Crazy Painful itching all over body in winter

Some of you have described the itching like pins sticking you, but has anyone's itching felt like they were in the middle of a flea festival? My legs itch and I keep scratching them until I am afraid I am going to take my skin off. I have not really been bitten by anything, but if I scratch long enough, little bumps will come up. I had this some years ago on my arms, and it was a reaction to Zoloft (anti-depressant). I keep a tube of itch cream beside my bed because the itching usually starts as I am getting ready for bed. I have always thought this was a nervous problem since the area that itches becomes red BEFORE I start scratching.
I know that regular body lotions won't help, mainly because they have a bunch of junk in them. Try Vitamin E cream with NO perfumes. I have even taken baths with vitamin E vitamins. The oil seeps into your skin and doesn't leave anything on the surface of your skin.

WOW!! I have had the same problem for 20+ years. I grew up in South Florida and it was only on the coldest driest days of the year that I would have the pins and needles itching feeling. But it was rare to have a cold day there. I moved to CO a few years ago and it happens quite often and is absolutely horrible. Moisturizer seems to help a little bit but not much. I know it happens either when anxious or angry also when exerted myself in cold weather. Usually it will happen when going inside where it's warm from the outside where it's cold. Also on a few occassions when I snuggled with my wife. I didn't have the heart to tell her that touching her made my body itch horribly and suffered through it. Today I was using my electric drill and as soon as I touched the trigger, I instantly had an "attack". I've wondered if it was an electrical thing since it happens in colder and dryer air. I'll give the magnesium thing a try.

HI i'm 24 years old and I'm a pharmacist and i've been having the same irritating itch in winter for the past 7 years now, everytime my body gets warm whether it's playing sports or under a blanket or even drinking something warm like coffee or tea . What really helps stop the itching is when i take a nice cold shower (yea in the middle of winter) ,but no i discover that the treatment is simple use cold cream ,moisturizing cream, vanishing cream and take with it a magnesium supplement . There is a case of erythromyalgia but this happens in the extremities only u can learn about treatment in this site hope I've been of great help and good luck to u all .

This itching drives me insane. My remidy really works and has two phases. Phase one, quite your job. Phase two, everytime you feel the itch comming on strip as naked as possible, stop what you are doing and freeze. Within 2 minutes the insane itching will surfice. I also recomend that you avoid public areas.

Hey guys, I'm not typically one to post to message boards, but I know how much this thoroughly sucks and tonight I may have discovered something that helps. Like clock work, this winter the crazy painful itching came back, like a thousand tiny PO'ed bees are stinging all over. This year I've decided enough is enough and there must be something you can do about this. I tried everything on this board in the past month, so I suppose the possibility that my discovery is actually the result of a combination of practices cannot be overlooked. The only thing I read about but haven't tried is taking a magnesium supplement because I am quite against taking anything in pill form, regardless of whether it is a vitamin or not. Also someone said something about it being an excess of citric acid seeping through the pores. That sounds too dumb to be right to me. At first I thought this was dry skin and dry air so I started moisturizing. Then I remembered I live on the coast in the pacific northwest and it's not very dry. Then I noticed tiny red dots when this phenomena occurs so I immediately thought allergic reaction. So I changed my laundry detergent to something fancy. I also started drinking a sh*t load of water daily.

Eventually I became convinced this is most likely a pore problem because nothing else seemed to work. This happens when I start working out or get overheated, so my original thought was to exercise in as little clothing as possible. Then someone mentioned that going to a sauna helped them. So I put 2 and 2 together and tonight for the first time, I went for a run and worked out and wore MORE clothes. Long sleeve tshirt and pants, thus increases heat and sweat levels. The first 10 or 15 minutes still sucked, but after that...oh sweet lord was it glorious! I just completed my first full length work out since october. I do hope this helps someone because this painful itching is most certainly the most physically awful thing I have ever experienced. Do everything you can to increase your sweat rate. I believe it's working for me. Also, I completely believe that once this problem appears, it does become somewhat mental. So when you try something different, go into it optimistic. Good luck, all. Cheers.

Wow, this thread is over 2 years old yet there are some very recent posts.

This just started happening to me, and I've been running seriously for 2 years and active every winter. All the same symptoms:
-Very painful itchiness on back, chest, legs, and forehead
-Feels like pins and needles or beestings
-Sometime it gets so bad I actually have to stop running, take my shirt of, and itch (And this is in the 10 degree weather)
-It gets really bad when my pores open up to sweat

I'm surprised why this just started happening to me (I'm 17). I didn't use moisturizers last winter and I was fine.

At first I thought it was allergies, my diet, or some time of dust on my clothing, but I guess it is dry skin. Looks like I'll be using skin lotion and continue taking my multivitamins with magnesium

Yes the same with me...every winter since i was 15...currently im 19. So every winter I have the same problem...the itching is just horrible...the only way i sooth it , is with cold water...my skin heats up incredibly...the most common i get it is with exercise and when i get nervous,embarrassed, or anxious...whenever the body heats up its when i get it...just today like 2 hours i had my worst skin outbreak ever...the itching wasnt so hard but my skin turned horribly red and the pores popping out was so freaky i had never seen them like that...and the itching feels hot and then cold...a horrible feeling. =/ and lotion does not help just a little bit.

OMG, ive had this problem for over a decade now, My mom and my sister also suffer's from the same problem. This only happens in the winter. My husband thinks its all in my head. I started taking benadryl and it helps alot. Also hot shower and use heat therapy like hair dryer after shower helps too. I just can't wait for my test result to come back. My iron level is low and the doctor is looking at that too. It might also be a liver problem, she said. Will keep you updated.

So, I am not the only one... I am from India and also I stayed in Singapore. When in India, when ever I lived in a low humid region, I used to get this heat/excitement/work etc, itching issue in winter. In city like Singapore or Chennai(India), I was fine as there was no winter. Even till I was in my native, which has winter but, humidity level is always hig, I didn't face this issue. Now since last winter I am in Japan. And the winters are worse for me here. This week end I am planning to visit a skin Dr. But, I dont know how to explain him the situation. Here in Japan, facing a Dr is worst thing, when you dont know Japanese :-(
Friends, do share if you get any definite solution (other than staying in a city without winter).

Jeez, a lot of people have it...I hate it. I can't do anything correctly because of it, my whole body (especially my upper belly, back, and head) starts to itch like CRAZY. (I'm 15). I bike a lot, recently I tried biking again and I started feeling really itchy until after a while I was against the wind and I began to sweat a little then it stopped. But I still have it. I guess I'll try applying aveeno lotion after every shower and tell you guys how it works...I wish i could afford a sauna =/

oh my god i have this same thing and i cant find c**p on it and this im 14 and this is the first winter its happend and it hasnt got to summer yet to see if it goes away anyone that knows any meds or something please post

OMG..i have got the same f****** annoying problem.ITS HUMILATING.I went to a doctor for this and he suggested to change my soap.I switched to dove'but still i have the same problem.People keep telling me that this is due to the dry skin'but no one has got the soloution.I thought that im the only one who has got this problem'but now its lil bit comforting to see you people.Only thing i do to prevent this is to stop exposing myself to sun'not getting excited'stop excercising'NO SPORTS'....nothing..in short i behave like IBNORMAL PEOPLE:@..People do something.Please everyone of you consult doctors in your country.I will let you know as soon as i get the souloution.Do send me a message on my facebook.


Aoun Mehmood
From Pakistan

hey guys even i faced the same symptoms...i was surfing on the internet about it and i found some links that are pretty useful...i m attaching those links....the disease is called Cholinergic Uticaria...here are the links

Ok, this is going to be emotional. I am from India (male, 20 yrs) and have ben suffering from these itch attacks for about eight years now. Reading this thread made me feel so comforted, I had tears in my eyes. But, it was also bad to know that there is no definite cure to this awful problem.

I want to list when this happens to me during winter months:

1) After doing some physical activity. So, even a brisk walk down the road becomes dreadful. You can't participate in any sport, you can't work out, you can't run and all this is so sh**ty.

2) When I go to a closed comparatively hot space from the cold outside. So, boarding the metro becomes hell, going to a shop that's lighted well and has the heater on scares me, and returning to my place from outside also starts the f***ing itching.

3) When i m nervous or anxious. Meeting a large number of people, being on the receiving end of a scathing remark or some similar thing begins the itch attack.

4) Sun. Hanging out with friends while its sunny and sunshiny becomes impossible. Even standing under sunlight starts it :-(

And since about two years, these attacks have started happening even when i m sleeping. In winter, i sleep under a quilt which gets too hot at some point in the night and the attack happens, jolting me out of slumber. What i have started doing is to wear minimal clothes to bed and removing the quilt as soon as the attack happens. The cold midnight air remedies the attack soon. With these night attacks, there is one good thing and one bad thing: good thing is that you can scratch as much as you want since none's around but the bad thing is that your sleep is spoiled.

Now, let me list what i feel like doing when the itching starts:
1) Removing my clothes and standing under the fan even while its freezing cold outside. But, you can do this only when you are at your home. So, whenever i return to my place from outside, i rush to my room, strip asap and switch on the fan.
2) Applying cold water to my back and chest. Again, this is not possible every time.
3) Scratching off my skin. But when you are in a public place, you can't even scratch to your heart's content, let alone scratching off your skin.

So, most of the time, i m forced to go thru the attack with only minor scratching, which hardly helps. And, it's HELL. It literally f***ing is. And even when i m able to do any of the above listed things, the itching takes its time to go away. The worst is traveling in the metro when sun is shining bright through the windows: you can't scratch, you can't move, you can't apply anything cold. And when its crowded, its even worse. The maximum that you can do is removing your jacket but it hardly helps. So you wait till your destination station as the itching kills you every f***ing second.

When i was in school, i have scored less marks in my exams many times bcoz of this prob. With the exam on, its easier to panic and get nervous. And if you are given a seat somewhere where sunlight is falling directly, you are trapped. And gone.

Some other things that become difficult during winters: dancing in a party, shopping in malls, driving vehicles when its sunny, eating anything hot in a restaurant, visiting any crowded cramped place. Anything that you are doing becomes difficult when you get an attack. So, even conversing with ppl standing under the sun feels scary.

But i dont get an attack when i m heated up sexually as some ppl have mentioned here. Due to this prob, i tend to wear less clothes everywhere. And even if i m wearing more clothes, i make sure that they are easily removable even in public. But this is difficult since there also times when you actually feel really cold. Also, removing your jacket or sweatshirt is not possible everytime.

Last year, in winters, i searched online for some remedy. Some sites said it's a case of dry skin and advised that i apply moisturiser liberally daily after a bath before drying myself completely. I tried that but sadly it didn't help much. People here hve advised taking cold shower, or sweating up, or saunas. How can you take cold showers at freezing temperatures. It literally kills you. Sweating up is something i have not tried but i m sure before i sweat, i m going to get an attack. saunas i have not tried and perhaps cant even try. Magnesium supplement again is smthing i wont be able to try.

I have not visited any doctor as yet, nor have i told anyone about this. It's too embarassing! And those who have not undergone this sensation do not know how it feels.

But i have these red pimple like things on my back and a bit on my chest. Some of them also grow around my neck and face and even head. And its only these places that itch. So, when i have an attak, i can trace every single one of these pimples. Even touching a pimple helps during the attack. But i have only two hands and so many of these darned reddish things. Sad. My back always has these pimples but they lie dormant during summers. In winters, each one of these becomes nastly little devils.

And this year, this sensation has started a bit earlier. It's the rainy season only. And i dont know why. It has always happened between November and March but this year, it's only August and the attacks have begun. Not very frequent and strong but still they make me aware of this problem.

This problem is so sad and serious. Only those who have suffered know how terrible it is. Each attack f**** you right, left and center and you live in a perpetual apprehension of the next attack, which never fails to come at the next heat up of ur body.

I dont know what to do. I think i shud see a doc but i will have to explain it to my family first. Sharing this here helped a lot. If anyone happens to find a cure to this, plz let us know. PLEASE.

Hi everyone
I would just like to say that I finally got RELIEF!!!!!!! I had the same symptoms start last year and last for about 4 months. Like all of you, I tried everything under the sun! It affected everything I did from showering to sleeping to functioning in daily life! Every doctor and dermo I went to prescribed steroids each stronger than the last. Nothing helped. As soon as I stopped the creams the itch was back. Finally I ended up changing my detergents, body and face products etc to organic and fragrance free. This helped somewhat. Then I started seeing an acupuncturist--this helped a lot. My naturopath then recommended Hemp seed oil (2 tablespoons a day with food). This completely took the itch away!!!!! It takes a few days to start noticing a difference but it works!!! if you stop, the itch comes back... well don't because the EFA's are great for many things in the body/brain and it just means the body really needs it. After the first bottle of hemp seed oil I switched to Flax seed oil--this works just as well. I can't begin to tell you what a relief it is but try it and let me know if it works for you. Good luck to you guys.