Brachioradial pruritus. (severe itching on forearms and neck, no rash).

First, my heart goes out to all BRP sufferers. Only those who have experiened it can understand the agonizing pain.

I have been living with BRP for 23 years. I typically have 1 - 2 episodes per year, and they can last from 1 - 4 months. Like many of you, I have tried dozens of treatments. The only immediate symptom relief has been ice packs. Well, there is one other method, but I don’t recommend it at all, and that is to knock yourself out with medication (antihistamines, opioids, anything really). I’ve only gone to this extreme a few times, and it isn’t practical or safe.

About 4 years ago I read a little known clinical research paper written by a medically trained acupuncturist in the UK named Dr. Stellon. You can google it or find the link to it in the BRP Wikipedia entry. I found a medically trained acupuncturist in SF and shared the paper with him. He followed the procedure outlined in the paper and after 12 sessions my symptoms were gone. That was 4 years ago.

At present I am about 1 month into a new episode. My first acupuncture appointment is tomorrow.

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

Emphatically Yours,
John

Hello John. Thank you for your suggestion. I have had this for about 5 yrs. It usually starts in about August and

I'm on my second round with this disorder. The first time within two weeks of chiropractic treatment I had complete relief. But on this episode I am getting basically no relief after almost two months of treatment. Ice packs are my best friends. And not only am I fighting the BRP I also have Restless leg syndrome and renners, which really stinks with needing ice on arms and hands go White and freezing! Is this all possibly linked together within the nervous system? I do have damage in my c5-6 cervical spine and moderate scoliosis.

I too have BRP and this is by far the worse year for me. (I have the problem for 13 years) I did a lot of sunbathing this summer as the weather was beautiful. I paid a high price as both arms were very bad. My GP put me on tablets and they work 90% of the time ( anitriptyline 10mg two to be taken at night) at night before bed they can start itching and a quick placing of ice on the itchy area makes it better in a few minutes. I apply three times a day a cream called BOTANICA NATURAL HERBAL CREAM. I order it on line (www.botanica.ie) because the pharmacy I used has closed down. I also find covering my arms help as it seems to be photo sensitive. If I can be of any help do contact me.

I've suffered many years with brachioradial pruritis (BRP) that began on my forearms and extended to other areas including my trunk & legs. I tried everything from ice packs to hot baths and every anti-itch medication imaginable to ease my itch, especially at night when I would scratch myself bloody to no avail. Four different Dermatologists examined me and prescribed topical applications that were ineffective. One method for relief that I had read about, but never tried, was cervical traction of the neck. I never expected it to be beneficial but I was desperate in need of relief so I ordered a pump-up cervical traction device on Amazon for $18 and started using it twice daily for 30 minutes of cervical extension. Within 24 hours I noticed the itching had decreased and within a week all symptoms of itching ceased. I stopped using the cervical traction device afer a month of itch free sleep. The itching returned after a couple days so I had to go back to using cervical traction and once again I got total relief. That was six months ago and now I do the cervical traction daily and itching has not reoccured. I also purchased a "hang to relax" teter prior to doing neck traction and it helped relieve the itch but I'm in my 80's and had problems hanging upside down 🙂