Thank you for sharing that bit of great news, @hlmcneely! You might just be a hero for some of your fellow “Itch” sufferers! @littlebluebird, I hope you can try some Cetaphil for your mom’s disruptive itching!
Was this trial and error for you to land on Cetaphil?
Hi @littlebluebird I’m so sorry your mom is having the nasty itchiness associated with MDS. As you can see with some of the other replies in this discussion your mom isn’t alone in this and it’s super annoying. I didn’t have MDS, but another leukemia associated with it. The itching was relentless and showering only made it worse.
Like member @hlmcneely said in their reply, I also used Dove soap for sensitive skin and Aveeno oatmeal body wash. It helped only a little but even that was a relief. Another ointment that felt soothing was Burt’s Bees Baby Balm. It was oily so I wore cotton pajamas and had inexpensive sheets on the bed so I didn’t ruin the bedding.
The problem is, the itching comes from within and very few ointments or lotions can prevent the itching. From my understanding no one really knows why people with blood cancers tend to itch so much. There is some evidence that cancer cells may release chemicals that irritate your skin’s nerve endings. So there’s not much that can be done topically to change that.
It’s miserable to feel so itchy so I really empathize with your mom, and you, with trying to keep her comfortable. It also sounds like she is developing some neuropathy in her legs. Is your mom able to walk around to get exercise to keep her blood circulating?
What does her doctor say about the numbness?
My mom is a 89 years old lady. We use to take shower for her with emulsifying ointment instead of soap and applied cream afterwards, we’d tried aveeeno, ceradan, suu balm, ceraphil or atoderm intensive gel-cream respectively. Ice pad is ok in summer but not in winter now. Distraction by warching tv, eating food or going outside can minimise the itchiness, but what about night time? If she can sleep well, everything 's fine but if can't, itchiness, numbness or pain will make her want to die. What I can do at nighttime is sweeping the itchy parts for her gently, otherwise she can scratch it severely and make it bleeding a lot. Now, many scratching wound's at the back of the neck. Cetirizine and hydroxyzine is used now but I don't think it works much. Paracetamol is given if she feels the lower limbs or other parts painful. She has osteoporosis and hunchback happen , it makes her feel tired easily and always back pain. Doctor said drug side effects and poor blood circulation was also the reasons of numbness. But she can only walk with assistance for not more than a minute.
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Thank you for sharing that bit of great news, @hlmcneely! You might just be a hero for some of your fellow “Itch” sufferers! @littlebluebird, I hope you can try some Cetaphil for your mom’s disruptive itching!
Was this trial and error for you to land on Cetaphil?
Actually have a friend who used it and I took a chance. It’s not expensive and it helped. Good luck to anyone who tries it.
Hollie
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2 ReactionsMy mom is a 89 years old lady. We use to take shower for her with emulsifying ointment instead of soap and applied cream afterwards, we’d tried aveeeno, ceradan, suu balm, ceraphil or atoderm intensive gel-cream respectively. Ice pad is ok in summer but not in winter now. Distraction by warching tv, eating food or going outside can minimise the itchiness, but what about night time? If she can sleep well, everything 's fine but if can't, itchiness, numbness or pain will make her want to die. What I can do at nighttime is sweeping the itchy parts for her gently, otherwise she can scratch it severely and make it bleeding a lot. Now, many scratching wound's at the back of the neck. Cetirizine and hydroxyzine is used now but I don't think it works much. Paracetamol is given if she feels the lower limbs or other parts painful. She has osteoporosis and hunchback happen , it makes her feel tired easily and always back pain. Doctor said drug side effects and poor blood circulation was also the reasons of numbness. But she can only walk with assistance for not more than a minute.
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