# Insane itching of hands and feet.



## Bethany79

For the past week my hands and feet have been maddeningly itchy, mostly my feet and ankles. There is no rash, not red or swollen, and nothing seems to help it. I tried benedryl, cortizone, and calamine potion. It keeps me up at night. Anyone know what may be causing this? I don't go back to the rheumy until Dec. 6th. I will definately bring it up at my appointment.


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## jmill

Bethany79 said:


> For the past week my hands and feet have been maddeningly itchy, mostly my feet and ankles. There is no rash, not red or swollen, and nothing seems to help it. I tried benedryl, cortizone, and calamine potion. It keeps me up at night. Anyone know what may be causing this? I don't go back to the rheumy until Dec. 6th. I will definately bring it up at my appointment.


Beth, 
I've had the same problem for two years now. I've been to three different dermatologists, an endo, my PC physician and no one knows what the problem is. I itch on the back of my neck and scalp. No one can see anything or diagnose what the problem is. This started about six months after I was diagnosed with thyroid problems. I've spent a considerable amount of my own time trying to research the cause(s) of itchy skin with no visible sign of a cause. My conclusion is that it's related to a deficiency of iron (in my case). Hypothyroid can cause intestinal motility problems which lead to absorption problems of vitamins and minerals. I believe that having your thyroid "go out of whack" can trigger a number of different problems and no two individuals will have exactly the same symptoms. Some people have a propensity to develop some problems when this happens and some develop other problems. I increased my dose of synthroid under my doctors supervision, and started taking iron supplements after being diagnosed with low iron. The itching stopped in my case. I'd suggest you get some blood tests to check your vitamin and mineral levels and make sure your TSH, T3, and T4 are where they should be. I hope this helps.


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## lowiron

Beth,

I have had the same problem for several months. The itching is bad enough during the day, but for me the worst time is after getting out of the shower. Once I get dried off the itching will start, and it gets so bad that I will scratch for about 5 minutes until my skin is raw or bleeding. The itching is terrible on the back and inside of my knees, and on the rear of my lower legs and ankles.

In reading the response from jmill, I believe there may be a relationship to low iron and/or other vitamins and minerals. I can not absorb iron and need iron infusions every now and then. At the present time my iron is low and the itching is high. For me I have found that the cortizone 10 creme works fairly well if I really slather it on thick and rub it in. I have tried some of the lower priced generic brands and found that the only possible benefit is that your fingers get some excercise while rubbing it in.

I feel for you because I know the itching can almost drive a person insane.......let me know if you find an ointment or medication that will control it better. Finding the source of the itch would be good. I can say it is related to low iron, but not actually sure........maybe just a coincidence..........take care, and good luck.


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## Lovlkn

Maybe you should go to a dermatologist.

I have intense itching on my middle back from time to time.

Dermatologist said it was eczema and gave me a steroid cream to use. The cream helps.


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## CA-Lynn

I'd definitely get it checked out with a dermatologist. If you're scratching so badly and for so long with no clear cut reason, you need a professional to sort it out.


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