constantly itchy back in DS2.

[psychomum5]

every night when DS2 gets undressed he comes to us to scratch his back.

he sometimes has hives, but more often than not, his back looks perfectly ok, he just says it is scratchy (his word for itchy).

now, do you think this is just a 'habit' type thing, like my elder girls have to suck their thumbs, or do you think it is allergy related??

I wouldn;t worry, only he gets quite tearful about it sometimes and very upset if we ask him to wait a few mins.

do you have hard water? I'm bothered by itchy skin at bedtime but if we go on holiday to somewhere where it's soft it goes away.

Obviously you'll need to consider whether he's wearing man-made fibres or is sensitive to your washing powder.

ah yes, we do!!(hard water comment).

I too itch when I undress, but mine is down to bad allergies, and the fact that bra's are very hard to find in breathable cotton and comfy (they are what trigger my itching mainly!).

he also does suffer allergies, but his manifest as tummy issues rather than skin.

dry skin? That often causes itchy backs! If so, get moisturising with a nice natural lentil-weavery type moisteriser

ps. you can't always see dry skin, so don't discount it just on the basis that it doesn't look dry!

oooh yes, dry skin.

he suffered terribly as a tiny baby and I used to rub in lots of deprobase, but he seemed fine after a while.

I might well rub cream in instead of itching him then, and see if that helps

You coukd start by trying Aqueous Cream ; it costs about £1.50 for a massive tub and can also be used as a cleanser (it's the only thing I can put near my eyes).

Re. The allergies: I'm not trained in any way, but my understanding is that reactions are not necessarily confined to one area - they can change as we get older.

So I'm afraid you could one day be posting about asthma or hay fever. Just because his symptoms have always seemed tummy related doesn't mean that's the end of it.

oh damn, so he might well be turning into me then......had hoped he would not be quite so bad.

aqueous cream.....will look out for some. can you get lanolin-free now just out of interest, as I never could use it when I was younger and as it would be me rubbing it in, obviously I need to know too

Don't know about lanolin free - you often have to ask for it at the chemist's so I'm sure they'd tell you.

sounds like he's got urticaria. my dd has this - much worse in the evening, normally on the body, hives. doctor has seen it and said give piriton to relieve itching. it is an allergy of sorts, but my doctor said it's practically impossible to find out what it is that is causing it. i think it's hugely itchy (like having an insect bit) so i always give piriton when she asks.

bite, not bit!

ah, I have piriton.....he has it when obviously itchy and hivey, but the back itching I was unsure about.

will try it tomorrow and see, and also go to the chemist.

Oh yes urticuria! Raised white lumps or wheals surrounded by red.

God that's horrendously itchy and I'm not surprised he cries.

I got it when DS1 was a week old after the midwife told me to bathe in disinfectant.

I remember spending whole nights itching and crying in between feeding newborn.

Had to have anti-histamines.

Yes, it is like being covered in insect bites - absolutely horrible.

I suffer badly from uticaria all the time, I know how it feels.

do you think this is what he is having then, even tho not all the time he has the hives???

now I feel bad....ppor love, no wonder he is tearful!

right, piriton and cream then, and docs on monday so it can be logged on his records and with his paeds. they allergy tested him in the summer and said it was just grass and lactose causing probs, and yet both are accounted for right now!