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Today, 22 November 2008

» Dead terrorist ad banned

» Grass is greener in SA

» Copper Penny Salad

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» More than just Cope-ing

Yesterday, 21 November 2008

» SA gets tough on Zim

» Chicken satay dog?

» 'Springbok emblem must go'

» Week in Quotes

» Cope gets Simon Grindrod

Denise: I've got this generalised pruritis.

Harry: Yes, pruritis is the medical term for itch and generalised means that you've got it all over the body. How long have you had this, Denise?

Denise: I've had it for about 10 days and it's much worse at night. I don't have any obvious lesions or any rash.

Harry: In other words there are no itchy bumps or generalised redness. So your skin looks perfectly normal.

Denise: Yes, only when I scratch it I sometimes break the skin.

Harry: Oh but you mustn't do that Denise. So you want to know what the cause is and what to do about it.

Denise: Yes.

Harry: The two questions are related because if you can find out the cause then you can cure the condition. The commonest reason for an itch, even if there's no rash, is some chemical that you've been exposed to. It's something like a medicine that you've taken by mouth, some cream that you've put on your body or it could be some chemical in your environment. It could be something from your garden, a soap that you are using or a perfume that you are using. There are all sorts of possibilities. The first thing to do is to try and find out what you were exposed to that you weren't exposed to in the past because you've only experienced this over the last 10 days.

Denise: I've really tried to think what it might be but I can't pinpoint it.

Harry: Well sometimes it can be very difficult. To go further, it could even be the clothing that you are wearing. Have you been using different clothing?

Denise: I had a new duvet cover but I washed that.

Harry: Has a dog come into your life, or a cat?

Denise: No.

Harry: Honesty Denise, the possibilities are endless. I take your point that it seems unlikely that you've been exposed to some or other chemical, then provided that you are otherwise healthy, it is unlikely that you've got what we call an internal cause. So we've spoken about medicines and chemicals, both internal and external. The other fairly common reason for itch is if you've got some internal disease, for example, if you have diabetes or jaundice. But you haven't got either of those, is that right?

Denise: No.

Harry: So it seems very unlikely that any of these are operating in your case. The point that I would make is that if this continues then it may be wise to see your doctor just to make sure that there is no internal cause that is at an early stage and which can only be detected by careful examination or certain tests. Otherwise all I would advise is just plain symptomatic treatment. You can take a variety of antihistamines. You could even use something simple like calamine lotion. Perhaps my last point would be to be very careful about using these perfumed soaps. The worst soaps are the most expensive ones because they contain all sorts of chemicals. So all I would say to you is to perhaps use very bland soaps and expose your skin as little as possible to any chemicals.

Denise: All right, thank you very much.