Friends,
I need help! I've never so badly wanted to scratch my skin off. ARGHHHHH! HMMMMPHHHHH! I started with eczema in January and most recently was diagnosed with pityriasis rosea (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001874/). I had never heard of pityriasis rosea until about a week ago when I went to the dermatologist. The "mother" or "herald" patch - a round oval looking like a scab on my abdomen - was the telling sign along with radiating red spots all over my trunk and onto my arms and top of my legs. According to my dermatologist, it is either a viral or bacterial infection.
I was told it's not supposed to be that itchy, but I have to say it's ITCHY. I have no idea why, but night time is the worst and tonight is by far the worst it has been. I'm thinking I might try an oatmeal bath tomorrow. I'm using an anti-fungal cream at night and a steroid cream in the morning, but I don't know what good it's doing me. I'm really trying to put mind over matter in not allowing my hands to move towards my skin where they might be too tempted to scratch, but it's taking every ounce of will power. Man, good, I'm typing a blog post! Next distraction: flossing my teeth. Hopefully by the time I finish the desire to itch will be less. If you have any grand ideas - actually, don't worry about them being "grand" - I just want ideas for relief and hastened healing! Supposedly this can last from 2-6 or 8 weeks but I really hope it's much sooner.
ARGHHHHHH!!!! HMMPPPPPPPHHHHH!
Can you feel my pain?
2 comments:
If you're taking an oatmeal bath, try Quaker Oats' "Strawberries and Cream". I hear it's on sale at Giant this week. Only need a few hundred packets...
A brief update: I think I'm now going on week 8 of pityriasis rosea. I'm so happy to say the itching stopped after about a month :) HAHA. Well, I seemed to also have eczema mixed in so maybe that was to blame. I can't say that any of the meds (anti-fungal or steroid creams) did me any good. Perhaps the oatmeal baths provided temporary relief. Taking an antihistamine did help a bit with the itching but not fully. I don't wish pityriasis on anyone, but if you do happen to get it, do take an antihistamine.
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