help me fix my legs! ...warning: pictures.

[haroldsfakebluetits]

I expect to be starting many of these 'help me..' threads!

First up. My legs.

I am a long time 'itcher' I have little scars. Constantly have fresh scabs that I continue to make bleed (cos I'm Fecking gross I know) through scratching. I just can't help it. Then they get dry.... Then they never see the light of day.. you get the jist. I've Inc a photo. These days I'm also adding standard mum bruises... stair Gate collisions etc.

Help me. I want gorgeous pins. Where to start?

Funnily enough, lanolin was something that used to cause huge reactions on my face in my teens. I don't suffer from hayfever, but I wonder if that's changing as i'm sneezing all the time at the minute. Figured it was another pregnancy thing.

Will make app. With gp. I also have that thing on my upper arms.. looks like constant goose pimples, sometimes goes red, looks horrible. . Ketatosis something I think. That was going to be the next in my 'to help' threads ;-)

i tried a lot of things (arms were always itchier than my legs but i used to draw blood at night) but still itched.

i've found that cold pressed coconut helps on the driest bits but if i use it too often, i start itching again so i switch between coconut and almond oil.

can you take antihistamines whilst pregnant? (sorry, its been many years since i had my son). if so, this could help to break the cycle and let the scabs heal.

also, try to keep your skin uncovered as much as possible (indoors will do if you feel bad about it).

My arms don't itch, never have done actually. It's just 'there'

This is all really helpful. I'm going to write it all down and start working my way through each till I suss it out. Thank you!

My legs are exactly like yours, best thing I've found is go on a sun bed every weeks for a really short time. It has cleared them no end and I can wear shorts etc

If you have Keratosis Pilaris on your arms, the answer is a cream with urea in it like Eucerin or Flexitol.

Ds has eczema and itches in his sleep.

We use a steroid cream to break the cycle.

Then lots of moisturising (aveeno works best for us).

And at night he wears very fine cotton gloves (like silk) which are on prescription. This means even if you itch in your sleep you are not damaging your skin.

harold did you say upthread that you're pregnant? Not all of these suggestions are safe in pregnancy. My midwife told me not to use high-urea content creams and definitely no sunbed or steroid creams.

True - I think this thread is boiling down to the fact you need to see your GP:

the pregnancy is affecting the itch
you almost certainly still have ezcema
you have KP as well
you need advice for both that is safe for pregancy - even if the advice is wait until you aren't pregnant

and none of that will include sunbeds! There's no such thing as a healthy tan.

Oh OP I feel your pain, mine are a nightmare! They are slender and long, and would without a doubt be my favourite body part if only I could leave them alone. The only thing that helps is a tan. Even worse - I used the Lumea thing recently and was enough of a dolt that I drew my gridlines in black eyeliner, not white, so of course now I have grid-line burn marks all over them!

You should also get the GP to rule out obstetric cholestasis (I think that's how it's spelled).

Yes will definitely check anything I use is pregnancy safe..and i won't ever step foot in a sun bed. Will schedule a gp app.

Thank you for not all recoiling in horror over my leg pic too!

Nothing to add but just to say my legs are exacrtly the same. No real reason for itching, just dry skin I think, and always worse in the summer when I shave. I shave my legs so I can get them out and then I cover them up because I scratch them til they bleed. I know in my case a more dedicated moisturising regime wouldn't go amiss..

Mine are bad like that too. I have eczema and get very very bad, bleeding type flare ups every so often. I get circular patches on my legs which are hard to shift - it's really tricky to stop scratching when you're doing it in your sleep!

You will probably need some steroid cream or even fucibet (I think it's that one) if it looks infected. You can use it under direction from your doctor (as far as I remember, so long as it's not extended use on your abdomen it's fine). Then really pay attention to your skin. I exfoliate well with sugar whipped into coconut oil. Best exfoliator ever and can be used anywhere. I regularly shave and try to use new blades as the prickly hair irritates. I don't often moisturise any further than the coconut oil, but I do like to slick on some baby oil once in a while, straight after a shower when my skin is still wet. Then dry with a towel.

TBH I'm not really bothered anymore. I hate wearing tights so just have my pale, bruised, quite often scabby legs out as is!

Forgot to mention - my skin seems to be sensitive in that I get eczema, but it can withstand daily vigorous exfoliation - even on my face!