Itching and irritation are often caused by eating foods that you are allergic to. You don't have to have classic allergy symptoms to have an allergy; often allergic reaction happen hours after eating the allergenic substance and you might not even feel it. Try elimenating the common allergens milk, soy, wheat, dairy, eggs, and peanuts from your diet for 3 weeks and see if it helps. My son and I used to have have a lot of irritation and itching around our nose and cheeks and also on the arms and legs, but it went away after we were tested for hidden food allergies and went off the foods we were found to be allergic to. Wheat and milk are especially known for causing itching and irritation.

Hi kittycatt ='-'=

Mix 8 drops each of Lavender oil and Tea Tree oil with 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil or Aloe Gel.

Or mix 8 drops each of Lavender oil and Tea Tree oil with 2 teaspoons of water and a few drops of Witch Hazel. It can be used this way as a splash.

Rub on palms and soles. Effects should be almost immediate.

The possibilities are infected eczema, fungal infections, dermatitis and allergy.

Have you had any liver problems or any yellow tinge in the whites of the eyes, or under the lower eyelid of the eyes in natural sunlight? If so, that could be a cause.

In case it is diet, cut out citrus fruit, tomatoes, pineapples, Marmite, Vegemite, Promite or Cenovis if you are eating any of these.

Hi, Kittycatt,

The two posts above are absolutely right. These are knowledgeable people.

I just wanted to add that the first time I experienced this itching was after I had taken penicillin pills orally. The itching was accompanied by a red rash down the whole left side of my body...although the rash did not last long. Nor do I remember it itching very much.

The hands and feet, however, were another story!

The doctor told me that I was allergic to penicillin, and that, if it had been in injection form, I might have died.

He had suggested that my husband and I take it in conjunction with our son's course of treatment...something I had not heard of before, or since.

The itching of the hands, or feet, returned in a spotty fashion, at odd times, continuing for twenty-five years, up to the present.

It is triggered by plants of the nightshade family, tomatoes, white potatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant, and tobacco. I have had some very serious bouts of it.

My problem likely stems from the fact that I have been a long-time smoker. I discuss this in the thread titled 'An Aha! message...', below.

This is not a reaction to fool with or ignore.

The two posts above give you excellent insight. I'd like to add that I use a wholesome magnesium mineral bath liquid in drops on my feet sometimes, to stop the itching. It contains lavender oil which must be properly made from the correct plant, because it works so well.

(The best lavender oil comes from plants that are not hybrids...their seeds sprout, which doesn't happen with hybrid 'lavendin' plants. And, the oil must be extracted in a slow, low-temperature process. I believe this 'therapeutic' quality of oil can be had from Young Living Essential Oils. When I put one drop of their Lavender oil on a deep cut on the end of an index finger, the pain stopped instantly, and the wound healed rapidly with no need to cover it or to even remember it.)

The only other treatment that relieves the itch instantly is ice or ice water. I suggest ice water. I only used straight ice once, in an emergency.

You may laugh, but my husband just brought in a lovely tomato from the garden. I admit it...I took a tiny wedge...it was so sweet and flavorful. I ate nearly a whole one last week...big mistake! Then I read that even organically-grown tomatoes contain natural MSG. Another Aha! moment!

One last bit of advice, if you smoke, or regularly eat plants of the nightshade family, switch to better foods, forget about smoking, and maybe cleanse thoroughly. That's what I'm going to try.

My best,

fledgling