Dry and itchy skin in the winter

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Does anyone else get that dry and annoyingly itchy skin in the winter? My tummy and my boob have been so itchy and scaly lately and scratching doesn't help. Tonight while I was watching TV in bed, I decided to massage some hydrocortisone cream all over my itchy tummy instead of scratching it. The massage was nice at first and the cream gave a cooling sensation, but after about 5 minutes, my tummy started to itch again along with my back. Does this happen to anyone during the winter? I'm looking for ideas on home remedies because it's not healthy to be endlessly scratching my tummy and my back while I watch TV every night. Asking a family member doesn't work because my tummy is very sensitive to touch and last time I had my back scratched, my mom was too gentle. I kept telling her to go harder, but she didn't want to hurt me with her nails, so she kept lightly scratching. All that did was tickle me and spread out my itches to different places on my back.

I have a form of skin eczema called Atopic Dermititis that causes my skin to be more itchy in winter partly due to the heating supposedly drying out the air & wearing more & heavier cloths. Where I itch the most is usually the back of my knees & back lower legs, & sometimes my hands &/or outer elbows. I tried various creams & lotions but haven't found any that really help but I have skin sensitivities that they aggravate so having that stuff on actually makes me itch more. I also have an allergy to CeraVe which tends to be highly recommended by docs for dry skin but it makes me break out in a rash. I heard lots of times that using a humidifier can help but my body has a low tolerance to humidity & higher humidity causes me to feel hot, heavy, & drained. Sometimes docs suggest antihistamines for itchy skin & I've been taking some for a long time for skin & nasal allergies but haven't noticed much relief taking them. I've had severe skin issues since I was little so I'm a more severe case but perhaps these ideas would help you.

Thanks for the info. I've been taking generic brand allegra for my nose, eyes, and cough. For whatever reason, it doesn't help the itching. I don't think my itching is hives, but I wonder if allegra hives would be helpful. Also, I wonder if I could take both pills each day or not. Tonight the side of my tummy towards my hip is really itchy. In order to avoid endlessly scratching, I've resorted to gentle massage over my pajamas and heated blanket which seems to help soothe the itching. As soon as I stop massaging though, it slowly starts bothering me again. Plus, unfortunately I can't just massage it 24/7. Sometimes my back gets multiple itchy spots at once, just out of my reach and boy does my hairbrush come in handy! However, I can only use it at home if it acts up. During the day if it itches, I either try to rub it on the back of a chair or I just take a deep breath and try to ignore it. Summer is better because I tend to itch significantly less.

Benedryl gel .....Mucinex come in a blue and white tablet , for nights, orange and white for daytime, strong allergy meds, otc. type.. after many misdiagnosis by varios allergy doc and GPs..finally found ,Infectious disease doc.. whom explained to me about MAST cell syndrome. basically over reactive skin cells.. Good Luck was misdiagnosed for over 50 years. MAST cell is still a recently realized condition..

I have what appears to be atopic dermatitis in several spots (mostly the stomach and back of the legs), but I can't tell that they are any worse in the winter than any other time of the year. If it is because of low humidity, that makes sense since we have low humidity nearly every day of the year.