Hey, I'm new here. I've had RA for the past year and am currently on etanercept, mtx and hydroxycholorquine (+ more..). I have finally begun to taper off of prednisolone and am down to 5mg.
I've recently moved to NE England (cold in Nov!) and have been getting some weird skin problems that I wonder if anyone else has experienced (as a result of the cold or side effect of medication).
After showering in warm/hot water (and using sanex 0%, which is gentle stuff) I get horribly itchy all over my arms and legs for 15-20mins, no matter how much moisturiser I add (Neutrogena for dry skin). It's really relentless for that time. I don;t get any rashes, though.
Will ask at pharmacist for advice too but is this common for people with RA? Do you guys experience skin problems? Was it to do with your meds or the cold?
Let me know! Any advice welcome
Could it be a change of water? If you were previously in south east england you will have been showering with hard water. Generally the NE has soft water.
So true......when's first lived in the US I found after being in any tap water my skin didn't itch,but went bright red, & the skin around my finger nails peeled off.
After a while it just stopped happening.....so I put it down to whatever they put in the water there.
Maybe you're right! If it is the water quality in NE then there's not much I can do is there...?