Itch Relief... | BigPinkCookie

I to have been suffering from itchy arms to the point I scratch them raw. No cortizone cream helps, nothing helps.
So I went to my Dermatologist and told him my symptoms, he shook his head and grinned knowing what I had.
He called it Brachioradialis Itch, which is caused by a compressed nerve in the neck. Advised me to see a Chiropractor and or a acupuncturist.
To take anti inflamatory pills, my conditioned was caused by my beading at the table with my head bent over for sometimes 8 hours straight, so I have to stop doing what I have been for awhile until my nerve’s inflamation goes down.

I just read your article on itching arms. Let me tell you, I just finished going through allergy test to see why I was itching on my arms. I have been itching to some extent for 25 years, lately it was getting worse. I would scratch by self to blood. It was horrible. The allergist said I was not allergic to anything, but he was aware of the problem some people have with itching in just the arms and maybe across the top of the back. It is due to the nerves in the neck being damaged in some way. It is bracial pluritis. (bad itching) He gave me a prestcription of Capsaicin Cream, 0.25% and Hydrocortisone Valerate Cream USP. 0.2%
I worked on me in 2 or 3 days. . It now has been a week since I put the cream on, but I will probably have to use it again. OH WHAT RELIEVE.The Capsaicin cream burns some at first, but it iw worth in.

Thank goodness I’m not alone. I have been suffering from itching upper arms for years. The only thing that seems to help me is Gold Bond medicated powder. I absolutely coat my arms before I go to bed and this has helped me so much! I would love to know what causes this nighttime torment! I am a 40 year old female with 2 little girls.

Try monosat cream

I can’t believe that I have found lots of other people with this what ever condition it is, I have suffered for about 8 years with itchy arms, but it is mainly my right arm. Just recently it has become much worse, I cannot control the scratching in my sleep and I must pinch my arm in my sleep to try and stop the itch, so I have lovely bruises on my arm, but my added problem is that for the past 6 years I have suffered with lymphoedema in my right arm, following treatment for breast cancer 6 years ago, so I have to be extremely careful in looking after my arm and not breaking the skin.
Like so many others it feels like an itch from inside, not a surface itch, and ice is my only saviour, I also suffer with neck and back problems.

While I can’t explain all the comments on this board, I’m beginning to put together what seems to be a few common threads among us with this problem. My dermotologist got me started on ‘brachial radial pruritis’ since he recognized my symptoms immediately and said it was ‘textbook.’ From his diagnosis I went to a neurologist and had an MRI and other tests which revealed severe spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal column) at C5-C6. I have also some congenital boney deformities that I feel certain also contribute to the crushing of these nerve bundles exiting my cervical spine and going down my arms. I tried a chiropractor, which only seemed to aggrevate it, as well as accupuncture, which did little to nothing. All topical creams are temporary fixes.

The point of my post is that my next step is a drug called Lyrica. I saw an ad in a magazine of someones feet wrapped in barbed wire, and I thought ‘wow, that’s me!!’ On this board some folks have had good results with gabapentin (Neurontin), and this seems to be in the same class of drugs. It also works for folks with postherpatic neuralgia, which I’ve also had and this has a similar feeling.

Even though ‘brp’ symptoms never seem to include itching (on the internet), they include tingling, burning, prickly sensation, etc. that certainly describes the feeling if I scratch it too hard. Sometimes th nerves fire so hard I jump and there is almost NO relief (except ice.) Has anyone noticed that an ice pack on the itch just feels good without the normal pain one would feel placing this ice pack against any other part of your body?? My husband is horrified at how long I can hold the ice pack on my arm. I wonder if this doesn’t exaccerbate the damaged nerves?

Anyone tried Lyrica??

Molly

Ooops, I just looked back at recent posts and discovered several folks are having success with Lyrica. Guess that will be my next step!

Molly

I was wondering if anyone who has brachial radial pruruitis, an actual diagnosis from a dermatologist, has ever taken the step to consult a neurospinal surgeon to see if the damage can be surgically corrected or if the pressure on the Cervical spine on the brachial nerve can be be remedied by surgery?
It seems we all just suffer with this, a majority of us are women, and we don’t seem to be taken very seriously by our doctors about the condition that I bet could be remdied by a surgeon’s wililngness to go in and clean up the spinal disc detrioration, bone spurs, arthritis etc. that caused the nerve damage in the first place! Anybody gone that route here?

Yes, he was all too eager to get in and ‘roto-root’ my spinal column. My concerns are
1. it is VERY risky to operate around the spine and could cause worse problems, including paralysis and
2. it might not even fix the problem!

But he also wanted to do several miserable tests first, which were a big deterrant. I supposed if it got bad enough, I might reconsider, but for now I will try Lyrica.

Molly

Well it’s that time of year again, the itch is back with a vengence. I’m just finishing my first week of Lyrica. 75mg tablets, one twice a day and things are not getting any better to my dismay! I was so hopeful and have now lost some but not all hope. My neurologist advised to increase dosage to two tabs twice a day after the first week which I will now do. I’ll keep you all posted as to whether it makes a difference.

Molly, what were the tests that he wanted to do, and was he a neurosurgeon? I’m curious about your opinion of operating on the spine as being risky and your fear of paralysis. Micro spinal surgery has come as far if not farther than other surgical procedures – but for some reason people don’t seem to want to believe this about the spine – everywhere else in the body, no problem, they realize it’s 2006. When it comes to the spine however, people get so scared and think it’s 1950! I had a back operation in 1997 on my lumbar spine L-4 and L-5, where my surgeon did exactly what you described – roto-rootered the disc debris that was pressing on the nerve causing my sciatic nerve to be inflamed. I’m thinking if that can be done on your lower spine, why not on your cervical spine? The second I woke up from that operation I was fine, and have been fine ever since.

Margot, yes he was a neurosurgeon. Before performing surgery he wanted to do a nerve conduction study on my arms with needle electrodes inserted in the skin, as well as a lumbar puncture test, then insert dye into the spine for another x-ray test (can’t remember the name of this test off hand). This test, I was told, could cause seizures. The whole thing freaked me out and because no one seemed to know (including the neurosurgeon) if this would even resolve the problem, I decided against it.

You are correct, it is not 1950. My congenital spine deformity was examined in 1962 and the doctors said “LEAVE IT ALONE”. It has never caused problems (I’m 51) (except for minor mechanical problems) until now. If I can resolve the itching/pins and needles problem with medication, I’d rather do that for now! Call me chicken!

Molly

Hello (Mostly Ladys)
Sorry to invade AGAIN, Last year at the end of the year (Oct.or Nov.) I was stricken with the ITCH. I have had it come and go for over 15 years to the point it damn near drove me to tears, always right arm, and would last a month or so. In March of this year I had to be taken to the hospital for acute Stenosis in my neck. I have always had problems with my neck, arm (right arm) sevear muscle cramping and pain, plus pain in shoulder blade area. It was so bad to the point I could not hold my head up. It took 2 months for the pain to go away and get back to a “Somewhat” normal state. I still have numbness in my fingers (on both hands) ( thumb, first and middle fingers only). My neck constantly pop’s and crackles. I have not had any itching this year, but I am almost convinced the arm itch is from my neck problem. Through the years one would come and go and the other would start. On the last visit to the Doctor this year he said I was “ALMOST” to the point of Micro Spinal Surgery but suggested against it. If either the ITCH or the arm, neck back pain return this year I won’t have a doubt they are connected.
Good Luck to all, and fast healing to you.
Joe in Ca.

I’ve had surgery for canal stenosis of the lower spine and it worked out great. It is impossible to put up with that sort of pain and I thought any risk was better than constantly going into bouts of paralysis. The relief was just wonderful – six weeks flat on my back for the spine to fill in again then another six of no bending. It’s incredible really – in your sleep you log roll when you turn over, your brain just seems to deal with the requirements of recovery. The longer you leave it, the more nerve damage you will be left with and those nerves have long memory. After ten years, I have found a really good accupuncturist and the nerve pain is very much in control. I hadn’t thought of getting the upper spine checked for stenosis but, if the itch gets rotten again, I will pursue the surgery idea.

The whole key though is to get a good surgeon! Try to make friends with OR nurses at your local hospital. They know everything.

If the acute Stenosis returns like it did at the first of the year I will have to look seriously at surgery. For year it has returned and has gotten worse each time. My first doctor was giveing me cortazone shots in between my shoulder blades and that did help. But he did’nt like to do it. That doctor has sence retired and my new doctor gave me the shots too, at what he called trigger points. He also doesn’t like to give those shots. It has been awhile sence I read through all of these post but as I recall most have had “Some” kind of neck or back problems. I am still so shocked that there is not a real defined cause or cure for the itch. I fill so sorry for the people that have posted here that have had bouts of it. I hope it NEVER returns.

You have to be careful with the cortisone shots. They do work for varying lengths of time but you should only have a very limited number in total.

I am so glad to see there is this forum for arm itch. i am not alone. i have not tried ice but will. i was up all night last night with this intense itching, trying not to scratch. i am a 51 year old female that has had melanoma but i am okay and i suspect i need to call my derm to ask what this is. i saw so many causes for skin itch on wrongdiagnosis.com is scared me…like kidney disease, and hodgins disease but i have no other symptoms other than this itch that came on about three weeks ago.

Francesca,
Is the itching on your forearms only? If so, join the club and ice works great for me. So many great ideas on this board. If it is other places on your body, you do need to talk with your doctor as there are many other causes, but it will not be what is discussed here. This is specifically an itch on the forarms only that most of us believe is triggered by neck/spine stenosis or injuries, but worsened by the sun.
Ginger (RN)

Hello Everyone.
I haven’t posted since last year around this time. My itching has just begun AGAIN 🙁 But, I started my Allegra or any other allergy meds I have and the itching stops. I still feel a tingle, but can live with that.
I still really think this is an allergy to something. And the season are changing all over the world. If it were our necks or upper part of our backs, then why wouldn’t it bother us all year long? Why only Aug. to Dec or there abouts. I do spend a lot of time in the Sun from June thru August. And the itching doesn’t bother me that whole time, so I’m not so sure it is the Sun either. We usually go down to the Florida Keys in February and I’m in the Sun for a full week and the itching never bothers me when I’m there either. This whole itching thing is crazy. Hopefully some day we will find the true answer. Thanks for listening.

I itch to the point that I scratch with a hairbrush, too. Mostly my legs and arms. Dermatologist said it’s excema. Gave me Zyrtec. Helps a lot, except when it gets out of hand, due to the heat. Heat aggravates it, guess that’s why the ice feels so good to so many of you. Hope this helps!

With all due respect, this is not excema, it is not a skin condition, it is a condition of the nerves below the surface of the skin on the arms (most of us seem to think it originates from the c5-c7 vertebrae in the spine). It is not an external itch but an itch from inside, doesn’t matter how much you scratch it does not help, in fact it only aggrevates it, that is why we use ice to change the nerve impulses under the skin.
It is very frustrating when someone comes on this site, doesn’t read all the posts, to see the symptoms, and just figures they put in their two cents. We are all trying to figure this problem out and some of us have gone to countless doctors, myself included, with doctors looking at us shrugging their shoulders and giving us some sort of cream to put on it, usually telling us they don’t have a clue what it is and have never heard of it. You can’t see anything on the skin, unless we have scratched it raw. It only comes for a certain time of the year from approximately June to December (for most of us) so if it were excema it would probably be year round as my daughter has excema and she uses her cream year round.

I agree its not excema. The burning itch starts around June and stops about Dec. I’ve had under-active thyroid since age 9. I’m 46. Have dealt with this itch since about age 40. I get relief with a benydryl tablet at night and pure aloe vera gel. It does seem to be sun related. After the itch starts in June being in the sun does make it worse. Also when I get nervous or stressed out it gets worse. So even though the sun seems to start it up there has to be another underlying problem for it to get worse with stress and emotional upset. I’m always looking forward to Dec., but not because of Christmas!

Dear Susan:

“Attaway girl”

While some folks only want to help by giving their opinion, they may not recognize that this “plague” only affects our upper arms and shoulders, thus the C5-7.of our Cervical Spine.

Incidentally, I would like to note that exercise in these areas does seem to help but I am still looking for the CURE!

Thanks for all the comments,
Lynn in East Texas

pnut136@erthlink.net

Hi Everyone,
I have been taking Allegra every night for a week and have slept like I have never done before. NO ITCHING AT ALL 🙂 I’m so happy.
I really feel it is Allergies to something that is blooming this time of year. I may have spine problems because when I was a teenager, I had a horse and we fell and It rolled completely over my whole body. But, I don’t understand then if it is my Cervical Spine, then why is it only seasonal? Wouldn’t that bother me all year long then?
I know this isn’t Excema, because my Son has that and it is not the same at all.
Thanks,
Kim

Wow … I came accross this site while I was searching for itch relief remedies, and I can’t believe how long some of you have suffered with this severe itching you’re talking about. While I don’t think I have the same problem you’re all talking about, I have had a severe itching for the last month. The weird thing about it is that it seems to move around my body – when it started it was only my legs, then my legs and my arms … it stopped for a week or so, and now it’s returned in my ankles, behind my knees, and my chest (i actually raised blood blisters above a breast because I was scratching so hard). The itching is terrible sometimes. I tried Goldbond lotion, but it only seemed to aggravate it. I’ve found that calamine lotion works okay, and I often have to plonk myself down in front of a fan so there’s a constant stream of cool air on me. Tonight the calamine didn’t work, so I ended up rubbing baking soda straight onto my legs – I was desperate!! Good luck to all with finding a cure for your chronic itching.

I’ve been taking my full prescribed dose of Lyrica for a couple of weeks now and it works! Two 75mg tabs, twice a day. I only feel a little tingle when I’m late taking it. I felt weird for 3 or 4 days, dizzy, blurry vision and sleepy (kinda drunk, not comfortable driving) but then my system got used to it and now I feel pretty good. I’m sleeping like a log! If you read about it on their web site, I was pretty much “text book”. Maybe look up types of neurological ‘pain’ and you’ll get a pretty good description of our problem. PS I’m 45, have had this for three yearsand can’t help but wonder if it’s hormonal, but then why seasonal? I suggest this also because it’s mostly women here and on the Men’s Health site. I hate to take drugs but I didn’t know what else to do, I just can’t function with this crazy problem and I’ve tried everything else, including Omega Oils and allergy meds. I’ll be curious to see if the Allegra works should anyone else try it. Keep us all up to date.

Hi, I’m another one who found this site after a Google search in the early hours of the morning. I guess I’m a ‘classic case’ as I have prolapsed and damanged discs C3-4 and C4-5 after two cycling accidents and also have had a lot of sun exposure (for an English girl). I’m blonde, blue-eyed, 39 years old. My itching started when I was pregnant but sun definitely makes it worse. I’ve read all the contributions on the site and I do believe that nearly all of them are explained by the finding from the Wallengren and Sundler research (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15627097&dopt=Citation) that ‘sunlight is an eliciting factor and that cervical spine disease can be a predisposing factor’. My main concern was that the itching might be a precursor to melanomas, and although I’m sorry for everyone who has been suffering for so many years, there don’t seem to be any posts from people who have gone on to develop skin cancers – so I guess this is something to be grateful for while we are all itching away!
I’ve found a 10% urea cream to be helpful temporarily – I get my arms really cold with water or ice, dry them, then apply the cream on top of the cold.

Thank you all for not telling me that I am crazy!!! For about 8 years, since the birth of my 2nd child this arm itching has been maddening! I have no other itching on any part of my body. I do not have dry skin, allergies (except hay fever and my nose is not connected to my arms last time I checked) and am in great health! ICE is the only thing that seems to help. Creams do not. However, an interesting point that my dermatologist pointed out (without knowing what was wrong) was that he thought that it might be related to my neck – cervical spine possibly a pinched nerve or something. Sometimes Chiropractors help, sometimes not. Sun aggrevates it, but sometimes it happens in the dead of winter. There are times when stress seems to contribute, but other times (on vacation when I am very relaxed) when I have it too. Please are there any doctors out there who can help? Steriods will shorten all of our lives – maybe I’ll invest in a car ice chest and just keep ice on hand. At least that won’t kill me!!

I have had BRP for approximately 9 years now. It was like a bad nightmare before I was diagnosed. Scads of Dr.’s and thousands of dollars just to have the dr.’s tell me it must be anxiety or anything they could think of.
NOTHING topical helped. Cortisone injections nor steroids helped me. I could only think “how will I ever live the rest of my life like this”. I told one of the dermatologists I had even considered suicide one night when like clockwork I awakened digging and crying, getting up to get into a cold shower or ice packs placed on my arms to get very little rest before I had to arise at 5:30 for work. I am a nurse and I had researched everything to now avail and then a new dermatologist said something to his nurse about something call brachio something. I went home and straight to the internet and found info on this dreaded condition. I was on atarax 500 mg daily, if you can believe it, in a daze most of time with some relief now knowing it was only because I was drugged to the max.
Anyway, I was started on Nuerontin, with little or no effect, but loved to tan and finally discovered if I stayed completely out of the sun and tanning beds, I would get progressively better.
To make a very long story short, I still get episodes that go from my shoulders completely down to the tops of my hands, but nothing like before when I was a sun worshiper. I use ice and try to keep my posture correct.
I had tried chiropractors, accupuncture, drugs and nothing helped until I stayed out of the sun.
Maybe this will help for some of you, but I think different things exacerbate this condition for different people.
Maybe someday there will be a magic potion for us.
Happy itching

Well, along with my itching I have insomnia. I have always wondered if my insomnia was casued by my itching or if my itching was caused by my insomnia. Anyhow, after over a week with no sleep or only about 2 broken up hours a night, I started taking Lunesta. Well when I lay down to go to sleep I fall asleep and I stay asleep. Sleep is good. My arms don;t seem to itch as much, not at all at night unless I try to go to sleep without the Lusnesta. They still itch when I get them in the sun but at least I can sleep. Not a cure, but certainly a band aid so that I can function until I find out what is wrong. Just thought that I would share.

Dori

Hope all are well

Well, along with my itching I have insomnia. I have always wondered if my insomnia was casued by my itching or if my itching was caused by my insomnia. Anyhow, after over a week with no sleep or only about 2 broken up hours a night, I started taking Lunesta. Well when I lay down to go to sleep I fall asleep and I stay asleep. Sleep is good. My arms don;t seem to itch as much, not at all at night unless I try to go to sleep without the Lusnesta. They still itch when I get them in the sun but at least I can sleep. Not a cure, but certainly a band aid so that I can function until I find out what is wrong. Just thought that I would share.

Dori

Hello All

Just found this website after putting in a search for ‘itchy upper arm’. In particular my right upper arm is very itchy and has been for a few years now. Tends to come on in the evening and also if I am excited/worked up about something. I take thyroxine and also think it is something to do with my right arm getting more sun exposure particularly when driving. The problem seemed to start when I lived in Australia a few years ago.

For relief I firstly try not to itch and use distraction techniques. Don’t lie in bed just scratching it will just get worse. Get up and do something and it will take your mind off it. I keep a bristle body brush by my bed and use that. Also I keep a can of Magicool by the bed – it is a compressed water spray that is very cold and it takes the heat of it. The main thing is to cool it down and it will help alleviate the heat and the itching.

I don’t think creams are the way to go because if anything I think they irritate the skin more.

Just getting on this website now and typing out this email has distracted me enough to start my arm cooling down and it’s a lot less itchy.

All the best to you all out there.

I’ve had BRP (self diagnosed) for about 5-6 years. Typical seasonal pattern — forearms start itching in the fall and last into winter. Last year was the worst, and this year is shaping up worse — it started earlier than ever. Several years ago, I tried Omega 3 oils, which I thought worked, because the itching stopped soon after I began taking them. I realized later that since I had started taking them in the middle of December, that coincided with the normal time for the itching to end.

I am 47. male, fair skinned, but tan well and easily, have always been active outdoors, and the skin on my forearms shows it. I also have some intermittend neck pain.

Here’s my question: What, if any success has anyone had with Omega oils? At what dosages, and if it works, any idea why? I know about the cervical injury/UV exposure/nerve damage model, and am curious if there’s something to Omega oil treatment that I may have overlooked last time.

Hang in there, and thanks!

TRY DRINKING MORE WATER. A LOT MORE.

My arms started itching badly about a year ago. It would wake me up and keep me from sleeping, and drive me crazy. The doctor suggested a topical cream, which doesn’t help very much. The only thing that makes it go away is if I drink a lot of water.

It may sound silly but it’s not. Think about it: most people are walking around in a state of chronic dehydration and they don’t even know it. Your skin needs moisture, and that moisture comes from drinking water. Water is absorbed not by your stomache, but by your large intestine. If your large intestine is irrated or otherwise has trouble absorbing water for any reason, you won’t get enough into your system. I learned that oily and salty foods made it worse, especially cheese. These things absorb water or make it tougher for your large intestine to get the water to your body. (Now when I eat pizza on occassion, I always drink plenty of water with it.)

I suspect my arms itch more because they get more sun exposure (thereby drying the skin even more).

Now I think of my arm itching as a “dehydration alarm”. If it starts to itch, I immediately drink about 16 oz. of water, and within a few minutes the itching goes away. I keep drinking water until it stops. Usually no more than a quart. I sleep with a bottle of water by my bedside.

This works for me, I hope it helps someone else.

Annie, where do you get the magicool? I would like to try that at night when it awakens me.
Thank you.

Wow. Everyone is at a very different place here…I’ve been dealing with this awfulness since 1999, and after being diagnosed with not only bracial radial pruitis but also hydromelia (water on the spinal cord), for years I tried Neurotin, Capasin, Benedryl (both oral and topical), Hydroxizine, Claritin, creams, oils, vaseline, pain relievers, Amitryptilene, and more. NO effect, NO help. I’m on Lyrica right now and all it does is make me feel drunk AND itchy and in pain. My itching has moved over the years. At first from both shoulders then just to right shoulder, then to right upper arm, to hand and upper arm now. But still unbelivably painful in neck and arm, to the point where I have to stop EVERYTHING, and apply ice until it’s numb. I do wake up at night often, but it seems any time I have ANY free time (of course) it happens more often. Naps? No chance. Knitting? Please. I can’t do ANYTHING when I’m itching, try as hards as I might. It affects my work performance, my mood, my relationship (my husband can’t touch me at all when I’m itching or it will get worse!), my hygiene (water and especially showers undoubtedly make it worse, especially warm or hot showers), and more. I have felt like I was going crazy, felt like no one knew what I was going through, etc. I tried keeping a food diary. No proof that any one food / drink or combo makes it worse. I am staying out of the sun, trying to limit caffeine, and NEVER (READ THIS!) NEVER use any sort of soap on the affected area, (NO LOTION EITHER!!), no oils, no emoillent things, no water at all on that area or it will trigger itching (so swimming is out as well, and wearing short sleeves is out since I can’t apply sunblock to the area.) This does prevent some of it. I have been reading about using Thalidomide as PERMANANT treatment. Lyrica has to be taken forever, and it’s not working for me, nor did Neurontin. I have read about side effects of Thalidomide, and have no intention of becoming preganant while using it. I think it’s worth a try. From what I;ve read, patients take a dosage for 2 months and they were ASYMPTOMATIC even months later! Dermotolgist appointment is tomorrow. Can’t wait to at least beg him to try it.

Chris,
I have tried Omega 3 oils but I haven’t found much of a difference. But my question to you is, where do you live? I find it interesting that you start your itching in the Fall, when most of us start in or around June and go until about November/December. I know we have some Aussie’s on the board but they start their itching around June and go to around Nov. Dec. as well and their seasons are opposite to our. Just curious.

Susan

Hi, Last night was a sleepless one again. I read an article about Peroxide. That it helps all different things. So, I thought I would try it on my arms and chest last night, because it was making me crazy. I rubbed it on and about 10 minutes my itching was gone. I still had a tingle for a little while, but then that went away too. I finally could fall asleep. Has anyone else ever tried Peroxide? Thanks, Kim

Hi — Just an update. Went to dermatologist, who agreed that at this point it’s very hard to find ANYTHING that works. He agreed to try to get Thalidomide for me. Only catch is a month supply for this stuff is: $3900.00! Yes, you read that correctly. So now I’m appealing to the drug company to provide the drug to me at lower cost/free throught their patient assistance program. Only problem there being that the doctor doubts they will agree to it, because Thalidomide is not normally used for this condition. Isn’t it terrible that Thalidomide was once 8 cents a pill and now that they find it is useful for cancer patients and HIV patients, it’s been raised to such unaffordable costs? Those drug companies…Grr. No relief still. Nothing has made a dent in this at all. Very sad to report this to you. Hopefully something will give us all some relief eventually.

Wow… so many people with itchy arms! Makes me feel better. I am a man, 44, have had this for about three years. Starts in August (July this year however!) and continues through the first half of the Winter. Forearms only, on the top (the part normally exposed to sun). I live in Wisconsin.
Ice is the ONLY thing that helps. I’m going to try the water and the omega threes.
There is a COMMON THREAD HERE. We are exposed to so much… I bet there is a very simple answer. A common item we’re all exposed to.

Dry cleaning? Detergents? Hm….

sb
I also have tried EVERYTHING!!!!!!! I was hoping Lyrica, which is the only one you mentioned that I have not tried would do some good for me, but now I am convinced it will not work because the Neurontin did nothing for me.
I read about the thalidomide in an article about BRP on the internet, but my Dr. told me you could not get it unless you were in some type of test studies. Please let us know if this helps if you are able to obtain it.
This condition does affect your whold life just like you said.

I too have this terrible itch… I used to think it was sun related but I have been in the sun all summer and no problem until the last 2 nights (and I have not been in the sun as it has been raining and storming…) It is good to know I am not crazy and though I feel for all with this problem it is good to know I am not alone!

Hi Susan, I live in Oregon –the rainy part — but we have nice sunny summers , but the clouds don’t part until June. Maybe we just start later? I’m still thinking that my itch may be sun-related, but I must admit the fact that people from south of the equator have the same cycle in spite of the reversal of seasons.

For the last few days, I’ve been taking tiny doses of amitrityline, (5-7mg depending on how I cut the pill), and large doses of flax seed oil, and keeping the effected arm out of the sun. Something seems to be helping as the itching has been less the last couple of days. I’ll try cutting out the amitrityline to see if maybe it’s the oil, if that doesn’t work, I’ll reverse & cut out the oil & restart the amitrityline. Like everyone else, I feel I’m grasping at straws. I’ll post the results if I learn anything useful.

I haven’t been in the sun in months and I’ve still been itching. From what I’ve read this is nerve damage from PREVIOUS sun exposure coupled with spinal issues and neck issues (who else has the PAIN associated? It’s awful in and of itself!) I’ve accepted that finding related “triggers” seems like a wild goose chase. I know this:

-I am a vegetarian (don’t see any association there — was a veggie before this came about)
-I drink coffee, but not ridculous amounts, and have itched whether I drank it or not
-I do not use dryer sheets, and use all natural Method detregent with no dyes, no perfumes, and rinse my clothes an extra time in the wash
– I do not use ANY soap on affected areas and use mild soap everywhere else
-I no longer take hot showers
-The itching is worse when I’ve been on the computer too long, with my head down. I suspect that has to do with neck positioning, because sometimes the minute I lie down the same thing happens. I have been to a chiropractor, with no relief. In fact, when I’ve had massages, it’s made the itching WORSE.
-Using my right hand to hold heavy objects makes it WORSE
-The itching starts in the spring, and usually doesn’t let up until December
-I have been in an auto accident that could have caused the neck/spinal issues

Anyone NOT have the neck pain associated? My neck pain is just as bad as the itching sometimes.

-Hormonal changes seem to make it worse so right before period is AWFUL
-Anything topical on the area whatsoever makes it WORSE. Even clothing.
-The itching has moved locations over the years, at first on both shoulders, then just the right shoulder, then upper right arm and shoulder, now upper right arm, shoulder, right hand
-I am only 29, have had this now for seven years
-Amitryptylene hasn’t done anything for me before except make me sleepy. Same for Neurontin, Hydroxizine, Benedryl, and antidepressants.
Capasin made it burn like fire and then itch. Alcohol, Peroxide, Menthol, Vaseline, OIl, Creams, Gels, Lidocaine, all SURFACE remedies that don’t work on what’s really wrong: NERVES telling my arms to ITCH! I’ve had my husband slap my arms, I’ve used hairbrushes, I’ve tried not touching them at all, not wearing sleeves, not wearing a bra, no sun, no bath, no shower, and more. At this point I am completely going mad. Tired of this horrible condition that seemingly has no relief and has doctors stumped. I can’t sleep at night and am holding ice packs on my arm many days, while wishing for some sort of magical cure.

-Who exactly has tried no sugar / wheat and what have your results been?

(I wonder why sugar and wheat would bother us only in spring and summer though…)

HYDRATION was the idea from someone on this list and I am trying that. I generally drink coffee in the morning, caffeinated soda in the early afternoon, and beer in the evening…. Not a lot of real liquid there…. probably really stupid of me to be walking around that way.
The last couple days I have walked around with a big bottle of water I keep drinking and refilling. Last night, the itching was not so bad. Today it’s there but it does not seem so bad… Tomorrow I’m going to start on the flax seed/EFA stuff which I am a believer of but am out of that habit for some reason (probably because I ran out).

I will keep this group posted on this experiment. How is your hydration?
Could it be that simple for many of us?

I drink about 2 liters of water a day at least every day. Sometimes I’m good about water, sometimes not, but I haven’t noticed that affecting my itching so much. I take flaxseed oil capsules often or I use it in my salad dressing sometimes…no difference there that I can tell either. Still looking…I do notice when I am itching that urination is very frequent. Anyone else?

This is how desperate I have gotten at times. I remember I was washing my car at the car wash and was using the high pressure wand and one of my arms had really been bothering me all day and all of a sudden when I was loosing it I directed the high pressure wand on my arm and kept it there for what seemed like an eternity and like a miracle the itching went away. Of course the arm was practically numb, but it stayed quiet the rest of the day which brings me to the conclusion it is the nerve endings. Are they damaged, dead or what?I have been tempted many times to go back to the car wash when they get bad, but think someone might think I need to be committed.

In reply to sb — Cutting out wheat has not been helpful for me. I have celiac disease, and have not eaten ANY wheat in over 3 1/2 years, with no change in itch. I hope this helps. On the other hand, for some strange reason, I have no experience on cutting out sugar.

I just quit taking amitrityline and will continue to take big, regular doses of flax oil. My itch has gotten better in the last few days — we’ll see if it stays that way without amitrityline.

I think we’re all probably reading the same website information, seems there are very few websites out there with information about BRP. I went to my dermatologist last week, convinced I had to have Lyrica. He wouldn’t prescribe it, saying I should go back to my neurologist for that since he is unfamiliar with it. He did, however, prescribe Zonalon. I poo-pooed it several years ago when he first suggested it because another topical cream he prescribed was worthless (Chlobetasol).

The Zonalon is also topical and was originally used orally for depression(!). It is a completely different class of drugs from what they use for depression now. I believe it is currently being used to treat eczema. I DO NOT have eczema. HE knows I don’t have eczema. He said he has prescribed Zonalon for his patients with BRP and it seems to work well for many of them, so I was willing to give it a try. It is actually a nerve agent which further convinces me this is a nervous system problem. And so far in the week I’ve been using it (at half the frequency recommended) it is working GREAT.

He said in 10 years of practice he has treated about 30 cases, so it’s not real common, nor is it so rare. He said my symptoms were ‘classic’ and ‘textbook.’ (I wanted to say ‘WHAT textbook and how come other doctors haven’t seen this textbook????” !!) Anyone in the Nashville, TN area should see this fellow, Dr. Jeffrey Byers at the Vanderbilt Clinic. He’s super.

Molly

BRP huh? Interesting… Doing a Google search I found the site: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20030915/1135.html
which states that this can be caused by Parvovirus, which I had a couple years ago. This disease, a very common children’s disease (so common, in fact, that they call it “Fifth Disease” after the common four – measles, mumps, etc) settles in the joints of adults and creates symptoms similar to rheumatoid arthritis.
The joint symptoms have FINALLY gone away (after 3 long years).. but the itchy forearms still drive me nuts. I think finally now I know the underlying cause. Treatment of course will be another matter. For now, ice packs are the only thing that helps. Worse at night, not so bad at all during the day. June thru December, just like everyone else….
– Mark from WI

By Christine

1,336 replies on “Itch Relief…”