Itching all over the body since christmas

[Heydiddlediddlethe]

My 13 year old son has developed an all over itch during xmas and has suffered with it ever since.
It’s worse in the evening before bed He is ND and i often think that it’s in his head as you can barely see anything.
We have steroids and strong antihistamine which temporarily help but always comes back.
Is there anything else we try or ask for some bloods to rule out?
I have tried to think if we changed washing or new medication but nothing.
Any ideas?

Scabies? Very common nowadays.

I would book a GP appointment.

Does a shower before bed help? He may be itchy and irritated after being a little sweaty during the day with changing hormones.

Any issues with urine ? Itchiness can be a sign of kidney issues

Thank you. We have seen a gp. that when we were given steroid cream and stronger antihistamine.
He has a history of allergies and eczema but not had any issues with his skin for about 10 years so it’s all very strange. I will ask for a blood test as it started to worry me but i don’t think he looses sleep over it and again i don’t hear him complain about during the day over the weekend but he does show me tiny little spots on his skin but not sure if it’s not the result of him scratching himself

and yes he washes every night. even have him my exfoliating gloves in case the dirt was blocking his skin

I’d ask for liver function/bile acids, thyroid, iron/ferritin levels and kidney function blood tests All over itching sensation can be caused by all sorts of things- anaemia, thyroid, gallstones, etc. it’s likely something dermatological but definitely recommend getting more blood tests done. It sounds so miserable

Check your washing powder too , my husband reacts badly to certain types even if non bio

Thanks i have used Aldi washing powder for years. He has never had issues since he was a baby. I’m concerned more about the fact that it’s all over his body so will definitely ask for a blood test

loads of scabies amongst young people this winter

but would scabies be all over the body without much visible sign?

Is his skin drying out? Having the heating on lots through the winter obviously lowers the humidity and can lead to drying.

My daughter hasn't complained previously, but has been more itchy in recent weeks, especially before bed when there's fewer distractions.

I think you would all have scabies if it was that as they’re easily spread.

Maybe Aldi have changed the ingredients slightly.

Withdrawal itch from steroids. Look up topical steroid addiction. My daughter had exactly the same. It’s a deep bone itch that’s impossible to ignore. The longer he’s using steroids then the longer the symptoms of withdrawal will be. If you’re on Facebook join the tsw group and steroid addiction group and see if it seems similar. It’s a withdrawal itch that sets in when the body is looking for more steroid fix as the adrenal glands slow right down when using the steroid hormone creams so they aren’t producing enough of the steroid hormone themselves. The withdraw process isn’t nice but does heal and eventually steroid creams stop working anyway and he’ll get more problems on them once it has unbalanced the immune system (my daughter got swollen glands all over body while on them) they also change the hgE levels so you become allergic to things you never were before. Watch Dr Rapport’s documentary “Skin on Fire” which has been uploaded to YouTube.

My first thought was liver, too. Go to the GP.

Also because the blood vesssks have been suppressed by steroid creams they rebound with a vengeance and you think eczema is worsening but it’s from the steroid meds - the nerves around the blood vessels go mad with itch so it’s not actually anything on the skin that’s causing the itch but the itch is v real and always started in evening and my daughter couldn’t sleep at all at night from it.

Check out demotographia and see if he meets the criteria. You will know because a mark down the forearm will leave a red welt. If he doesn't have it, it won't.

Demotographia is strongly linked with poor gut health. Has he been taking antibiotics recently? Or been u well?

Try getting him to take some probiotics and improve the gut health and that should make the difference to the itching.

A year ago I was prescribed 180mg antihistamines 3x a day. Plus more if needed. It was ridiculous. I cut out dairy and wheat for 2 months and take vitamin c, turmeric, vitamin d and probiotics. I no longer need the antihistamines and the itching has mostly stopped.

sorry i must have not been clear with what i said. He has not used steroids for about 10 years (even that was only 1%back then) and this current one is 0.05% so super low so there is no withdrawal or skin thinning going on. The heating would be my guess too but he was never affected by it in previous years plus he has no heating in his room as turned it off

I had this a few years ago, came on really suddenly and it turned out to be low ferritin (rather than iron). Worth asking the GP for bloods, and checking with him if he has any other symptoms. For example, I had breathlessness too but hadn't really realised the two were connected.

thanks @Idabelle he is asthmatic and so he often gets breathless but i put it done to not using his inhaler properly.
Will query this

Ah ok, I don't have asthma so didn't have that to complicate things! Worth mentioning to GP too anyway.

Super low at 0.05% can cause addiction too. My daughter was on a v low one.

Hands, feet, wrists are usually the worst to start with then it spreads everywhere.

It takes up to 6 weeks to react to them though so other household members might not be showing signs of them yet. You tend to catch them with prolonged skin contact or from bedding infested with them. Was he on any sleep overs/school trips around 2 or 3 months ago?

Apart from unbearable itching, especially at night, you can usually see tiny pinprick and tracks where the mites are burrowing.

Very low vitamin d can cause this

we have been back to gp who sent some photos to dermatologists with the little spots and have blood form