sorry I meant to ask if anyone has used UVB... - PBC Foundation

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sorry I meant to ask if anyone has used UVB light to help with the itch

sydney profile image
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sydney profile image
sydney
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cowren profile image
cowren

Hi Sidney

It's a strange thing you should ask that question I had that therapy about 8years ago

Pre PBC for a skin condition called lichen planus ! It didn't work for that.

Now I have the itch and a horrible rash all down my spine awating appointment with dermo .

My Dr says this is nothing to do with PBC

With your itch does it feel like something crawling over your skin including your scalp ?

sydney profile image
sydney in reply to cowren

Hello Cowren,

the itch is definitely due to pbc I am at the end of my tether with it, however it doesn't give me a rash but my skin gets hot and red all over and feels like there is something crawling underneath my skin biting and stinging me. I read that UVB could help with the itch, anything is worth a try I would love to get rid of it and have a normal life, I work full time and am finding it really hard because I'm shattered all the time, hope the dermo comes up with a solution for you, maybe you should ask about UVB treatments.

in reply to cowren

I have the itch as you will probably know as I tend to mention it frequently in responses and my own contributions due to it being a sympton of PBC as we know.

The itch to me feels like I am being stung with bees/wasps at times and also I'd liken it to walking through nettles, that stinging feeling. It is under the skin and you definitely feel the urge to have a scratch but I find that most often than not it doesn't do much good as it's not on the skin surface and also as I', 'dealing' with one area, it then sudden stops where I am and starts elsewhere!

I think it is due to the tiny nerve endings that are sort of being temporary electrified to put it in a sort of way to understand. I don't think your rash is anything to do with PBC though unless you are scratching badly and causing an infection in that area.

Funny thing was 2 nights ago I had a bath that I thought was a bit too warm when I got in after chucking in a capful of the childrens' Oilatum bath emollient (cheaper than the adult version of E45). I thought I'd suffer afterwards but the odd thing was I never did itch that night and all I can think of was perhaps I had sort of open all my pores sufficiently enough to rid myself of what it is supposed to be the cause of the itch, those bile salts? I have the odd night where I do not itch at all but it seems far and frequent not. In the first 18mths of taking urso (been on 2 and half yrs now) I did have several days of being itch-free but it seemed rather short-lived yet on a brighter note my LFTs aren't any worse.

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