Skin panic attacks and PTSD?

Posted by susandockter @susandockter, Jun 22, 2016

I'm diagnosed with PTSD, psoriasis and bipolar disorder. For the past year I've been having what seems like a panic attack of my skin and I'm wondering if anyone else has them? All of the above have been treated well over the years but this symptom seems in its own league. When it happens its an intense itch all over my body that nothing eases. My pulse goes up and I want to scream. Usually an attack will last for a day but this last week it lasted for 3 days. Anyone else experiencing something like this?

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I have bipolar disorder. In the last month I started get eczema. It is<br>extremely itchy and there is no cure for it. It is on my face. I don't know<br>if what you have is eczema or not. I put a cream on it every night that my<br>nurse practioner recommended. Keep us posted on how you are doing.<br>

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Thank you for your kind words. Indeed it has been eczema for most of my life and only recently transitioned into psyorises. From my experience, for your face, I would say be careful of how often you wet your skin. For me if it's damp before I put my medication on it seems to work better, but leaving a wet cloth on my skin for too long makes it worse. Cold helps. You could try keeping your medicine in the fridge, and also use cold water instead of hot. Hot water makes the itch feel better instantly but draws blood to the skin. The cold does the opposite and reduces inflammation. An over the counter antihistamine that works really well is Zyrtec. The real kind. Sorry I know how awful it is to have something like this on your face!

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@susandockter

Thank you for your kind words. Indeed it has been eczema for most of my life and only recently transitioned into psyorises. From my experience, for your face, I would say be careful of how often you wet your skin. For me if it's damp before I put my medication on it seems to work better, but leaving a wet cloth on my skin for too long makes it worse. Cold helps. You could try keeping your medicine in the fridge, and also use cold water instead of hot. Hot water makes the itch feel better instantly but draws blood to the skin. The cold does the opposite and reduces inflammation. An over the counter antihistamine that works really well is Zyrtec. The real kind. Sorry I know how awful it is to have something like this on your face!

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Thanks I just put my face cream in the fridge.

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Hope it helps! Keep me posted on how you ate doing!

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