Posted by TexasChic on September 24, 2009, at 19:02:32
In reply to Re: Itching is awful » Dinah, posted by Kath on September 23, 2009, at 20:12:25
I have this condition called dermographism. The actual act of scratching causes welts to form that then start itching even more. So, the scratching actually does cause the itching in my case. I have to take a daily antihistamine for it like Claritin. I don't know if this is like what you have or not, but I thought I would share. Here's the wikipedia link, along with a little info explaining it. I hope your itching is better, I for one definitely understand!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermatographic_urticaria
The symptoms are thought to be caused by mast cells in the surface of the skin releasing histamines without the presence of antigens, due to the presence of a weak membrane surrounding the mast cells. The histamines released cause the skin to swell in the affected areas.
This weak membrane easily and rapidly breaks down under physical pressure causing an allergic-like reaction, generally a red wheal (welt) to appear on the skin. It can often be confused with an allergic reaction to the object causing a scratch, when in fact it is the act of being scratched that causes a wheal to appear. These wheals are a subset of urticaria (hives) that appear within minutes, accompanied by a sensation of burning, and itchiness. The first outbreak of urticaria can lead to others on body parts not directly stimulated, scraped or scratched. In a normal case the swelling will reduce itself with no treatment within 1530 minutes, but in extreme cases, itchy red wheals may last anywhere from a few hours to days.
-T
poster:TexasChic
thread:917671
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20090827/msgs/918347.html