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… I need assistance – as Janet from The Rocky Horror Show once sang. (As I recall, her itch was a bit more fun than mine.) Well, I’ve had a lot of assistance and advice with my itches, and I’m really grateful for all of it. In case you ever need a quick list of things to try on an itchy rash, here’s a run down. (I just typed ‘rub down’ instead of ‘run down’. And to think Freud is largely discredited these days.)
Aqueous cream – the old remedies are sometimes the best. Although aqueous cream doesn’t really do anything to get rid of the rash, it stops it becoming irritated by clothes etc, and provides a little bit of a barrier if the urge to scratch just gets too much.
Bicarbonate of soda in the bath – I’m not sure whether this worked or not. There’s something comfortingly old-fashioned about it, though, like cleaning your kitchen floor with lemon juice and vinegar. (Not that I have ever cleaned my kitchen floor with lemon juice and vinegar, I hasten to add. Cooking, baking and knitting are as far as I go on the domestic goddess front. Although I do occasionally throw some modern cleaning products at the kitchen, or persuade someone else to do so. We don’t live in a midden.)
Calamine lotion – very soothing fresh from the fridge. But ought to come with a slave for dabbing it on constantly.
Lanacane – an anaesthetic cream which is lovely. For 5 seconds. Then you have to do it again. Not really worth the bother.
Bandaging the afflicted area – I didn’t try this, as I think heat is making the rash worse, so I didn’t want to risk making it worse. I like the thinking though.
Antihistamine cream – I seem to have developed an antihistamine immunity, or maybe even allergy. so this made the rash, at best, no worse.
Cool bath/shower – Oooh. This is lovely. If I could I’d live in tepid water until this is over. I think I may have been a mermaid in a previous life. (If I believed in reincarnation. Or mermaids.)
Anti-inflammatory tablets (like Ibuprofen) – I think the placebo effect might be at work here, although they do seem to take the edge off a bit.
Distraction techniques – Knitting, baking and online shopping all require both hands and a measure of attention. Need I say more?
Swimming – see above note on tepid water. Also the need to not drown makes it impossible to scratch and swim.
Visualisation – This really does it for me. The visualisation I wrote about yesterday meant that I spent the day calmer and happier, and that has to be worth something.
Alcohol – Specifically, 2 fingers of 12 year old Glenlivit before bed. Although I may try the 25 year old Glenmorangie tonight, in the interests of scientific research. It might not cure the itch but it helps the sleep!
Scratch mittens – Diane suggested this today, and I’d thought about it, but then dismissed it on the grounds that I don’t possess any mittens. (I prefer gloves. Well, I prefer warm weather, really.) It’s just occured to me that I could put some cotton socks over my hands when I go to bed though. I might try that tonight.
Just scratch it – this is sooo bad, but sooo good. When I got in the bath earlier, I had the water a little bit too hot, and my legs immediately started to itch like fury. So i gave in to the urge….. bliss. Temporarily. Fortunately, I managed to stop myself before I took any skin right off.
So, that’s my run down of mostly-tried-and-tested itchiness remedies. I hope you never need them! (I’ve made up my mind that I won’t, for much longer.)
I feel so sorry for you, theres nothing worse than an itchy rash. Have you tried an emolient bath? Also, you can get calomine lotion in a cream form, I used it on my sons when they got chicken pox, it was great for their nappy areas. Other than that I think you have tried everything I would have suggested. Calomine tea?? on the skin??
Stephanie, have you tried aloe vera gel, straight from the fridge?
I take my hat off to you for trying all the remedies … you are a trooper.
STEPHANIE! Quick! Run out and see if you can find a product called Calagel. It is aloe vera with calamine lotion in it. It works. I know that it does. I used it long ago, but forgot about it. See if you can find it. If you cannot, contact me at debby_hornburg@yahoo.com
Really, in the meantime just try the plain aloe vera gel straight from the fridge. I use it on sunburned, bug bitten skin and it feels ssssssooooooo soothing.
I work for Tec Labs and we make the product called Calagel that Debby mentioned. I answered our customer hotline (1-800-ITCHING) when I first started and we got lots and lots of calls from people who love Calagel. It's wonderful stuff and it is unique in that, aside from the main active ingredient, it also contains an antiseptic to help keep the affected area from getting an infection. You can get it at Rite Aid, CVS, Kroger and Walmart, plus a bunch of regional chains.
We also make another product called Corticool but it's much harder to find. It's at some regional chains but ssentially you have to buy it online. People can buy our products through our website and many other websites.
When I worked the customer service line I had several calls from women who said Corticool helped with something called phantom itch but I'm not exactly sure what that is.
It makes me, personally, feel terrific knowing that a couple of our products might help cancer survivors feel better. That's amazing.
Thank you,
Gary