Re: Help for itching

[Guest guest]

Just thought I'd post my own remedy for itching, but before you try this

be warned: This is not a pleasant process, but it works for me.

Anyway, the idea is to get your body temp. up and keep it up for a

while.... here's the step by step instructions:

1. Drink at least a couple cups of water about 15-20 minutes before you

start... more it you want to.

2. Run a good hot bath. I usually get in the tub when it just has a bit

of warm water in it, and let it fill up, adjusting the temp. so it stays

just about as hot as I can stand it... otherwise it scalds you as you

get in (if it's really hot enough), or isn't hot enough to do much

good. It's also possible to do this in the shower... just take a really

hot shower, as hot as you can stand.

3. Keep track of your temp with a thermometer. I usually try to get

mine at least up over 100 F (usually go for 101-102), but not let it get

too extremely high. Maintain your temp at this level for at least 15-20

minutes.

4. Let the water out of the tub, and rinse off briefly with cool water.

(I always let the water out before I stand up, because I'm sometimes a

bit lightheaded at this point, and I don't want to fall in the tub with

water in it.)

5. Make yourself a bed (I usually use old blankets or sleeping bags for

this) with plenty of covers over you. Cover yourself completely except

your head. You will start to sweat like crazy... this is the most

unpleasant part of the process. Try to stay in this for at least 15-20

more minutes. I usually read a book or something to try to keep my mind

off the fact that I'm very uncomfortable.

6. Get up, and rinse off again with cool water... this time go ahead and

stay in the cool water long enough to help bring your body temp back to

normal.

7. That's it! You're done... you should feel sort of warm and glowing

and much less itchy. In actual practice, I find that sometimes, I'm

still pretty itchy (sometimes actually more than before in spots) until

I cool down completely, but in the long run it always helps.

I usually only use this method when I am having trouble sleeping due to

itching. It's also good for fighting a cold, especially if you do it

very soon after you first start seeing symptoms.

If anyone is brave enough to try it, let me know if it helps!

athan

P.S. My theory of why this works is that all the sweating and increased

circulation help to remove the toxins from the skin. Other people have

said that a good workout which gets them sweating a lot helps them with

itching too.

I also saw in an article somewhere (no idea where I read it anymore)

that a hot bath triggers the release of histamine, which promotes

itching, but that if you stay in the bath for a while all the histamine

gets used up, and you have less itching for a while. I personally think

this is unlikely to be the case with our itching, because antihistamines

don't seem to work (at least not for me) and that would suggest that

histamines don't play a role in this case.

[Guest guest]

TLC203@... wrote:

>

> Wow ,

> Is that a safe thing to do by raising your body temp like that?

I don't think it's particularly dangerous, as long as you don't get it

up too high. Just a hot bath or sitting in a hot tub or sauna raises

your body temp quite significantly, and this isn't really any different,

except that you keep track of your temp and make sure it isn't

dangerous. In that respect it should actually be less dangerous than

some of those other activities.

On the other hand pregnant women shouldn't use this treatment (nor

should they do any of the other things I mentioned... hot tubs etc.)

because it can increase the risk of birth defects.

athan