Itching all over my body

[UndertheCedartree]

This has been going on for a good year now. I'm so itchy all the time. My body is covered in unsightly scabs from me scratching.

Has anyone experienced this and know what the cause could be?
What helped with it? Thanks!

Ask for a referral to dermatology, I've been suffering with chronic spontaneous urticaria for over three years now, slightly better since I had Omalizumab injections. Have you had any medication changed recently?

You absolutely need a coeliac blood screen.

classic symptoms with the deficiencies and the itching could be dermatitis herpetiformis which is an itchy skin condition unique to people with coeliac.

eat as much gluten as you can tolerate in the run up to the blood test, especially everything you might miss in the future if you are coeliac and need to go gluten free afterwards!

You wouldn't necessarily know whether or not you have gallstones. I only found out I've got them when I tried a Keto bar which is high in fat and was in such agony I called 111 and they sent an ambulance. A scan showed gallstones and what I had experienced was biliary colic as a result of eating a high fat food. I was told that I may never have another attack and in fact many people live and die with gallstones and never know they have them. Because of that I decided not to bother having my gallbladder removed.

Prior to trying the Keto bar I had always had a reasonably low-fat diet, hence no symptoms and no awareness of gallstones. Now that I'm aware I have gallstones I just make sure I check the fat content of any food I eat, but it doesn't need to be super low in fat, just not really high i.e. over about 40%. I haven't had so much as a twinge since that one occasion.

I had awful itchy skin when I was perimenopausal which continued on through into menopause. I still get it intermittently on my forearms even though I'm coming up for 10 years post menopause.

I mentioned it to my GP who did blood tests but he wasn't concerned. He said that unfortunately it was a very common symptom of menopause. I did mention to him that someone who I worked with had suggested it might be liver related. He looked at me and said 'Wine, if it was liver related you would be orange. Take it from me, you're not orange'. He has a way about him does my GP, but does leave you feeling very reassured in a strange sort of way!

I've always had extremely itchy skin, alongside liver issues and I'm now in Peri.... It's hell. I have to coerce my 8yr old into getting those hard to reach, urgent-itches on my back.

Tip for everywhere you can reach - exfoliating gloves. Heaven.
Also, and this doesn't work for all areas of your skin weirdly, but most, Eurax cream! Kills the itch for up to 10 hours. Perfect if you get one of those itches that just worsens upon scratching

another to suggest perimenopause itching it's a thing and annoying :(

Probably a gp visit to rule out anything serious, but it definitely could be just “one of those things”. I get quite itchy legs for reasons that no one can identify. Keeping them well moisturised with a low/No fragrance cream seems to help a bit.

Glad you're being checked out, not to scare you but it can be a sign of cancer, make sure your doctor takes you seriously and runs appropriate tests.

When my iron is low and I have anaemia I get really really itchy all over, especially when I am trying to get to sleep. It is incredibly frustrating. Once my iron has been brought up a bit via infusions it goes, so for me it's a good sign of my iron levels.

Do you get a rash with it or is it like an inner itch? I had an inner itch, it came on very suddenly and progressed all over my body. I was referred to dermatology but they couldn’t find a cause so diagnosed me with chronic urticaria and gave me fexofenadine, which helped a bit. After a couple of years it spontaneously improved dramatically but I do still go through mini flare-ups 12 years on from the initial onset. You have my utmost sympathy, it’s madddening. Definitely speak to your GP.

I had it, peri . Started using a lot of oil on my skin, as I thought part of the itchiness was dryness. Bath Oil, Shower Oil, and a dry oil spray - worked wonders

Please go get this checked out, I don’t want to scare/alarm you. But I was itchy for over a year and it turned out to be lymphoma. (In remission now) but please don’t leave it!

Everybody going on about diet, the simplest explanation for persistent itching is usually a flare-up of neurodermitis. I had unexplained itching all over at one point, dermatologist got me to reduce showers to once every two or three days, use bath/shower oils instead of soap and fatty cream instead of lotions. Made a big difference althoughI can hear the howls of outrage from MN about the shower frequency even while typing this.

There are too many possible causes. You need to see a doctor to rule out an allergy, fungal infection, dermatitis/eczema, scabies, bites, etc.