Fastest way to open pores

Hi,

Ever since my MC accident i have had nervous system issues of one kind or another including severe itching attacks but those are always in one of two spots (very strange). 

However, i think the itching i am feeling now is due to the heat, there is no rash or redness just itching.  So i read up on it, it appears that when the sweat glands shut down in the heat then the feeling one gets from the nervous system reaction is itching.

Two times now over the last few weeks i have had horrible itching all over my chest and back (no other part of my body).  Its so bad that nothing works, not a shower, not anti itch spray, nothing.  And its also so bad that i want to cry because its intense and it lasts over an hour. 

The last time it happened i finally had to just get on my knees and try to go into a trance mode and think of my army training and toughness to get through it.  But i wanted to just rip my skin off at the time.

So my question is, if this is caused by the sweat glands and pores closing, then how do i open my pores so it will stop itching?

Thanks

There's an anti-itch lotion called Sarna that will calm the itch. You can find it at most any drugstore. You you may also find some less expensive generic versions of it.

Hoel

Great Horned Owl said:

There's an anti-itch lotion called Sarna that will calm the itch. You can find it at most any drugstore. You you may also find some less expensive generic versions of it.

Hoel

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Hi thanks, that would be great for the front but what about the back i live alone.  Maybe ill have to ask my Dr. for something to kill it, but that means another $30 office visit lol

You don't happen to take Niaspan or other niacin supplement do you? They can cause flushing, and flushing doesn't always show up visibly. Makes you itch, but no amount of scratching will relieve it. It just makes you want to rip your skin off.

Are you properly hydrated? Not with beer ?

I have very dry skin and the humidity in the Los Angeles are can be very dry as well.  What works for me is to finish my shower with a cold water rinse.  I generally go from hot to cold slowly so as to not suffer from the shock of going straight to cold.  The cold water closers the pores in the skin and alleviates the itch. 

Hi,

No i dont take any niacin suppliments.  Although it could be a vitamin deficiency as i dont take vitamins and i dont eat all that well, certainly never eat veggies. 

I feel i am properly hydrated, my urine is good color and i do drink tons of water every day.  I also dont drink alchohol, i have not since my mid 30's

Ill try the cold rinse as well to see if it works for me. 

Are you sure it's not shingles?<<<Dan

Utclmjmpr said:

Are you sure it's not shingles?<<<Dan

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Well i know that Gabapentin is used to restore sensivity after shingles, but for me its used to help my diabetes neorapathy.  But i ask the dr last time i was there about shingles and he said he didnt think so.  I have always felt that i was pre shingles all my life because of my lifelong skin issues that i was born with.  But shingles is red and iritated, with this i get no redness or rash at all, just the itch.

Many things cause itching, one of them is low Iron levels or anemia. Since you said you do not take vitamins and not eating well my first thoughts are a need for a prenatal vitamin with Iron..It cant hurt and may just do some good, also a B12 is helpful for nerves and nerve endings. Any other symptoms...pale skin, swollen lips, tongue or cheeks, dry throat, fatigue...etc

catblaster said:

Many things cause itching, one of them is low Iron levels or anemia. Since you said you do not take vitamins and not eating well my first thoughts are a need for a prenatal vitamin with Iron..It cant hurt and may just do some good, also a B12 is helpful for nerves and nerve endings. Any other symptoms...pale skin, swollen lips, tongue or cheeks, dry throat, fatigue...etc

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No other symptoms, it seems to be triggered at random.  Ill put multi vitamin on the shopping list.

durangod said:

Hi thanks, that would be great for the front but what about the back i live alone.  Maybe ill have to ask my Dr. for something to kill it, but that means another $30 office visit lol

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Get something that will reach the itchy area - something with a longish handle and tape on a pad or cotton wool and soak it then apply. Might not be the easiest but should work...

I recently had a reaction to no see um bites. My feet and ankles swelled and looked like they were going to explode. I itched so much I thought I was going to go mad. Cortizone cream and ice helped a little, but not much. I also tried Blue Star ointment and calamine lotion. The RV park office told me to get Claritin, but since I knew I would get drowsy, I stubbornly didn't take it. After 2 days of going mad, I finally broke down and took Claritin. Within 30 minutes the itching was gone. I was so happy to have relief. In about 3 hrs. 30 minutes, the itching would start coming back as the dosage was every 4 hrs. I think Benadryl or anything with an antihistamine would substitute for Claritin. You might give it a try.

I had another intense itching episode last night and i had not gone to the store yet.  It was so bad that i felt like running out the door and screaming down the road and hoping a car would stop the itching for me lol...  It also triggered a huge anxiety attack and i was having a hard time getting my breath, it was soooo miserable if i was suicidal i would have ended it then.  I was slapping my chest so hard im surprised it didnt draw blood.

But instead i called the ER.  They said to get some benedryl which has been suggested.  So i went to the store today and looked around.  Benedryl is just a name brand, the no name brands have the same stuff in there.  However i dont have an alergy.  So i looked at some calamine lotion and that didnt seem to be what i needed either. 

So i finally ended up getting some rexall clear anti itch lotion, says its for bites, poison ivy and stuff like that.  Ill try it but the itching has not hit me yet.

However, now this might just be coincidental but i did notice that about 30 min after i drank a bunch of water it went away.  Now im not saying hydration is the reason but i wonder if it is.

It would make sense that if the sweat glands run out of water the net says that your nerves will give off a insane level of itching as the reaction to that.  Then when i drank more water it rehydrated the glands and it went away.  Ill try to drink more water for the next few days and if i dont get any itching after i come in from the humidity then that must be it. 

Dave, if staying hydrated works, that's great, and certainly much better for you than drugs. But if not, don't be concerned about the Benadryl (or whatever brand) being for allergies. It's the antihistamine component that you want.

Are you taking any med's

Is one of them either a B-Vitiman or Niacin?

NOTE: There are others too but I'm not a doctor. Just a patient. You have described my reaction to Niacin.

Review your meds with both your pharmicist (first) and then your doctor.

John From Detroit said:

Are you taking any med's

Is one of them either a B-Vitiman or Niacin?

NOTE: There are others too but I'm not a doctor. Just a patient. You have described my reaction to Niacin.
Review your meds with both your pharmicist (first) and then your doctor.

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That question was asked and answered.

kdbgoat said:

You don't happen to take Niaspan or other niacin supplement do you? They can cause flushing, and flushing doesn't always show up visibly. Makes you itch, but no amount of scratching will relieve it. It just makes you want to rip your skin off.

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durangod said:

Hi,

No i dont take any niacin suppliments.  Although it could be a vitamin deficiency as i dont take vitamins and i dont eat all that well, certainly never eat veggies. 

I feel i am properly hydrated, my urine is good color and i do drink tons of water every day.  I also dont drink alchohol, i have not since my mid 30's

Ill try the cold rinse as well to see if it works for me. 

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Dave, for years I've had an itch right in the middle of my back where I can't reach it.  No cause but look for a product with menthol, spearmint, or something similar which soothes the itch.  The product I like best actually is a prescription which is kind of dumb because it has three over-the-counter ingredients but they have to be compounded which must be by prescription.  It's very old and called Dr. Sprague's Lotion.  (Dr. Sprague lived in the late 1800s.)  The basic ingredient is Cetaphil lotion with two other ingredients.  Of course, because it's a prescription it's expensive and not covered by most insurance.  But when you're desperate....

Application is with a long handled lotion applicator I got at my dermatologist's office.  You can get them through catalogs too but they are poor quality.  Look for L'AppliqueTM The Lotion Applicator.  I buy the Lotion Applicator Replacement Pads at MWM Products, POB 1285, Aumsville OR 97325, 508-749-4917.  The catalog pads also aren't as good - much too thin for comfortable application..

Also, last winter I had intense itching on my torso (front, back, upper arms, and thighs) and when Jerry looked at my back and I heard Uh Oh I knew there was a problem.  My torso was covered with small red spots that were intensely itchy like you described.  The dermatologist took a biopsy of one of the spots and it was diagnosed as Grover's Disease which is relatively rare and usually hits middle-aged men who frequent hot moist areas like saunas, gyms, hot tubs, etc.  I knew immediately the cause - I had been turning up my electric blanket at night and was awakening in the middle of the night with damp hair and clothing.  The doctor prescribed Clobetasol Propionate gel which Jerry applied every morning and night for several weeks.  The spots eventually faded from bright red to light red to pink to brown and then disappeared.  I still have a few left but they're faded and, thankfully, are not itchy.  If you see any red spots then you need to see the doctor.  Meanwhile, fewer showers and keep your skin as cool as possible.  Intense itching is no fun!  By the way, it doesn't sound like Shingles which tend to have blisters.  Good luck with yours.

ArdraF

thanks so much ArdraF good info.  Speaking of red dots i know some of them are Petechiae/blood spots.  They are easily treatable even at home, i have a few of them on my chest and the doc told me how to treat them at home.  But i have no redness at all or anything, so it might just be hydration.

Ill have to wait till i get paid to get some real treatment or any other lotions and stuff. 

Alot of people may not remember this stuff, some of you might, but when i was a kid on the farm we had this yellow horse sav in a red square can and that stuff cured everything skin wize it seemed.  Rash and even a splinter, put some on a splinter and cover it with a bandage and the next day the splinter was sucked out and on the bandage, crazy stuff.    I have never been able to find the stuff for many years and i dont know what it was called. 

Mother told me they used Bag Balm on the cow's udders but I think that was to soften if they got raw.

I forgot to mention yesterday that the doctor also told me to shower every other day for the rest of my life.  Well, that's not going to happen and only lasted until the spots stopped itching.  But what I have done is reduce shower water temperature.  We have a Delta faucet and I moved the lever from about the 10:30 position to the 1:30 position.  I've never used it "steamy" but less hot is better for my skin.

ArdraF