Really itchy legs in winter

[bellebud]

and whatever you use, make sure you use it right out of the shower every single day, and don't dry off completely until you rub all the lotion in (not while soaking wet, but damp). Only take a warm shower, not hot.

 

[pat fan]

My DS had this so bad growing up, the DR prescribed a scrip lotion. Turns out it had all kinds of side effects, so the DR said, "Well, just put Vaseline on at night, it will do the same thing". And it worked. Took forever to clear up, but once it did we just had to keep on top of it. Yes, he hated the feel of it, but it was better than scaly, red, bleeding legs.Bag Balm is even better than Vaseline if you can find that.

I have severe dry hands in the winter and have found O'Keefe's Working Hands to be a true miracle! You could try that. I can't swear by it strongly enough!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

DH has dry itchy shins in the winter. After he showers, before drying off, he applies baby oil to his damp skin then blots his skin dry. I use it sometimes too. Inexpensive and it works.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Soak in a warm bath with oatmeal or milk and honey. You can find the "recipes" online or buy a product with these ingredients.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I recommend a trip to Hawaii. Your skin will love the humidity.

 

[NotUrsula]

Straight cocoa butter; the solid kind. I get it in the ethnic skin care section of the store. It melts when you spread it on. (And it's much nicer smelling like chocolate than hemp.)

 

[AnnaS]

Acquaphor in the tub.

 

[Pembo]

A co-worker suggested Dudu-Osum soap. It is all natural. I ordered it from Amazon and my dry skin is so much better. I wasn't sure it was working until the day I used my regular soap, and I noticed a huge difference.

 

[cijay]

Humidifiers don't help me at all, I use body butters. Another thing that I find is good is the massage oil bars from Lush.

But it's winter - I haven't shaved my legs since October LOL.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

Also, hydrate from the inside out! I get very dry skin, and put on lotion, wash with dove, etc every day and my legs and back are still itchy as heck. Then I started noticing that on the days when I drink a lot of water, it's not as itchy. So, get your 64 oz of water in every day!

I second this! I used to have terribly itchy legs in the winter months - I get it from my mother. A few years ago I stopped drinking almost everything except water. Then I decided to try to drink the 64 oz's recommended every day. I will tell you, my skin has never felt better! I still get dry patches on my face because of my cleanser, but the rest of my body rarely needs lotion. I used to get cracked skin on my knuckles and my lips were always very chapped, but the worst was the itchy legs. Every night it drove me crazy. But since I started drinking a lot of water it really has made a huge difference!

 

[mrodgers]

I have this problem in the winter, all over and not just the legs. At first, my wife was making home made laundry detergent. Our house was very humid due to the sump pump in the basement (no fan in the bathroom and laundry and bath tub drained into sump pit. There's always water there.) Humidity was what I was thinking. Then I thought about the laundry detergent. It is very pungent. I think it was the Fels-Naptha soap. We switched back to perfume free store bought and I no longer had the problem.

Fast forward to now, I have the problem again. Now I am divorced and can not afford living. I am at my mother's who is very VERY stubborn. Her house is so dry I am getting nose bleeds. My legs are bleeding they are so itchy. It is also freezing in the house with the thermostat set at 68 (I always had mine set at 67 and sometimes would be hot then.) She complains about the cold all the time but won't turn the thermostat up a degree. This is a woman who will drive to 15 different dollar stores looking for spaghetti sauce for $0.79 instead of buying it at the first place for $0.88.

I told her she needs a humidifier. You would have thought I told her she needed to remove her kidneys. She also has so much perfume in the house between air fresheners, candles, and crap she sprays that it is difficult to breathe. She uses the most perfumey laundry soap she can find. I have my own I do my laundry with, which is perfume free but she will strip down my bed to wash sheets when she does hers while I'm at work. As soon as I get into bed, I'm tearing into my legs causing them to bleed because they are so itchy.

Tried to get her not to do any laundry for me, but it would be a waste of water and would break the bank to not put all the sheets in 1 load. Thankfully she had a coupon for laundry detergent and Walgreens had it on sale for $1.99. I spied the perfume free on the top shelf and talked her into it.

So, I agree that the lack of humidity in the winter can be bad with this, but also check the laundry detergent. I don't know if years of using the perfume free detergent made it worse for me, but it started as soon as we started making our own and stopped as soon as I went back to free detergent as well as started immediately again this winter with perfumey detergent.

I'm about ready to move into my car permanently as I don't know how much more I can take, but that's a story for another time.

 

[Julylady]

Lots of good ideas on this thread! I also had really itchy legs and back. I now use a humidifier in the bedroom, use fragrance free laundry detergent and dryer sheets, and use baby oil in each bath. On shower days, I use Nivea after shower lotion. You put it on in the shower and then rinse off. Most of the lotion remains on the skin and then when I towel dry it rubs it in. I really like that!.

 

[bookgirl]

I have Eczema (both allergy related and weather related) I use Aveeno body wash Sensitive Skin FF (use their shampoo/conditioner as well) and then I am really carful about actually washing my legs and forearms since that is where I actually break out, a few times a week (mostly I just let the 'soapy' water run over my legs) unless I'm shaving and I use the same body wash as my shave cream. I use Gold Bond Eczema Relief (best thing I've found so far). When I get a sudden intense breakout (raised red bumps, burning, extreme itching) I use either a 1% hydrocortisone cream (any OTC will do) or there is one put out by the Cortisone brand that has a cooling gel included. I'm so much better than a few years ago when it was out of control. The above products are the only ones I use now.

ps I try to get everything Fragrance Free, Dye Free. A few years ago that meant hard to find and expensive. Now I can get pretty much anything Free and Clear. I have found detergent, fabric softeners and dryer sheets that are FF/DF even so there are lots of options on the market.

 

[wdwmom2]

The Body Shop's Hemp Body Care product line is my winter lifesaver. The smell takes a little getting used to (it is a little earthy) but it has changed my life when it comes to dry, itchy skin.

I agree. I love The Body Shop's butters. Satsuma is my favorite for the scent, but nothing beats moisturizing like their Hemp!!!

One other thing I do for exceedingly dry, itchy skin. I use home-made soap. I buy it off of a shop on Etsy. LOVE IT!!!! Even the moisturizing soaps like Dove, Caress, Oil of Olay, they don't come close to relieving my dry, itchy skin like the home-made soap I use.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

and whatever you use, make sure you use it right out of the shower every single day, and don't dry off completely until you rub all the lotion in (not while soaking wet, but damp). Only take a warm shower, not hot.

I think this is the mistake I was making. It seems as if I can turn the hot water on as hot as it will go, and it is still not hot enough to suit me.

 

[NotUrsula]

Straight cocoa butter; the solid kind. I get it in the ethnic skin care section of the store. It melts when you spread it on. (And it's much nicer smelling like chocolate than hemp.)

Also, I would recommend taking off any tight-fitting garments worn around your lower legs once you get home. The micro-friction of elasticized cloth, such as socks or lycra tights, rubs against the skin and further irritates it. Loose-fitting clothing at home is better. Socks are absolutely awful; I don't wear them on weekends when I'm at home, and I notice the difference.