I started to have itchy skin when I was 10 years old living in the California desert with my dad. It was kinda dry out there to say the least. Well for the next 9 years all I had on my legs was itching like it was in the bone or something. A real deep itching. Never a rash which confused me. I mean it even got to a point that I couldn't stay in the pool for hardly any time because my legs would start itching. Having it only on my legs too was kinda strange so I thought. I knew that my mother had eczema on her feet when I was younger. I recall that. I had hayfever. I didn't finally get diagnosed until I was 25 I believe. I'm 27 now.
During the pregnancy of my second daughter is when I had a couple round spots that the docs thought was ringworm. It turned out later to be eczema. Who knew? After she was born it triggered some crazy explosion in the itching cycle. To where it became unbearable.
Imagine this: A grown woman in a rocking chair (lazyboy) rocking away crying like a baby because the itching won't stop. Finally she gets up to get some benadryl because it's just too much. The husband wakes up from all the rucus and puts blankets on her to help the itching stop. One of the many things that helped (heat)..the benadryl would soon knock me out but not soon enough. After some experimentation I found that milk itself caused the major itching. Ice cream for example would trigger the itching the next morning. But the milk was soon and long lasting. Can we say torcher!! Well anyways that started me on my venture of trying many lotions, creams and everything under the sun practically. I've found that heat still is the only thing that saves me for some reason whether it be a hot bath, hot shower, putting my clothes on in the bathroom to start warming up faster after a shower or just taking a shower later in the day to avoid any possible cool morning drafts.
I haven't found any miracle products. I still suffer and have some small patches. I tried the steroid ointments for a while but they caused my face and neck to break out in
Acne which was not normal acne. It was acne, the only way I could describe it is my sarcastic way. The gift that keeps on giving. Yeah, euw! I wasn't sure it was the ointment so I tried it again and poof same problem so I had to stop using it. Currently I use aveeno body wash which doesn't aggravate my skin so much. With the cold weather here it's gonna be a real challenge.
We have hard water and forced air heating in our apartment. Initially when I went to an allergist for a skin test which was fun. It was a little prick test, didn't hurt at all! Sure enough milk protein was my biggest allergin..next was pollen-ah. My hayfever gets worse every year. Last spring/summer I had to get an inhaler just for emergencies and take some kinda steroids to get control of the hayfever.
The eczema does seem to get worse as the years go by for some reason. I'm ready for that magic pill any day now.
Sorry to go on like this and bore you :)~ You could very well be in the early stages of eczema like I was for so long and didn't know. I wish I'd known then so I could have eliminated things from my diet and stopped using harsh soaps to try to spare the worsening that was years in the making. If you can start doing some research on your own now to help yourself...
I found fabric softener to be a huge problem that I had to eliminate. Any harsh laundry soaps, gone like Cheer. No good. Currently I'm using Tide Free Liquid/Powder. It's working pretty good for now. It works best to get the stains out and I buy the gallon jugs of White Distilled Vinegar from Costco Wholesale and poor in a little into the rinse spout thing in the washing machine. That way the vinegar helps get some of the excess detergent out of my clothes.
Bar Soaps and strong body washes with fragrances, the cheap ones really made me itch as soon as I would turn off the shower water or even while I was taking a shower. I tried many different cleansers for my face. I have stuck to using straight baking soda in the palm of my hand and mix in a little water to make a paste and gently rub it into my face and rinse with warm water. That works good. I also was so sensitive to any facial moisturizer but finally found one that I love and will probably stick with until they stop making it if they do some day, ahh! It's by OLAY. It's the Comple Moisture Lotion UV Defense for Sensitive Skin. It's a bit spendy but lasts for like 2-3 months. :) So it's worth it.
I'm still trying different products. If you have any more questions I'd be more then will to try to help you. I am still searching for many other products to help but the itching for me is under control and that's what was so life altering and horrible to cope with without understand what could have been causing it. It was hard to stop drinking milk. Very hard. But with time it got easier. Now I don't even like the taste of milk. It's yucky like brussel sprouts or peas or liver, euw! I kinda freak out when some spills on me, like ah toxic spill..quick someone get me a towel or I rinse it..I don't really freak out anymore...I also make sure to avoid any skin care products that contain milk indgredients. I can tollerate cheese though ok and no problem with eggs. Even though the allergist test showed an allergy to eggs as well. I don't have a but a couple eggs a day maybe.