How to care for Itchy Skin

We all yearn for a soft, smooth and radiant skin and spend much time and energy to look good. But, at times certain skin conditions like acne, blemishes, dry patches etc can spoil the party for us. They tend to add ages in our look.

One such common skin problem is itchy skin.

What is Itchy Skin?

Itching is also called pruritus. Itching skin can affect a small area of the skin or the full body, and it differs in severity, frequency and duration, depending on the underlying cause. At times itching is accompanied by redness, rough skin, bumps or blisters. It is often seen that in severe cases, itchy skin can lead to infections, scarring, insomnia, anxiety, and depression.

There are numerous known causes of itchy skin like drug or food allergies, insect bites, urticaria. Itchy skin also occurs in many known skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic eczema, seborrhea dermatitis (especially of the scalp), and contact dermatitis. Gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, nephritis, leukemia, hodgkins disease, cancer, thyroid dysfunction and diseases of the hepatobilliary system are some of the systematic causes of itchy skin.

It is better to deal with this problem at the earliest before it poses a big problem ahead of us.

Self care tips and few home remedies:

Mentioned below are few tips and remedies that will certainly help to reduce itching and soothe inflamed skin.

• Apply a good-quality moisturizing cream on your skin at least once daily, concentrating on the affected areas. Vanicream, Cetaphil, Eucerin, CeraVe are few really good moisturizers available in the market.

• Opt for mild soaps without dyes or perfumes and make sure that you completely rinse the soap off your body.

• Baking soda battles itches of all kinds quite effectively. Add 1 cup baking soda in a tub of warm water. Soak for 30 to 60 minutes and let your body air dry. Localized itches can be treated with a baking soda paste. Mix 3 parts baking soda and 1 part water. Apply to the itch, but do not use this paste on broken skin.

• Rubbing sesame oil on the affected area after your shower is one of the best home remedies for dry itchy skin.

• Massage lukewarm olive oil on your skin and leave it overnight. Wash the oil off with warm water next day. This is an excellent natural remedy to cure dry itchy skin.

• Poppy seeds is an natural remedy to treat itchy and rough skin. Soak khus khus (poppy seeds) for overnight. Grind it with milk to prepare a paste. Apply the paste on your face and body. Wash off when it dries.

• Dry cracked, flaky skin can be treated well with the application of honey. Spread honey on the dry skin patches and wash off after half an hour. You can also add few drops of rose water in honey as a natural remedy for dry skin.

• Dry fruits especially almonds help to retain moisture in the skin. Consume dry fruits regularly; continuous intake can help in treating extremely dry skin.

• For very dry itchy hands, try putting on petroleum jelly on the hands, then putting on cotton gloves to keep the jelly on your hands.

Also Remember To:

• Avoid scratching whenever possible.
• Wear smooth cotton clothing to prevent further irritation.

• Use a mild, unscented laundry detergent for washing clothes. Harsh chemicals will cause more problems for you.
• Avoid the intake of alcohol and drinks high in content of caffeine, if you are suffering from very dry skin because this can worse the condition.

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7 thoughts on “How to care for Itchy Skin”

Rajani says:

August 10, 2012 at 3:23 pm

Nice post Era 🙂

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Deva says:

August 10, 2012 at 3:31 pm

Very nice actually im suffering from Itching for past few days. Only the leg part below my knees & Hand part below my elbows are itching vl sure try these instructions…. Thank u sooooooooo much for the timely help

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Rati says:

August 10, 2012 at 3:50 pm

this si so going to help me during winters. I end up having itchy skin because of dryness and moisturizer is such a big relief !

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sravani says:

August 10, 2012 at 4:17 pm

Thanks a lot,Era.All my life I don’t remember a week without having itchy skin.Even now my arms and feet are filled with red bumps.Our family doctor gives a “get lost” kinda look when we consult him for this problem.Sometimes it gets so severe that I rub my hand against a wall tired of scratching.Would definitely follow these remedies.

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1. Rati says:
  
  August 10, 2012 at 4:30 pm
  
  awwww *hugs*
  
  Reply
nidhi says:

August 10, 2012 at 5:55 pm

which moisturizer works for you rati….

iv heard coconut oil helps as it has sulphur in it… but the smell … so thinking of some commercial product or moisturizer that does its job well…

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Dericka says:

March 30, 2015 at 7:58 pm

Since last month, my hands and legs have been itching very badly and had left scars all over. My skin is very sensitive, it leaves marks easily even when I’m not scratching. I have been using olive oil, heard that it lessens scars but it’s taking like ages to show its effect. Please help me. There’s my cousin’s wedding next month and i want to look my best

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