Dry itching skin

[Caradomben]

Hi I have been struggling with very dry itching skin and rashes . I have tried everything to relieve it. I am tapering down from 20 mgs prednisolone since January . Have had few blips along the way but now at 8mgs going down 1mg every month now. Does anyone suffer from this and what did they use to relieve the itch . I can’t take antihistamine because I suffer from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and they sometimes trigger an attack. It’s driving me crazy 😜

[jinasc]

Double Base Gel, you can get it on prescription but you can also buy it over the counter. Use it exactly as it says on the bottle.

How often do you shower? Each time you shower you strip the natural oils out of your skin............the Double Base Gel protects your skin.

[Caradomben in reply to jinasc]

Thank you I shower usually only shower in morning but been having a cool shower in evening to ease itching .

[squashie]

I use a special shower gel - Pinetarsol - and it works well.

[Caradomben in reply to squashie]

Thanks I’ll have a look for this. Been using an ointment my GP prescribed but it seems to irritate it more .

[HeronNS]

Have you checked verything your skin comes into contact with - your laundry detergent, fabric softeners, for example? I don't think my skin ever got as bad as you describe, but two things which helped me were food grade hemp oil, and shea butter. Shea butter is usually compounded with other ingredients as it's a bit hard to use. I got pure shea butter from my pharmacy. I used to use a great skin cream but the company got bought out by a multinational and they discontinued the product. I never found anything before, and not since, which was as good but fortunately my skin has behaved well the last year since I lost my fave treatment and I hope this winter is also okay.

[Caradomben in reply to HeronNS]

Thank you. I have changed detergent etc to no avail . I suppose it’s just finding the right treatment .

[HeronNS in reply to Caradomben]

If your doctor prescribed someting like a hydrocortisone ointment you may find you get a rebound effect if you stop using it. I had this for my hands and had to gradually wean off it, as well as introducing the other treatments. First I switched to a much milder otc version of the ointment. Then I spent quite a lot of time finding a cream that would help. It was happenstance which introduced me to hemp oil, and I tried everything else offered at the pharmacy before finding my, sadly discontinued, cream.

healthline.com/health/hemp-...

amazon.ca/Impruv-Non-Irrita...

[HeronNS in reply to Caradomben]

I have to thank you for this! When I found the link to Impruv on Amazon I started reading the comments and someone said that Physiogel is the same thing! I think it must be very similar if not identical as it includes some of the helpful ingredients. As I'd phoned the company last year to ask if they were going to reintroduce the product, perhaps under a different name, (not known) and asked at the pharmacy if they had anything similar (no) I had pretty much given up. Now I have new hope. I shall be on a hunt for Physiogel as soon as I finish this reply! 🤗

[mustcarryon]

Hia

I have very dry skin, what i use is E45 shower cream and . For the rash i know someone who swears by nappy rash cream .

Maybe they are worth a try.

[Janet57]

My skin has been a lot drier and a bit flakey/itchy at times. I use a Propolis cream from Forever Living and it calms it. You can also use it as a moisturiser and for other skin issues like when my husband had bursitis on his elbow and some skin irritation on his forehead. It’s also very gentle but if you use it do a patch test first. I also think HeronNS has good advice about checking all your washing powders, etc in case formulations have changed.

[Daffodilia]

I had Betnovate from Doctor (and an antihistamine) - once worst was over I use Avenocream every day - strangely itch has been worse again as we get to October (same time of year as last attack)

[Caradomben in reply to Daffodilia]

Thank you . I have just started using Avenocream and so far it does seem the best . The itch is bad though so think I’ll be making an appointment for dermatologist to get to bottom of it 😢

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I have paroxysmal a/f and use loratidine - it's G&T that makes mine worse!

[Caradomben in reply to PMRpro]

😂.. was going to phone GP and ask if I could take something else. I’ll mention the loratidine. I ended up in hospital overnight last week with an episode of AF so been reluctant to take any antihistamine since

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Caradomben]

Mine never really lasts long enough to get there - I went a couple of times and by the time I'd realised this was lasting a bit longer than usual, called the ambo and we got there it was just about OK! It's always about midnight or later ...

[Caradomben in reply to PMRpro]

Yeah mine is always early hours of morning. Have had 3 cardioversions since last July. Always have a raised troponin so they keep me in. Reverted with an extra 150 flecainide this time...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Caradomben]

They seem to be a bit more relaxed here in northern Italy than they are in the UK! My first approach - as it was on the ward - is a small bottle with a dose of magnesium. If I take it early enough it does work quite well. I do recognise it mostly, it starts with short episodes of tachycardia alternating with normal sinus rhythm and with magnesium it stays no worse than that. I have a pulse oximeter to have a quick check. Even when I had a 5 hour attack after i.v. diazepam originally they didn't shock me. They don't do ablation unless they have to as they don't think it works well enough to bother.

[Sefu]

I found this highly recommended on Amazon and has natural ingredients only. Says works overnight and has mostly given Mum pretty instant relief for hours: Aveeno "Skin Relief Overnight" cream. Intense Moisture. Seems to come only in 207g tubes, but does spread easily so not much needed. Not overly messy.

[Caradomben in reply to Sefu]

Thank you everyone for the advice . Hopefully get it sorted soon. Got an appointment with a dermatologist next week to see what exactly is causing the itch . Had to make a private appointment as waiting time in NHS us too long .

[MarkWin]

Plenty of advice above, and been there with e45, hydrocortisone etc. But my personal best find is Body Shop hemp hand protector on itchy arms etc, normally only once a day though winter/cold exacerbates problem. Good luck.