The intense itching of my hands and feet likely stress, says my doctor.

[CTyankee]

Particularly soles of my feet and palms, but also migrating up to the wrist/ankle and tops of hands/feet.

Finally, after some miserable nights,I broke down and saw my PCP who examined me and had the appropriate blood tests done. I have no other symptoms (something he went over with me carefully) and we discussed any change in soaps/detergents or anything else I might have come into contact with.

He is now treating my symptoms with Hydroxyzine HCL, which really works.

As for the stress, when my husband developed a serious spinal stenosis, which came on very suddenly and rapidly became acutely painful, I went headlong into full time caregiver mode. He had corrective surgery and is home recuperating well, can drive and is going to a part time job soon.

This one was a new one on me, folks! It's a good idea to have symptoms like intense itching checked out, because it could be signs of something underlying. As you can imagine, I am relieved!

[stjohndoe]

1. Do you use Splenda/sucralose?

My wife had these exact symptoms and quit the Splenda, and they have gone away. Google Splenda allergies or something siimilar.

[DURHAM D]

2. I had same symptoms.

I stopped drinking Diet Coke and using any product with Aspartame. Went away immediately.

[CTyankee]

3. No, I don't. I don't sweeten with anything and my diet drinks are few and far between.

Believe you me, the doc and I scoured just about everything I was eating/drinking along with talking about any changes in my body functions. Nothing was new and different except my life situation and it had developed very quickly and very acutely. At the same time,I also had a family member suddenly die, which devastated me. The grief was pretty horrible...

[stjohndoe]

5. You might want to read ingredient labels...

Wife an I were amazed at how many items contain it(sucralose or Splenda). She had a few flare-ups and we'd check labels on a new product, and it would be there. Good luck to you figuring out the problem.

[CTyankee]

7. Good idea. I'll check out my normal, every day foods...

the thing is I don't care for "sweet" foods, except for fresh fruits. I will check out the breakfast cereals I usually eat, however. I get ones that have no sugar in them and no high fructose corn syrup, but who knows what else might be lurking. Worth a look. Thanks!

[Warpy]

4. You can be allergic to anything and everything

and allergies can occur even when you've tolerated the offending substance just fine for years.

Itching only on hands and feet usually means the type of soap one is using, though. Whenever it starts for me, I switch to Dr. Bronner's immediately and that generally clears it right up. My worst offender? The supposedly super benign Ivory caused the worst contact dermatitis I ever had, looking very much like severe poison ivy.

Right now, I'm having a mild reaction to Foca laundry detergent. Next time, it's back to Ariel. In the meantime, my bamboo back scratcher is getting a workout.

Tracking down an allergy can often be a long and frustrating process when you can't afford an allergist. Food allergies are the worst.

[CTyankee]

6. Wouldn't I have itching all over if it is my bath soap?

Once my home situation has normalized evenmore than it is already, I will see if I can just skip the medication...that should tell me something (or maybe not!).

[Warpy]

9. Hands and feet are generally exposed to more of it

Hands are because they hold the soap and feet are because they're standing in the soapy runoff and generally not rinsed separately, especially the soles.

I'd definitely suspect the soap first and then move on to other things if that wasn't the case. If I had insurance, I'd try to get in to see an allergist.

In the meantime, it's good the generic Atarax is working. Since it works by suppressing histamine production, it seems pretty clear you're dealing with an allergy and not stress.

[CTyankee]

11. Hmm, I'll try your Dr. Bronner soap and see what happens...couldn't hurt!

And it may help...

I'm going to be going out of the country this coming Saturday. I'll see how things go...I'm going to be staying in a hotel on the Via della Scala in Florence, the same street where there is a very old (dating back to the Middle Ages) apothecary that has all kinds of herbal stuff (it used to be a monastery where the monks concocted their cures). I'll see what they have for "prurito"!

[Warpy]

14. Dr. B's is in really small bottles that pack well

My own favorite is the peppermint, makes my face all tingly when I wash with it.

The labels are better than "Jokes for the John." Dr B was a religious fanatic who didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. He did make very good soap, though.

[CTyankee]

16. I've got a really nice health food supermarket here in New Haven.

I'm betting that they have it...

[salvorhardin]

8. That happened to me with Ivory too!

It was awful, took weeks to clear up after ditching the soap. Even today if I'm forced to use Ivory in somebody else's home or a public restroom it causes my skin to get so dry it feels like sand paper.

[Warpy]

10. I have two go-to soaps for when something breaks me out

The first is Dr. Bronner's, something I buy by the half gallon. While it's not out of the question, I've never heard of anyone being allergic to it. The other is a Mexican coconut oil bar soap without fragrance. I rarely find it in health food stores and when I do, I stock up. Right now I'm out.

Whenever I find Ivory in a washroom, I just use hot water and friction, knowing the combination will drown most germs and the paper towel will take care of the rest. That's how badly I react to Ivory.

[CTyankee]

12. I've always hated Ivory. It was terrible for my complexion when I was younger.

nt

[SheilaT]

13. About five or six times

in the past few years I've broken out with a weird slightly itchy rash on the back of my hands. I've come to the conclusion that it's some kind of reaction to a soap, probably in a public washroom. Every time so far it's gone away on it's own. Because of the way it shows up it doesn't seem possible to track down the offending soap. I always wash my hands carefully after using a toilet, so I'm at the mercy of whatever soap is available.

I am really bothered by the diagnosis of "stress" for a real physical symptom such as you're describing. It's really the doctor saying, I have no idea what's going on, so I'm going to blame you.

[CTyankee]

15. No, I came up with this "diagnosis" myself...believe me, the stress has been harder than anything I

have ever dealt with. And it doesn't get better with age.

I believe that stress can bring on physical symptoms. But it could be an allergy. He's not an allergist. Of course, if it doesn't go away as the stress is alleviated, he will probably refer me to a specialist...

[raccoon]

17. I have that too at times, over the last 15 or so years. Soaps aggravate it,

also dryness--it seems to occur more in the winter.

Keeping my hands lotioned up good, using mild soaps, not using soaps in public restrooms, helps prevent it.

I've heard it called "housewife's ecsema."