Itchy as hell, please help

[DrMidgeryMargery]

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help before I lose my goddamn mind.

I have eczema which is generally just a few localised patches but the last few days I’ve been losing my mind with itchiness fricking EVERYWHERE. Across my stomach. My arms. My legs. I’ve scratched myself raw in places because it feels so good to scratch.

I have betnovate for my patches but can’t use this all over! I’ve just had a bath with emollient in it in case it was because of dry skin but nope, got out of the bath and scratched the bejesus out of myself (but the bits I haven’t scratched are nice and soft ) I tried a bath with oats - nope. Porridgy. I’ve cut my nails but it’s amazing how scabby you can make yourself from overzealous rubbing.

Any ideas what I can use to stop this? I don’t want to go to the doctors for something so insignificant but gahhhhh.

Antihistamine? Could it be an allergic reaction to something. Otherwise it will be docs. I have bad ezcema in my ears and haven't been to the docs as i see as a waste of time but if it was all over my body driving me mad i would go its not trivial!

Child's Farm sensitive moisturiser (grapefruit and tea tree)
Oilatum emolument cream
Hydrocortisone cream (from GP)

We have these thing for DS when his flares up. I have psoriasis too and use betnovate on it (again from the GP).

Thanks you two. I’ve just nicked one of DH’s antihistamines so I’ll see how that goes, and I’ll have a look at Child’s Farm - I’ve heard good things about them.

Thanks again

Ooh what about Aveeno moisturiser?

Take more than one antihistamine. I have awful eczema on my hands and take 4 a day.

DD seems to get this in the winter. Her skin’s a bit dry but it’s more itchy than the dryness warrants iyswim. Wakes her up in the night.

Anyway I was having some success with a combo of Aveeno bath wash and Childs Farm but then I got recommended La Roche Posay Lipikar Baume and that has worked an absolute treat. It’s pricey but sometimes pharmacies have free samples of La Roche Posay products so worth checking your local pharmacies?

I'd be careful of grapefruit & tea tree - thought they were really common irritants? Moisturise yes - ask chemist for a plain emollient, but be aware that different ones suit different people.

Also agree with antihistamine. You often have to take these for a while to build up to effective level in your body, so keep going.

My daughter has eczema and the childs farm is really helping, also helping my dermatitis on my hands. Won't cure it but really helps reduce it

Go to see your GP. The last year has been agony for me, pretty much as you describe. Every part of my body itched. I tried just about everything. Antihistamines, non SLS shower, moisturizing with Dipropbase three to four times a day.

Turns out I was alergic to an inhaler i was prescribed in December 2018. Over a year later (and four months after stopping the inhaler) my legs.(The last of my issues) are nearly scab free. I cannot count the number of bedding sets I've thrown out (not to mention the number of pjs that followed them) because id scratched !myself to the point of bleeding.

Any chance you’re anaemic? I had bouts of hideous itching for over a month and then had an unrelated blood test which shown anaemia. Sorting that dealt with the itching too.

Don't scratch! Smack the itch instead, stops the itch - scratch - itch cycle.

Moogoo

Thanks everyone, I’ve been taking the antihistamines and it seems to have helped a bit. Its worse where the seams of my clothes are so I think the most straightforward solution is to be naked at all times. I’m sure work won’t mind 😁 I’ve got a GP appointment coming up so I’ll mention it then.

@TheHatOfDoom I am anaemic as it happens! I wonder if that’s it!

I suddenly started with eczema on my legs a few years back, no history of it before, and was crying every night with the itching, scratching till my legs bled. No over the counter cream worked. Saw my GP who prescribed Betnovate, aqueous cream for showering and Doublebase cream four times a day. Cleared it up, just cannot describe the relief. GP thought it was stress related, due to DH having cancer. Then it came back a few years later, just after DH had a stroke, but this time on my back, again stress related. Touch wood only slight flare ups since, but controllable.

I have extremely intense itching with no rash all over my body at the moment. Blood tests are all normal. I also have suffocating exhaustion, blurred vision, uncomfortable muscle aches and pains plus headaches. GP thinks it could be ME / CFS. I'm really struggling.
OP are you being treated for your anaemia?

Any lumps? Is it worse at night? Could it be scabies?

Could definitely be severe anaemia. I had this during a low blood count phase...OR (And don't take this the wrong way) it could be alcohol related. I had about 5 G&Ts at a work xams do a few years ago. Several days later I had this same thing. My liver couldn't cope with the mini-binge and I scratched myself raw for days....bizarre really

Have you tried cool packs? I'm not sure if it'll work on eczema, but a bag of frozen peas always kills any itching I have!

OP - I have had eczema for years - currently I have pomphlox eczema on my hands which I'm under a consultant for
What might help when none of the normal creams do is a bit of vagisil (2% lidocaine) to numb your skin just enough to take the edge off (esp at night)
For me it breaks the itch scratch cycle just enough