helps at least one other person.

Yes, my arms feel very bumpy below the skin surface. Also when I scratch for awhile a very tiny blister comes up and breaks open, looking like a tiny herpes lesion. I have had a suspicion for years that this is some aberrant form of herpes virus. It is similar to herpes simplex(like cold sores) in that there is a tingling in the nerve before the itching and resulant blister forms. Just bought the aloe/lidocaine gel and that is giving me quite a bit of relief, at least for the last few nights. Also a hint for all you fellow sufferers- get a stand-up fan( make sure it has a quiet motor, we don’t need anything else to keep us awake). Having it blow on you at night helps alot. I am thinking of making up a questionaire to correlate all the symptoms we have, our various lifestyles, injuries, medical history, general health, immune response, etc. to see if we can come up with a common thread. Some people have said they have arthritis, thyroid problems, lupus, and other things, but aside from this itch, I am totally healthy and have a weirdly powerful immune system- I haven’t had a cold or flu for 20 years. So maybe this is an auto-immune thing?

I am going to try to print all our comments on this site and take them to my doctor. Maybe I can get some attention to the itch instead of just a shrug off and on to other ailments or such. I have tried everything the doctor has thrown my way including the dermatologist and allergist. Nothing has helped and either my body is wearing out from the irritation or it is simply getting worse. It has spread into the daytime for me more than before. It used to be mostly in the evening and night time. I went straight to the freezer yesterday when I got home and didn’t know if I would keep my mind long enough to get there to get ice. Relief has got to come from someplace.

I really think this an allergy to something. If it were the sun, we would have it more during the summer, but we all seem to start itching around August. I usually go down to Florida for a week or two in the Winter months and the itching doesn’t come back then. I really get a lot of relief from Clariton D. during the day and Benadryl to sleep. If I take it regularly then I still feel the tingle but not the itch. I don’t mind taking drugs if they help. Anything not to itch. Has anyone else tried an allergy pill regularly? I am under a lot of stress. My husband has Cancer. But, I still only have this problem from August till December.

I suppose an allergy is a possibility but why searonal? I have tried to think of a food I only eat at this time of year or something else put on my body late summer and fall. No clue!
What about the angle of the sun at that time of year? Doesn’t someone want to do their thesis on this? Another question, is anyone African American or is this only a lighter skined problem? I have olive skin and do not sunburn. Also tanning beds have come up. I have used beds four or five different times before going to Hawaii. It seems I did not have this problem prior to this. Could this be when the damage occured?
Kathy in California

Well, this is all so interesting isnt it? I too am a fellow itchy arm sufferer. So funny to read all these messages because we are all having the same symptoms and have tried the same ways of relieving the burning itching and all feel like we are going crazy. I have spent a lot of time in the sun but like others here only suffer from SEptember/October through Marchish. So wierd! No thyroid problem that I know of, though my Mother has underactive thyroid. Am olive skinned, dark hair and eyes. Itch is on right upper arm – this year! Wierd thing is that a couple of days before it started this year I noticed that my right upper arm went almost numb. When I touched the skin it felt like I was touching it through a leather jacket!!!! Why are we all suffering and the doctors have no clue. We need to bring this to someones attention who will do something to help us in our quest to cure this bastard of an itch. (Sorry but there is no other way to describe it.) Ice is a big help for me though this year I feel that i will not give in to it. It has been difficult but I have resisted the urge to scratch. TRY IT! It really helps!

I, too, have had itchy arms for years. With occasional pinpricks of itch in other areas: legs, face, back. But the intense itching in the arms overshadows all the rest. As far as I can recall, I get the worst attacks of this in the fall. I am fair skinned, green eyes, 59. Have eliminated scented detergents, etc. I get relatively little sun exposure because I have been concerned about skin cancer. I hardly ever get sun on my back or buttocks, but they itch sometimes too. I have nasal allergies that almost completely stop up my nose from swelling. And make that itch as well. The itching itself is the stress that makes us crazy, I believe. As soon as I get the itch relieved, I can deal with all other stressors rationally. I use a benadryl spray on my arms, and that helps somewhat. Also oral antihistimines and hedrocortisone cream. Tylenol also helps, but I understand that excessive use can cause kidney damage. I also have tried to eliminate the possibilty that dust mites may be involved by using a whole house electrostatic air filter and similar vacuum cleaner. Often the itching has been the reminder to clean the filter, and this has quieted the itch. But this year, the itch has gone on. I think that with me, the problem has multiple causes. I have very sensitive skin: I can detect very small particles in the air with my facial skin, for example. So almost any skin irritant can send me off. That is why the drs can’t find a cause: there are too many. But I thank all aof you for the suggestions I haven’t tried: acupuncture, ice, chamomile, tea tree oil, menthol cream. Has anyone tried emu oil? In desperation I tried a product with that, and it seemed to relieve, but I also used benadryl, so don’t know yet if the emu oil stuff really helped.

I was researching our itchy arms problem this afternoon and ran across something very interesting. A person had the same symptoms we do and their doctor sent them to have an MRI of their neck. Determined they have a herniated disc – C5-6 (I do too). The brachial radial nerve that runs along the top of the arm goes up to the neck. I had a dermatologist tell me that my itch was due to this nerve being damaged , thus Brachial Radial Pruritus. I went to a neurologist who ran tests and said I did not have nerve damage. So that was all I did. This person took it a step further and went to a chiropractor. They said they experienced instant relief, are itch free and now see the chiropractor on a regular basis. Sounds like worth a try to me. I don’t believe it’s sun related, stress related, dehydration or wind. At least it isn’t for me. What is so baffling is why it only shows up certain times of the year? A man I work with gave me a balm today. His wife is from Thailand and always brings back lots of this stuff. It’s called “White Monkey Holding Peach” balm. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? But he says his wife swears by this stuff. I looked it up on the internet and there are some places that sell it. It’s very inexpensive. So tonight, I try the Monkey Balm!! Will let you all know how it does.

Hi, I had itchy arms and legs for a few years until I realized that everyone seems to treat the symptoms intead of the root of the problem. My wife said that it was due to de-hydration and dry skin.. duh! Well anyway, there are two ways to fight dryness, the first, from the outside, you apply some moisturizer on your skin (or wet your skin and apply a sealing lotion) or from the inside, you re-hydrate your body. In my case, I blame my dry skin on the winds of the autumn season. When winds, pick up, my skin tends to dry out. I run a lot and do many outdoor sports so I get dry skin on my arms and legs unless I wear material that blocks the wind. To avoid the dehydration that comes with the fall weather, I just increased my intake of fluids. I drink water a few times a day and that usually does it. Until I started doing this, my daily intake of liquids would include coffee (not the best thing when you’re trying to increase your fluids) and soft drinks (again, not a good idea). So by supplementing my diet with a few glasses of water, I increased the fluids in my body and guess what? No more itchy skin. It took about two days for the itch to subside but last winter was itch free and this year, it didn’t come back like it used to.

No, I do believe I had the same thing… Itchy skin with no real reason.. Staying awake all night because the itch was so intense that you felt like ripping your skin off…. And then on the surface, the skin looked normal, not even a flake of perceivable dryness.

Believe me… I read every post on this page… what we are all talking about is a very deep dryness, not a surface inconvenience… and all this started when I turned about 39 years old. Until then, I never had any skin irritations, not even melanoma or excema or even any rashes.

In any case, I tried all the creams and oils on the market, including drugs like Benedryl and some “natural” remedies. It started seasonally like everyone else, sometimes from mid to late summer, going until early winter, sometimes throughout winter. One year it drove me and my wife crazy, she would suggest a multitude of “special” creams that in retrospect seem to be bogus snake oil treatments. I’m sure some vitamin E or some Aloe would help but there really wasn’t any relief until last year.

this is going to ound really weired..but dont knock it it untill you have tried it!!!!

Mycell foot powder (to treat athletes foot)…i have since my last post and believe me it has relieved the itching no end

I’ve been following the posts. They certainly have a common theme – intense unbearable itching that is most often seasonal.
I am with Cathy about wind. I live in a very calm still area in Northern California with a hot dry climate.
The only wind occurs in the winter. In fact, as mentioned by someone else, a fan at night helps relieve the itch. Also having my arms outside the covers is better. I drink plenty of water yet suffer from this problem. Still having great relief with Neurontin but I definitly want a cure!
I am exposed to sun from March until October with the problem occuring only August until the weather cools significantly. How are those of you working with a chiropractor doing?
Kathy C.

Have had this numbness and pain in left arm mostly when I turn my head to the left. If I am in that position for too long, my arm gets real numb, hurts so bad like there is a blood pressure cuff on it and is being pumped, then it hurts so bad it is unbearable. This has been going on since December. Had MRI nothing wrong. Went to therapyst, no help. Suggested chiropractor. Didn’t go yet. Was diagnosed with low thyroid in April, on medication. I have light brown hair, brown eyes, light skin, but my family of 11 sisters and brothers is half blue/green eyes and light skin and hair. Can’t take this pain and itch anymore. Praying for a cure. Thank you all. Fran

Well, I’m glad I came upon this site. I have been suffering from itchy arms like most of you people here for about the last 4-5 years. Every year it is a different part of my arm, this year it is my upper right arm and mid left arm. What the heck can this be. Reading some of your comments is very interesting. I have been thinking of putting together a list of questions, so we can come up with some commonality. I read some people saying they are blue eyed or women in their 40’s. I too am blue eyed and 42 years old. Would anyone be interested in supplying some questions that you are curious about whether others have the same issues? i.e. Male/Female, age, Race, (I don’t mean to sound ignorant) but I am a Caucasian Canadian women, Is this affecting any other race?, etc. If I get enough response, I’d like to put together a few questions even if it’s just for our own information, maybe something will tweek and we’ll figure something out. All I know for sure is that Ice works and so does the blue gel product called “ICE” or “COLD”, etc.
Look forward to hearing from anyone.

Susan in Canada

Hello all!!! went to neuro.surg. this wk,to have another mri of neck to determine the damage to discs in neck(I do know herniated c3-c6)was a nurse & did alot of lifting.Well,the neuro surg. put me on neurontin.I take 200mgm at night & it works wonders after 3 nights.I finally slept like a baby.So nice to be able to sleep again & function during the day.I eat very well(Yes all healthy foods)& drink at least 10 8oz. glasses of water daily.I do not have any s/s of dry skin.I am thinking of going to a naturapath & also having an acupuncture tx.
I hope a few of you are getting some sleep & the itching is getting less intense.Yes,we need to get a questionnaire going to see if anyone out there would research this problem.i will look into essential oils,too.My prayers to all.Pat

Solarcaine works for me.

Hello Everyone,
Well, my itching has sort of disappeared. We have had a few nights of frost and I have found I’m not hardly itching. I’m so happy. I was wondering if anyone else has noticed a change? I hope you all stop itching soon. I do find it strange how there are a lot of you with herniated discs. That is a little scary.

Just came upon this website, someone actually did a study, thought I’d pass on the website for your reading pleasure, lol! Just put your mouse on the website address and press Ctrl and click your mouse at the same time. If all else fails just copy and paste the address into your internet search bar.
Susan

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15627097&dopt=Citation

Hi Everyone, I get the itch all over my body. I’m nineteen and this is not my only health problem. Have you looked into candida? Try something called threelac and Bees candida support group on yahoo. Also try to empty your bowels, itching is worse when there is constipatio or blockage there. I’d really reccommend looking into candida. Does anyone also buzz, tingle and crawl along with the itching?

hello susan in canada, I think you’ve probably read all the problems! I’ve had back pains on and off for years, didn’t think it could be connected. I think any questions about neck or back injuries may actually be quite relevant. It would also be interesting to know where in the world this problem is most occuring. hope you and every one else gets some rest tonight. thinking of you all. x

CATHY- the NerveFIx came from a health food store called Healthy Habits, not sure if they are all over or not. My cousin didnt star this today, she is afraid of taking more stuff… so i cant say if it helps. I am checking with my chiropractor tomorrow, to see if he’s aware. Still researching, found another great forum.. over 350 postings about this…. besides the nerve damage, another interesting lead is liver toxins…. interesting… here’s the link http://www.pia.org.uk/forum/read.php?f=1&i=1544&t=551 if you have issues the topic is itchy arms within the site.
Still looking for answers…