OT: Itch

Oh good, I'm not the only one itch!

Cheryl

OK, I now have a bottle of Moisturel. I'll see if that is any better than the Lubriderm DH is supposed to use to avoid psoriasis outbreaks--I'd been taking hits off his lotion bottle. Also got the über-box of Benedryl since all I had in the house was the infant formula and I'd probably have to take half a bottle of that to make one adult dose. I think the Neosporin did help some since it reduced the pain and swelling--at least in places where I had open sores. I'll probably still use a speck of that on the worst sores until they heal up. I'll give the lotion and allergy med a few days. Might try the baby oil idea too since I have plenty of that including the gel variety.

Was disappointed not to find that Olay formula I like. I suppose they quit selling it a decade ago and I'm just now figuring it out. It was nice to have a moisturizer I could use that didn't make my face oilier and give me nasty blackheads. I got a sample of it in a "Welcome to college" sample size product kit 20 years ago and loved the stuff. Oh well, I suppose if it took all customers 20 years to use up a bottle of the stuff it wasn't going to make it!

In news:45e302ad$0$24749$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com, Brenda Lewis purred:

This past summer I used a store-brand of dryer sheets - egad did they make me itch. Went back to the name brands, and now I itch less (I still have itches, but hey, I have allergies, so that's to be expected), but nothing like with the generic dryer sheets!

Also - I use vinegar (white) in the rinse cycle of my washer to help get soap out of the clothes, plus my washer has a setting for "extra rinse" (scratch myself into grodiness & possible infection? Or use a couple extra gallons of water? I'll use the water, thankyouverymuch)

Similar to how people get addicted to pain meds. When there is something chemically (receptors being affected) going on in your NS/brain - the drugs do their job on that. When not a real problem, well, then...they're in your system, but it's like swinging a bat, but no pitched ball is there - the momentum of the swing still is there, only it takes a different path and spins the batter around, instead of moving the ball. Best on the fly analogy I could come up with.

ellice

I've pretty much gone to "free and clear" type detergents, and use unscented dryer sheets - for the most part. You just do what you have to do.

ellice

It's a good analogy. It describes the feeling exactly.

There are a couple of excellent natural remedies which work for almost any skin problem.

Bulbinella, (may have a different name there), is a fleshy, tubular-leaved plant, with small orange or yellow flowers. The sap used on burns, grazes, and other skin outbreaks is soothing and curative.

Calendular cream is a herbal remedy, and if "homemade" will have no additives, which are usually what cause problems.

Just a suggestion.

Joyce in RSA.

Yep. One person in the fibromyalgia support group used to party with the same drugs now prescribed for the pain, and gives a "both sides" testimony to how different the reaction is to taking it when you need it versus taking it when you don't need it.

There is now absolutely none of the "feel good high" that used to come from taking the pills, just pain relief.

But that isn't completely the case. If you don't need the drug, that is a good analogy, but the reverse isn't true. Even when there is something really there for the drug to work on, a person can still get addicted or get a buzz or become drowsy. I had to suffer through physical withdrawal from Oxycodone after my emergency C-section and I was using the drug as little as possible in an attempt to avoid the problem. And I most certainly did need a good pain med at that time!

Even when I really do need antihistamines they make me very drowsy. Of course one could argue that by the time I get around to taking antihistamines, I've been suffering long enough to be sleep-deprived so relief from the allergy symptoms allows me to finally sleep!

Brenda, I have had 2 episodes of similar rashes in the past year. I also have fibro. Have you by chance used any capsicum cream? (Active ingredient in arthritis warming creams) My dear husband massaged it too deeply into my back and legs and caused the intense burning itching rash. I ended up in a medikit cortisone treatment to heal it. It has to be prescribed but very inexpensive. HTH Bobbie V.

To reply remove the knot with a net

On 2/27/07 5:48 AM, "Brenda Lewis" wrote:

True. There definitely are drugs which have a physical addiction potential, hence their categorization as Narcotics with addicition, etc and restrictions on use, duration, etc. There are also many drugs with a psychological addiction potential - which you see in the case of most drug abusers - who've got the psychological dependendence which particularly with the opiates also carries the physcial dependence. Generally, physical dependence doesn't start until at least 2 weeks of solid use. Similarly, there are also anti-anxiety, anti-depressants, which carry dependence issues and when patients are being withdrawn from the drug are told not to go "cold turkey" - but rather through a step down of the amount taken.

Clearly you've got a sensitive system, and most people after surgery only stay on their narcotics for under 2 weeks, switching to the less potent forms like Percocet or Percodan and then down to even less codeine, or the basic analgesics.

Me too - hence, I don't like taking Benadryl. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) has a stronger drowsiness effect on me than does Fexafenadine (Allegra) which is more potent than Claritin (OTC). Drugs have tons of side effects - almost everything out there has Nausea & vomiting, or Headache or Drowsiness as a potential s/e - just depends on your system as to how you tolerate it. When a drug is taken just to take - then the s/e, tend to be exacerbated - plus you have the action of the drug itself -without the appropriate thing for it to be mediating. Silliest thing I saw about 10 years ago when Imitrex injections came out, my SIL got one. Well, for years we were sure that she would fake a migraine whenever she either needed attention (like at my wedding rehearsal), or didn't feel like doing something, etc. Then she'd generally after locking herself in her room quite dramatically to go lie down - she'd insist on a trip to the ER for a Demerol shot. Woo hoo - Demeral. The protocal for the Imitrex was the first time a patient was treated it was to be under direct supervision of the doctor so they could observe, or give a 2nd injection, etc. Those of us who take it know that it gives a brief series of cardiac palpitations/rushing feeling, and you can generally feel a sort of constriction in your temples or near there. Goes away as it's working. My SIL - who is very bossy - evidently convinced her doc to give her a self injection kit to take home, rather than come in for it the first time she "needed" one. She gave herself the injection, and totally flipped out once the palpitation rush started, and then the vasoconstriction. Evidently it really, really, bothered her head - DUH. The classic example - there were no overdilated veins, or genuine migraine causes for the drug to work on and she ended up with a whopper weird headache. She was thinking she was going to get a personal Demerol high that she could give herself - what a surprise.

The worst drug rxn - giving Narcan to a high drug abuser. Very abrupt ending to the high - we have to remember to have them belted down on the gurney - I've seen a medic punched in the face by someone once that med hits the system.

ellice

I sure wish the doctor had warned me about the palpitation rush with Imitrex! I had that and it scared the **** outta me. Thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and run laps around the room. I haven't touched the stuff again since even though it did knock the headache. Luckily, birth control pills take care of my headaches.

No, I won't touch the stuff. I have a food allergy to peppers and certainly don't want to find out what smearing parts of them on my body would do. I just rely on a good ol' heating pad to get through the fibro. A full-length heat & massage mat is available for the worst days.

I love the capsicum cream for muscle aches, but I am just cringing thinking about being allergic to peppers let alone a contact allergy to them....

Yeah - that was why the protocol for the first use was in the office under supervision. After the first couple of minutes though it tends to go away for most people. Usually for me I don't think it lasts even a minute - but one of those things that could seem like forever. Anything that gets rid of the headache is a great thing for me - don't care about the rush.

ellice

Well, most of us humans have some sensitivity to the capiscum - but it's very low to most - hence the heat generated. But for some it could be really significant. I definitely am not using any of those creams! I do however use something with Rhus Toxicondron - a homeopathic ointment which has derivation from one of the poison ivy type plants - hoewver doesn't do anything to me, and I am seriously allergic (not normal human sensitivity) to poison ivy, oak, sumac ....

ellice

I haven't read all the replies as I'll be late for work but just wanted to mention that you should check the ingredients on any creams. I have terrible dry skin/itch problems and everyone always gives me their favourite remedy. Avoid anything with fragrance as it irritates the skin and watch out for lanolin. It is a common ingredient in some of the "best" creams. I, personally am allergic to it so it could be that you are too. I have found that wearing gloves (the white cotton ones or even the fingerless stitching kind) helps protect the areas from coming into contact with stuff during the day which cuts down on irritation. My dermatologist recommended Neutrogena hand and body lotion (25 times a day or whenever you think of it). It's a hard habit to get into but it does help. White gloves at night with hands slathered in prescription Mometasone ointment helps me but it does contain cortisone. I feel your itch, hope you find some helpful suggestions! Jeanine in Canada

Also, if you get a prescription of some sort, you can have the druggist "compound" it with moisturizing cream of some sort. I can't remember exactly what DD had some years ago for a bout of eczema, but the druggist mixed the heavy-duty, thick RX drug with regular OTC Neutrogena or some such lotion (I forget exactly which one), and it made it ever so much easier to deal with.

I'm a little light on the details, but I hope the concept helps!

Sue

-- Susan Hartman/Dirty Linen The Magazine of Folk and World Music

That one sounds like Aloe vera and my husband is allergic to it.

I can't say that I know what this one is. I've heard of calendula, but I'm blanking on what it looks like. To be honest, I avoid a lot of "natural botanical" cures because I know I have plant allergies but don't know specifically what plants cause problems. My hands used to swell and go numb during botany and horticulture classes when handling various plant materials. I finally learned to wear tight-fitting gloves during class. Wouldn't quit taking them though because I got good grades and they helped meet gen. ed. science requirements.