Severe itching after showering

I had this problem for years but last year, strangely it got really chronic. I tried all the topical creams or treatments that worked in the past but nothing seemed to work. In the past, dermatologists or doctors couldn't help me, so they weren't even an option for me. So I turned to God (which should have been my first move in the first place) I prayed for healing for the itch to stop having tried everything. I had same symptoms as you have all reported. It was so bad that taking a shower was my worst on my to-do list, yet I had to. Not taking one was equally bad. Everything irritated my skin. It was so bad. After I prayed, I felt led to go to a particular doctor. He decided to carry out blood work on me. In the meantime, he prescribed a drug temporarily. The drug didn't help much. I saw very little improvement. The blood work result came out and I tested positive to herpes. My Doctor reckoned that was the cause of the itch. Thank God for giving him the wisdom. He prescribed herpes drugs which eventually led to my getting well. I suggest you pray and ask God to heal you. He will give your Doctor the wisdom by the time you see the Doctor: and your Doctor will give you the right treatment. God is so good. I owe my healing to Him. Other things that help...use hypoallergenic product in soap, lotions, cUrel ultra healing cream is good, wear cotton clothes, avoid spraying perfumes directly on your skin. After lotion, apply a natural oil like coconut oil on your skin so it retains moisture more. May God heal u too xoxo

Made my skin itch worse using e45. Trouble is we are all different and different causes of the itch. Johnson aqueous with aloe Vera helps me best. I never use soaps just the cream.

Hi Jany, try this, before a bath/shower heat a bath towel for when you come out, DONT dry yourself with the towel just put the warm towel around you (I used to itch like mad around my forearms, chest and thighs, I think because I was rubbing sensitive skin with the towel) Also, I have a fan heater to help quicken the time to dry, so, in 5 minutes with just a towel around me and a fan heater I am dry and dont itch!!!!........Let me know if this works for you!

James :)

Hi Jany, try this, before a bath/shower heat a bath towel for when you come out, DONT dry yourself with the towel just put the warm towel around you (I used to itch like mad around my forearms, chest and thighs, I think because I was rubbing sensitive skin with the towel) Also, I have a fan heater to help quicken the time to dry, so, in 5 minutes with just a towel around me and a fan heater I am dry and dont itch!!!!........Let me know if this works for you! James :)

I'm glad you're getting relief. Just a note to say, if it comes back, don't guilt yourself, don't blame God. For me, AP is chronic but also I get months of no itch with absolutely no explanation... so far it keeps coming back.

I beg of you people, please listen to me. The main problem is the change of temperature, the sudden change of temperature causes the itching. If you use a small heater in your bathroom, you will do much much better. Pat yourself dry and immediately put on a large bathrobe. I don't know WHY this is happening to us, but I can tell you that for 99.99 % of us! it is the sudden change of temperature that is the problem. Take a quick, warm shower. Keep the room warm, using a heater, if possible. Quickly pat dry. Then quickly put on a bathrobe. Keep your clothes in the bathroom. Then quickly put on your clothes. Do not let yourself get even the slightest chill. This stopped my itchiness completely.

Hi I have same thing you guise have, recently I went Africa country of djibouti spent 30 days there and my itching stop, is it because there water so salty you could barley take shower with it? I think salty water is the cure for my itch. Abdul from Djibouti

Your daughter will have nothing to worry about. Your dermatologist needs some more education to be honest, considering this is actually fairly common. I have dealt with this for a couple years, the name of it is about 7 or 8 posts up from another individual who knows of it, it's a slight allergic reaction that occurs mostly in palms of hands, or on your feet, and around the ankles, however, some individuals get it in much worse places, or even their whole bodies, they say the best thing to do, is to take an antihistamine like Allegra or Claritin 4 hours or so before showering, I've also heard that iron pills will help if taken daily. Doesn't have any cures or anything, alot of the time this is hereditary. It is more previlent in individuals who have allergies, astha, etc. More commonly found in males, but ,any females also suffer from this. Usually will occur between the ages of 10 and 30. Nothing to worry about though, even though it is literally one of the worst feelings I personally have felt. If your symptoms become that of something much ore severe, or spread like wildfire, it would be a safe bet to schedule and appointment with a dermatologist, cause you could be misdiagnosed, and may suffer from something much worse. Oh, and ps... sometimes shortening your showers will greatly help, but we all know that's kinda hard to do sometimes:/ take care

my legs feel like there on fire when l am in the shower and the water hits them. I have a ton of lotions and anti-histamines even a half but me out

Yes! I tan twice a month to help keep this at bay. But this only happens to me during the summer which is so odd and sometimes lotions can set me off too.

I also live in TN and have never had this issue until moving here. I lived in MI most of my life. The main time I have issues is right after my shower or shaving my legs. It goes away after about a half hour. I just started having symptoms this week. Now that I've read your theory, I'm wondering if the change in outdoor allergies could be a culprit, or even adding to the situation. I've just noticed weeds are moving rapidly into the high range, right at the time my symptoms started. For years I thought it was some additive they could be putting in the water in the fall/winter. I'm going to keep a closer eye on it this year. It doesn't seem like I had as big of a problem with t last year as previous years. The only thing I did different was a new body wash. So, I went this week and bought the brand I used last year and it hasn't changed anything. Thank you for your input, if it wasn't for your theory on it, I'd still be stumped. Hoping I can pinpoint something to at least get an idea of why it happens even if I don't get complete relief, or any more than I'm getting now. Somehow it makes you feel better just knowing why.

WOW! If I get nothing else from this thread, it is soooo helpful just knowing someone else (many, in fact) have the same problem. I'm a 44 year old male and it just started happening to me about 4 years ago. Nothing in my life or habbits (home, diet, behaviors, etc) changed during this time which makes it an even biggest mystery to me. I don't know about the rest of you, but for me it happens about 5 minutes after I shower and start drying. It starts as a mild itch but within minutes it often goes from that to a serious itch to an unbearable itch that is so extreme that I would call it a burning pain more than an itch. Some weeks it is tolerable, but sometimes it is so awful I want to peel my skin off. I've tried changing to perfume and chemical free soaps (different brands), perfume and chemical free laundry detergents, I've tried extremely hot water and very cold water during showers. None of those things have made the slightest difference. If I apply cortisone anti-itch cream it does help a little, but that stuff is too expensive to use every single day over my entire chest, arms, neck and shoulders, which is where I get the worst of the burning itch. (legs get it to a much lesser degree for some reason). Anyway, for now I just wanted to chime in and say thanks to all of you who have posted suggestions for relief and I'm going to try most of them. You know, for almost all my life I used to love taking a shower because I always felt so good and so refreshed and awake after showering. Now it is the most dreaded part of my day. Those who don't have this don't understand the level of pain we are talking about. If someone told me they itch for 30 minutes after a shower I'd think "big deal- its just once a day for less than a half hour. Deal with it". But now that I have this I have a whole new perspective. It's like telling someone "I'm going to pour acid all over you but after 20-30 minutes I'll wash it off and since it won't leave permanent damage its no big deal". That sounds like a wild exaggeration to most people, but If you get this post-shower itch/burning pain to the degree I do, you know its NOT much better than an acid bath!!!! Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.

I have exactly the same thing as you and have had it for around 30 years. Like you mine is always much worse in the change of seasons, particularly autumn. I know for a fact that absolutely no cream or anything else makes the slightest bit of difference. Perhaps the only thing that might help a little is turning the water very hot in the last minute of the shower. It is exceedingly irritating, but just something I have learned to live with. Still puzzles me though!

Yes, an antihistamine helps. But I have eliminated the problem completely after many years. I believe it is largely a nerve problem with perhaps a second component like an allergy.
The main problem is the change of temperature, the sudden change of temperature causes the itching. If you use a small heater in your bathroom, you will do much much better. Pat yourself dry and immediately put on a large or any warm clothing. I don't know WHY this is happening to us, but I can tell you that for 99.99 % of us! it is the sudden change of temperature that is the problem. Take a quick, warm shower. Keep the room warm, using a heater, if possible. Quickly pat dry. Then quickly put on a bathrobe or pants and a long sleeve shirt. You can change later. Keep your clothes in the bathroom. Do not let yourself get even the slightest chill. This stopped my itchiness completely. PLEASE try this as it WORKS.

I have done several tests of elimination and the source is, in my case, the actual (unnatural & adulterated) tap water). This has infuriated me so much about how our environment is adulterated so much to our detriment.
I suggest you all try this for two weeks and only use pure, natural, unadulterated bottled water with two or three holes stabbed into the lid of the bottle to squirt into your hands for washing your face,hands, smelly bits etc. Do without washing your hair for the full time because you will notice a reduction in the itchy scratching. Always use rubber gloves when washing up or cleaning. I understand my skin has 'had enough' of the toxins and is really suffering the build up, so it's time to detox inside and out. I got rid of any harsh shampoo, shower gels, don't use body creams and only use hemp oil on my face at night after a wash (I use Thistle Oil or olive oil for removing eye make up easily). I use as much Bio/organic food and drink as poss. If you use as much Bio,natural food,drink,cleaners as poss, and definately only a tiny amount of water on your skin I am sure this will have a great difference for the better. I also don't get ill really, or have cause to go the the docs (thank goodness), touch wood! lol
I hope the best for you.