Need help regarding all severe over body itch

Good evening @cblack385. Welcome to Connect. Thank you for helping a family member with what appears to be an uncomfortable situation with itch allergies. Our mission here at Connect is to help every member have a better quality of life. Let's get started.

The photographs with the red bumps and evidence of irritated skin on this lady's arms and legs are very reminiscent of my own skin. In fact, I am home recovering from a recent flare initiated by exposure to the fumes from a VOC irritant known commonly as polyurethane. So much for trying to redo the kitchen cabinets.

I have to ask you.....has your relative been seen by a dermatologist? Has she submitted to a patch test for allergies to fabrics, soaps, shampoos, laundry detergents and other surface related irritants? I started by washing all of the bedding and I only wear a piece of clothing once before it gets washed again.

Every day, I start by taking a single dose of Allegra, an OTC medication that works very well on a daily basis. Benedryl and Xrtec kind of wore out their welcome without helping do anything but make me sleepy.

There is one anti-itch cream without steroids that is new and available OTC online. It is called Dermeleve and the website is http://www.dermaleve.com. This product was introduced at a dermatology conference last summer. It is also on the agenda for the international dermalogical conference being held this week in Maui.

So....there seem to be advantages for working closely with a specialist. One more suggestion and then I will say goodnight. Right now I am back in the phototherapy light cabinet 2-3 times a week to take care of the scaly patches that seem to appear in the pictures.

Please turn your attention to the benefits of working with a dermatologist. I am here for you and your relative. Where would you like to begin?

May you both be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris. (and I will be 80 in March 2022).

Chris, where does one find a phototherapy light cabinet? Thank you.

Thank you so much for the advice - I will have a look at both getting Dermeleve and getting phototherapy treatment.

Unfortunately she has not had any success with skin specialists thus far. We have been down the private and public route of treatment to no avail hence posting on the forum in the hope that someone has unfortuantely been through the same or similar and can give their take on it as you gratefully have.

Good morning @gottab, the cabinet is installed in the Dermatology treatment area at our local health clinic. You can also purchase them for at-home use.

I remember a Doctor advising an elderly lady to wash her body with a
shampoo for dandruff- not sure if it worked but might be worth a try.
@ainsleigh

@cblack385 I looked at your photos of the skin reaction, and I see a scar on her knee possibly for a knee replacement. That suggests to me that there may be a possible immune response to the materials used in a surgical implant if that is the case. Doctors who would consider and treat this immune response, may be found in the field of environmental medicine. I have seen one of these doctors for years.

I have also had the experience of hives all over my body and horrible itching lasting months. I think my body doesn't get along well with metals. I broke my ankle a couple years ago, and titanium plates were placed on the bones during surgery. About 6 months after that surgery (and I was out of the cast), I was getting hives all over my arms, legs, back, chest, and anywhere I scratched would bring up new hives. I had to take an antihistamine at least every third day or they came back. I asked about the possibility of an immune response to the titanium, and no one could confirm a link, and a dermatologist even said no. I had pain from the plates, and after a year of bone healing, I was able to have them removed.

I also have allergic asthma that was worse when I had metals in my body. I had very old dental work with crowns and root canals, and the root canals began to fail. Eventually, I had all the bad teeth removed and replaced with ceramic zirconia dental implants, and the new teeth are also zirconia which does not contain metals. When the bad teeth were removed, my asthma improved immediately. I had been having worsening asthma issues for several years and never knew it could be affected by dental materials or failing root canals, at least that is my experience. I didn't have silver dental fillings because those had already been replaced with safer materials on the advice of my environmental medicine doctor which also improved my health at the time.

After I had all the metals removed from my mouth and my body was metal free, my asthma improved a lot, until I broke my ankle 3 months later. Then with metal surgical plates on my ankle bones, my asthma got worse again, and the hives began 6 months later. I had the surgical plates removed a few months ago, and I don't have hives anymore, and my asthma improved again.

My environmental doctor was part of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, and there is a provider search on their website at https://www.aaemonline.org/ . Also, this field of medicine began with the Environmental Health Center of Dallas https://www.ehcd.com/ although they are not located in Dallas anymore. They do have medical volumes from their research that are written for doctors and they sell these books about treatment protocols. Their website also describes treatment for implant immune reactions.

If you need to confirm metal sensitivities, there is a lab in Chicago that has specific tests for the materials used in surgical implants. It is expensive and probably not covered by insurance. Their website is https://www.orthopedicanalysis.com/

Does she have metals from medical or dental treatments in her body? I think most of us do, and it is just accepted that these materials are safe, but maybe not for everyone and for so many years. If there is a knee replacement implant, it isn't as easy as just removing it. That is where an environmental medicine doctor may be able to help. Would you or she consider consulting a doctor in this specialty?

Hi, I have written about my itch problems here before...I belong to a Facebook group for one of my itch problems and someone there discovered that when she took her pre workout supplement, her itch went away...she isolated it to and OTC supplement called Beta Alanine. My itch issues are connected to an auto immune issues and a Mast Cell issue. I have been taking Beta Alanine now for about 5 years and IT KILLS THE ITCH...There are over 4,000 people on this FB page and 85% ish of the group find it helps considerably.

It might be worth a try. I buy on Amazon and take 750 mg as needed...the supplement is usually taken by athletes and they dose much higher, so keep the dose lower then the label says, otherwise it could cause tingling on the skin. It is cheap.

Two Stanford pediatricians found this information on Mayo Connect, used it on a patient and it worked...they published a paper about a year ago.

I hope it works for her...

Hi there @ainsleigh, thanks for your considerate and valuable post. You are correct. In fact, there is a packet of 122 pages of products you can use without worrying about attracting the "itch". Dermatologists will make you a copy or you can find it online. A fragrance that masks and even a fragrance that enhances can become an irritant. I am going to see if I can find my 122-page folder. I have changed everything that touches my skin to a safe product including laundry detergents, kitchen dish soaps and other items that we may never have thought about as being a potential "itch" culprit. The patch test is the way these products are identified.

This discussion has many helpful comments I would have made. The 5 Day Extended Patch Test identifed my allergens, yet from the helpful photos I don't see how that is possible at this time because the entire upper back and some of the mid back torso must be clear of rashes to perform the test.
If she has Allergic Contact Dermatitis, ACD, which I do and is a common form of eczema which often manifests itself in middle age because of body rebels against substances, both natural and created, which it feels is toxic to us. It raises up our histamine armies to try to rid our bodies of them. These histamines raise our inflamation causes rash, internal and external itch and pain.
Jennifer made an interesting comment about possible metal allergies. Although the patch test can test for metals another form of testing is also used for blood. Medicare paid over $1,500 each time I was given the 5 Day Extended Patch test, however, they would not pay for the blood test before my scheduled TKR. I had to pay $600 out of pocket for the results which resulted in me having to cancel my surgery. I was allergic to over 6 metals, although not allergic to titanium the Orthopedic Surgeon said that even titanium had traces of other metals and in time with use the metals in the implants will slough off metal, thus entering the blood stream causing these metals, a poison if allergic, to course though our bodies..
My ACD was severe and I was able to control my external rashes with elimination of certain contacts. However I still had issues with internal inflamation which caused stinging, itching and burning under my skin, all over my body without rash. I know you tried steroids, but not sure if your mom tried injections. With the Cortico-Steroid Kenalog 40 injection I could eliminate these internal skin sensations for 9 months. However, 2 months after getting the injection I would have significate hair loss for 2 months, then it would regrow.
I eliminationed the need for these injections 3 years ago- I finally broke down and attempted an anti-inflamation diet. Mainly giving up all processed sugar and minimizing natural sugars. Durng the 2 month detox I also gave up gluten. Read this short, easy to understand book which explains it, The Yeast Connection Handbook, by William Crooke, MD. I didn't have external yeast infections on the body or vagina, it's what is going inside our intestines with the living yeast colonies we all have. Amazon still sells this book. Dr Crooke was a pioneer in the field believing sugar and gluten fed the yeast in our bodies which raise histamines. Today I follow the maintanence and still never eat processed sugar, but have several servings of fruit and have found I do fine eating gluten. Still to this day no retain of my internal misery which was leading me contemplate suicide because my misery was so great.
Right now I am sure you have attempted to detox any allergens, just guessing Only use Grandma's Lye Bar Soap. It's 2 ingredients are lye and lard. The lye is converted into glycerin in the soap making process . Google their site and all will be explained. It's moisturizing Try this as a shampoo if the scalp is itchy. A good safe shampoo is VMV Clark Wash. Both of these products are sold on Amazon.
Avoid all blended materials. Rubber is a common allergen. We know latex comes from rubber but also is a host of other elements. MBT is one that is used to blend materials and create elastic (yep, no elastic in bras and so on) and memory foam. It accelorates blended materials like poly cotton. Make sure beddding is free of all memory foam (that is what set off my total body eczema), even if it is covered with 100% cotton it off gasses. It can be covered with plastic then cotton if the bed or pillow can't be replaced. All blankets must be 100% cotton or 100% polyester. Do not walk of floors barefooted as shoes containing MBT or other rubber elements have contaminated it. I can only wear plastic, vinyl or 100% leather footwear without first putting on a 100% cotton sock, plastic bag, elastic sock to hold it up and then the shoe. Many cannot wear leather if formaldahyde is used to tan it.
No wrinkle free or Scotch Guarded or fire retardart fabrics as these are treated with common allergic chemicals.
No fragrance.
Check into blood chelation to remove metals from your blood, however I do it naturally drinking 1/2 bunch of blended cilantro for a few months daily then back off for months and repeat. Cilantro is a natural way to chelate blood. Google it. On a Mayo's Grovers Disease skin discussion site I learned about this. Beside ACD I have another form of eczema Grovers Disease, GD aka, Transcient Acantholytic Dermatitis, TAD. Many of us found that detoxing our metals put this into remission. Heavy metals, which we all have accumulated are now tied to Alzeheimers, Parkinsons and Grovers Disease. Google it. I'm not saying drinking blended cilantro is pleasant, but I consider it a tonic and simply do it.
I was tested for a hundred different elements and identifing my allergens, going on an anti-inflamation diet (which I will stay on for life because of the results) and naturally chelating my blood has allowed me to resume a normal life. Yes it is a bother, but to live without the pain and itch of eczema makes all the trouble worth it.
Like others I am very sympathetic. I know and have felt your mother's misery. I know in the future it may return, eczema is chronic. Please follow up with any new information about her conditon.

Hi there @gardeningjunkie, I was hoping you might be able to join this discussion and share your advanced experiences. Thank you.

Just one note...the Extended Patch Test photo is of me a year ago.....not currently, and before the TKR*2 in August. My back was clear of rashes.

May you be safe and protected from inner and outer harm.

Chris