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| I have all the common allergy symptoms, but the one that drives me nuts is the full body itching. When out of my antihistamines, I've been known to actually draw blood with my scratching.
I'm having some allergy testing done in 5 days, so am off my antihistamine until then. It's now been 48 hours since my last zyrtec. I normally take one each evening. I've been taking stinging nettle 3x a day which has helped a lot, but I'm afraid it won't continue to hold off the itching, especially as more of the zyrtec gets out of my system. As far as I know, the active ingredients in stinging nettle are histamine and acetylcholine. I believe it’s the histamine that is keeping the allergy symptoms as bay. I can’t take anything that is a natural antihistamine before my testing, as that would block the reactions that I want to show up. Many herbs, like oregano, are natural antihistamines. If I start itching like mad in the next few days, can anyone recommend a remedy? I’m so impressed with the stinging nettle - and its low cost! – that I may eventually try to control my allergies more with natural products. But right now I just want to get through the next several days. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by tropically (My Page) on Sun, Feb 17, 08 at 5:57
| I recently read online about using virgin organic coconut oil that can be bought in health food stores for a skin lotion. It is even supposed to help acne and also fungal or microbial problems. It doesn't clog pores as one might think. Many people use it in cooking so it is stocked in the food section. |
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| Thanks tropically. I have some of that, so I'll give it a try. I wasn't wild about the flavor the first time I cooked with it, so it's just sitting there. I know that a lot of people cook with it, so I might even try it a few other ways in the kitchen. |
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| Coconut oil is good. I use it for my itching, and what I have is Morgellons. I have also noted muscle creams with menthol can inactivate an itch quite well, too. The best thing I have tried, for allergies and everything else, is to stop eating anything with sugar in it. Also, it pays to shower before you go to bed; this gets rid of pollens and other things that you can take to bed with you and get all over your pillows. Unless, of course, your problem is your soap. |
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| Lanacaine is very helpful. |
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| From medscape.com regarding herbal anti-itch remedies: "Several herbs have been proposed as corticosteroid-sparing agents and may provide a viable alternative to topical steroids and their side-effects. Oatmeal baths appear to be most useful because of its colloidal protein and high mucilaginous content. Other herbs have been suggested because of their high mucilage content as well, including flax, fenugreek, English plantain, hearts ease, marshmallow, mulberry, mullein, and slippery elm.[3] More extensive research needs to be conducted regarding their possible use and effectiveness for the treatment of pruritus" They also mention such agents as witch hazel, chamomile, menthol and camphor. Coconut oil (not to mention virgin coconut oil) has to be one of the most overhyped cure-alls on the market today (I'm kind of surprised no one has brought up another snake-oil equivalent - cider vinegar). There's zero evidence I know of that coconut oil or any cooking oil would be good for itchy skin, unless the distraction of having some oily goo on your skin made you temporarily forget about the itching. As always, be careful before widely applying anything that might provoke an itchy contact dermatitis on its own, and follow through with whatever useful recommendations you get on the basis of the allergy testing. |
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- Posted by fatamorgana Zone 5/6 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 22, 08 at 12:30
| I can't suggest a bath or shower strongly enough. Not only can it calm and sooth the skin it is also calming and distracting mentally. Some times the key to stop itching is to, well, stop itching. The more you itch, the itchier you seem to be. Distract yourself from itching. A nice calming bath with some nice bath oils to help your skin not be dry is a wonderful non-medicinal way to relax. When you dry off, don't scrub your skin with the towel. Pat yourself dry. You don't want to wake up those itches. Cool water...hot water....whatever works for you. Pass on the soaps. Just plain old water, maybe bath oil if you like. Soaps can dry out the skin and make itches all on their own. As far as a nice healing salve for your skin, try a salve made from calendula infused oil mixed with melted beeswax. Beautiful stuff for all sorts of dry and damaged skin. FataMorgana |
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- Posted by night_scented_stock S England (My Page) on Sun, Mar 2, 08 at 12:31
| I have found that the itchiness of my skin was much reduced when I stopped showering with anything that contains sodium lauryl sulphate....pure soap is much better. That stuff is an engine degreaser and not good for the skin. My skin also gets itchy if it is too dry, in which case showering makes it worse as it removes the natural oils. Yes, and calendula is really good. At present I am trying licquorice, applied ! |
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- Posted by sparrowhawk z4 ME (My Page) on Sat, Mar 29, 08 at 8:57
| Have you considered the possibility that something in your diet is causing this itching? Look at food colorings, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup as possible culprits. Same thing for products used externally, like soap and shampoo. Once I finally figured out many of my allergies were from these sources, I suffer much less. I used to take meds every day this time of year, now I might take one once a week, if that. If you are allergic to ragweed, you may also be allergic to chamomile. Rooibos, lemon balm, and solidago are natural antihistamines that come to mind. |
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| Thank you everyone. I apologize for not replying sooner to your posts. I thought I had. :( I did find a bath very helpful. I assume a lot of my itching is food or preservative allergies, and perhaps medication allergies. I tried to stop my Zyrtec for 5 days for allergy testing, but couldn't stand the itching. I'm not sure why, but I hand handle major pain better than major itch. After 4 days, I was about to the point of a nervous breakdown! Anyway, I've decided to omit all grain and dairy foods from my diet for the next two months, along with as many artificial ingredients as possible. This includes corn, as it is actually a grain. I hope my overall health improves on this eating plan. I also expect it to calm down the immune system enough that I can at least tolerate being off antihistamines for food allergy testing, if I still feel I need to. (My insurance won't pay for allergy blood testing, and I really can't afford it otherwise. It does pay for skin testing.) If nothing else, I'll lose weight this way! It's a lot easier to load up on calories when eating grains and dairy. |
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| Quercetin and related compounds are decent dietary antihistamines. Apples and onions are good sources. It's not a quick fix, but eating more of these can make a difference for some over the course of weeks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercetin |
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| Itching can be a sign of diabetes, so I'd check with your doctor before deciding on your own that you have allergies. |
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- Posted by paula(gypsyheart48@yahoo.com) onWed, Dec 29, 10 at 22:52
| Quercetin helps a lot for about 8 hrs. Virgin organic coconut oil gives me immediate relief too. Good luck everyone. I am trying digestive enzymes from gnc too. Read up on it. |
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- Posted by bikram chadha(poojapetals@ymail.com) onWed, Apr 27, 11 at 15:39
| my father is suffering from acute food allergy with lots of itching which ultimately leads to bleeding, bcauz of that even a shower gives him more paIN THAN RELIEF. what is the best manual method to adopt to control food akkergy as he has already done the blood test to find the foods to what he is allergic & he has also stopped the intake of those specific foods but even then he dose not have much relief..... plz guide |
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| This is an old thread, but I wanted to say that I ended a couple of very bad bouts with hay fever, with itching eyes, stuffy nose, sore throat, but identifying the allergic triggers, in my case eating corn and sunflower seeds. But I found major help with the symptoms by eating around a tablespoon a day of tripe, cow stomach. It is a rich source of polyoligosaccharides, a healing substance that glues the cells together so that the weeping and itching is stopped. I used to cook it rather like the pepper pot soup I enjoyed as a child, with peppers and tomato, but then I had some at a Chinese dim sum restaurant cooked with ginger and onions and liked it better, don't overcook. I learned of this remedy in Prevention magazine many years ago when they still had good natural health advice. Nancy |
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- Posted by HerbDoctor none (My Page) on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 19:02
| Menudo! Mmmmmm. HerbDoctor |
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| Applying coconut oil daily has been providing me with relief from my itchy dry skin. I like the smell and feel of the oil. Dry air in the winter and prediabetes appear to be the main causes of my dry skin. |
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| I haven't taken my zyrtec/allegra since Sunday because I'm having the skin allergy test done next Monday. I'm hoping I can stand the itching as well until then! At least I have backups of Prednisone and Cortizone .25% Cream as precautions in case I can't stand the itching. I switched from zyrtec to allegra about a month ago because of the itching when I didn't take my zyrtec. I still get itchy when the allergy meds wear off, though. Zyrtec is better than Allegra, but I just don't want to take allergy meds anymore! |
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- Posted by Raw_Nature 6 NE OH (My Page) on Sun, Mar 10, 13 at 0:46
| Your itching because your body is trying to detoxify from all the crap the doctors are feeding u. Your are right on with the stinging nettle and other herbs. But allopathic pharmaceutical chemicals I am not fond of, to say the least! If you truly want to get better get the book"Detox miracle sourcebook by dr.Robert morse". If you don't have the money he has thousands of free videos on YouTube addressing nearly every problem. He basically puts his patients of herbs and raw foods to alkalize and therefore detoxify the lymphatic system,etc. He has a 95% cure rate in cancer, etc... Dr Robert morse on YouTube, it's free, minus well give him a shot. I'm telling u gin experience, he saved my life! Best of health Joe |
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- Posted by MikeAndreson none (My Page) on Sun, Mar 10, 13 at 0:47
| I agree that coconut oil is a best for a itching. But, the coconut oil is best for few skin. Use an appropriate coconut oil according to your skin or advice from a doctor. |
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| For me- food allergy testing was a major help in solving a lifetime of sore itchy skin. I discovered that I was allergic to lots of different foods, one of them was oats- which was in over-the counter treatments that I had been putting on my skin to try and make it less itchy! The other allergen foods were in fast foods/junk foods and most processed foods. Eliminating the allergens from my diet really helped a lot- no skin rashes since 2011! |
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- Posted by greenman62 none (My Page) on Fri, Mar 29, 13 at 16:06
| speaking of DETOX. I am somewhat of a expert. I would take niacin and sit in a steam room for a couple of hours. you can read "clear body clear mind" If anyone really wants to do this though, Brad |
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- Posted by HerbDoctor none (My Page) on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 11:02
| Brad: I'm glad you added the words of caution. All things have to be approached with caution as you've mentioned. In the past I had many people who jumped on the band wagon when certain types of fasting and flushes were so popular only to find that their systems were too weak to handle such a regimen. They had other problems needing attention of which flushes weren't going to help. Keep up the good words. HerbDoctor |
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- Posted by Raw_Nature 5 OH (My Page) on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 15:55
| Brad - taking niacin and sweating detoxs the whole system? What do you consume on your detox? How are you an expert? |
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| bikram, your dad is to be congratulated on the elimination of his food allergens, not an easy task! the next step is to heal the damage to the gut lining done by the allergens. bone broths and herbal infusions work well together to improve gut integrity. email me if you'd like to receive my client handouts containing recipes and tips on making bone broths. an herb tea comprising chamomile, calendula, fennel seed, marshmallow root and peppermint (equal parts by weight) is good for gut healing. dad should drink a minimum of a quart of this strong tea each day. his allergy symptoms will subside further as his gut lining heals. best wishes for dad's healing! kali |
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- Posted by Raw_Nature 5 OH (My Page) on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 23:14
| Kalia - Client handouts? What do you do for a living? Sorry I'm just curious because it seems like you use herbs to heal your clients... What do you do? Thanks, |
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