Severe itching after showering

Have you checked the ingredients in your soap/shampoo/laundry detergent?  Almost all manufacturers use sodium-laurel-sulfate, a naturally derived ingredient that helps soap become foamy.  Unfortunately SLS is also a major skin irritant.  It strips the skin of its natural protective barrier and causes damage that can last up to two weeks!

When purchasing soap avoid soaps with SLS.  Also, since SLS is naturally derived (from coconut) beware of soaps that list 'naturally derived ingredients' in place of SLS.  Good luck!

 

Has anyone tried Quercetin?

jen wrote:

Has anyone tried Quercetin?

I find it's helpful for others if more detailed info is provided since not everybody will be as adept at doing their own research. Here is what I quickly pulled from the Univ of Maryland Medical Center on Quercetin:

Overview:
Quercetin belongs to a group of plant pigments called flavonoids that give many fruits, flowers, and vegetables their color. Flavonoids, such as quercetin, are antioxidants -- they scavenge damaging particles in the body known as free radicals, which damage cell membranes, tamper with DNA, and even cause cell death. Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause. They also help keep LDL ("bad") cholesterol from being damaged, which scientists think may contribute to heart disease. In test tubes, quercetin has strong antioxidant properties, but researchers aren't sure whether taking quercetin (and many other antioxidants) has the same effects inside the body.

Quercetin acts like an antihistamine and an anti-inflammatory, and may help protect against heart disease and cancer. Quercetin can also help stabilize the cells that release histamine in the body and thereby have an anti-inflammatory effect. Allergies, Asthma, Hay Fever and Hives

In test tubes, quercetin prevents immune cells from releasing histamines, chemicals that cause allergic reactions. On that basis, researchers think that quercetin may help reduce symptoms of allergies, including runny nose, watery eyes, hives, and swelling of the face and lips. However, there is no evidence yet that it works in humans.

Quercetin supplements seem to ave around $10 - $15 per 100 count.

From WebMD: side effects: Quercetin is POSSIBLY SAFE for most people when taken by mouth short-term. Quercetin has been safely used in amounts up to 500 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. It is not known if longer-term use or larger amounts are safe. Quercetin can cause headache and tingling of the arms and legs. Very high doses might cause kidney damage.

So all-in-all not a bad recommendation, just light on info.

Thanks for the info. Just an fyi....I researched this and found that Allergy Research Group has a supplement that is naturally derived and hypoallergenic. (Some online retailers will not ship to California due to Proposition 65). Another note on this supp is that it helps with a rare condition called Mastocystosis, caused by too many mast cells in the body, thus causing severe systemic itching when triggered. It can eventually lead to more serious illness such as cancer, etc.

BTW, in my own personal opinion, no one should just take medical or nutritional advice without doing their own research and/or consulting their doctor. Good luck.

KINDLY LIST THE NAMES OF TYPES OF SOAP I SHOULD BE USING

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquagenic_pruritus

am suffering many years, i can't even count. i was thinking maybe this calamity was only to me and i could not know its real name. most of  physicians don't know this itchiness. finally i found this website. try the link above in treatment section, it may help you

Hello there,
I found this post you made very interesting because I can relate a lot to your daughter. I am also 17 but I live up in Washington. I also don't know what exactly this painful itching isbut right when fall arrives and the weather starts to get colder, my legs and sometimes my arms get very itchy after taking showers, especially with warm or hot showers.
For me this started last year and I thought maybe I didn't wash off my body soap all the way but I soon realized that wasn't it as no matter how much I scrubbed, everytime I got out of the shower it was the same problem. But I also agree with your daughter that it is worse in the morning then if I were to wait and take a shower at night.
I have also tried using lotion for sensitive skin and lotion for dry skin but none of it seems to work. It all still cause the same effect.
Also, I sometimes suffer from eczema but it only effects the top of my hands and happens around winter time. While my itching is worse and starts in the fall when the weather is changing and becoming colder.
Well I just wanted to post this because my condition is very similar to your daughter and I can relate a lot to her. I hope you guys are doing well and if you find out more about the condition I would love to know since our cases sound so similar.

Thank you, Brianne

Hi everyone.  I can so relate to your problem...As I am typing I am also itching. It doesn't have to be just after a shower for me, even on a damp day i itch, but after a shower is the worse time. I,  like probably many others, stand in the bathroom as I get dressed and cry because the itching is so intense that it is actually painful. I am to the point that I only take a couple of showers a week because I can't stand it. Mine started about 3 years ago and I had thought that it was due to a change in hormones because it started not long after a complete historectomy.  I am so relieved to read all of the posts from so many other people. and realize that I am not an isolated case.  I am despirate to try anything.  PLease keep the suggestions coming. 

Hi everyone... i have read this over and over again and I am convinced I have the same thing you all have... every time I get out of the shower, my legs will start to itch unbearably. It doesn't matter what kind of soap i use, or what the temp of the water is, I will itch either way. This has been happening to me almost everyday for the past 3 years.. If i had the $$ I would go talk to a dermatologist, but it doesn't even seem like that has helped too much...

I have noticed that most posts seem to be coming from females. I am a male, 20 years old, and I can't help but rub my two legs together as I write this. I am going crazy because of this itching. I need to fix this problem!!!

 

I am the exact same from knees down but have had this for over 20 years from past comments it looks like something you have to put up with and have been told the same from my doctor,showering in the evening greatly reduces the itch,Dont know why.

Davidcj, this morning I woke up with my legs already starting to itch a little bit. Whenever this happens, a shower usually makes the itch 100x worse and almost unbearable. Today, i tried a few suggestions I got on this thread. (first), i used Vaseline extra strength lotion on my left leg 30 mins before the shower. (2nd) I put the shower to full heat for my entire shower. at first i felt my legs getting itchy, but after the hot water hit them a couple times, it went away. After my shower i dried off using my normal towels, except i made no towel-to-leg contact. I got dressed, and what do u know, ALMOST NO ITCH!!! I still feel a little itchy more toward my feet, but this is probably at a 1 or 2 rather than the 8 i usually get.

I dont know if the lotion before hand helped, but the hot shower and avoiding contact with the towel def helped.
I am going to try to order some "EURAX CREAM" since others have suggested that it can relieve this horrible itch. I will update you all on any thing else i find out!!! good luck everyone!

I have had this for 3 years, and I cannot go the rest of my life with this, like some of you have.... WE WIILL FIND A CURE!

I've had this itching/burning problem for about 12 years now. I was tested when it started and wasnt allergic to anything. It started one summer vacation whilst swimming in a lagoon at the sea. I found that rubbing my whole body with PREP before shower or swim helps and taking very hot showers/baths. I was also told that i would outgrew this problem but yes that did not happen. I'm sick and tired of this, and people think i'm crazy when I dont want to swim in extremely hot weather. I itch/burn all over my body except for my back and have found that after a sunburn the itching isnt that bad. Wish someone could find a cure for this :(

 

I have been testing out different things to determine what is causing the itching, and I have settled on the one thing that guarantees me no itching - don't scrub or wash your legs. I use one of those puffy loafer type sponges that are quite scratchy. I stopped scrubbing my legs but rather just rub very gently with soap on my hands and just like that the itching stopped! So relieved!!!

I have the itching after shower problem and I have ploycythemia vera and dermagraphitis. Here's the thing, I only itch after showers in my own house and a few other places. I have noticed that when I travel, I'm usually not bothered by the showers, and at my parents house I don't itch so bad. I also don't itch after swimming. Tanning helps. Antihistamine also does not help. I'm wondering if it's something in the water--very hard well water. I do not think there is chlorine in well water....but my mom suggested that it might be the high saline content. Does this sound like anyone else? would love to hear more ideas for controling the itch.....want to get back to daily showers.