Hi all,

I dealt with INSANELY intense itching in my arms, and occasionally my neck, chest, and upper back, for 10 years, ALWAYS worse at night, sometimes worse in drier weather, usually exacerbated by stress or tension, and depriving me of sleep for many, many nights. Sometimes it would occur during the day, but I could largely control my urge to scratch -- at night, however, just ONE swipe of my nails while I was sleeping brought the itching in with a vengeance - scratching made it FAR worse, starting a vicious cycle, and I would scratch literally until I bled. There was NEVER a rash - just the ugly aftermath of my incessant scratching, and NO amount of topical or systemic drugs seemed to help in the least. After MULTIPLE years and MULTIPLE prescriptions with two different dermatologists, I was finally diagnosed a year ago with brachioradial pruritis, caused, as a turns out, by something that had NOTHING to do with my skin, but with damage to my cervical spine resulting from several accidents. (One on a horse, one on a motorcycle, and one in a car.)

Working with my neurologist, I am FINALLY in a place where this condition isn't a nightmare I just have to cope with for the rest of my life. I take a drug at night that "turns off" the false signals of "itching" to my brain that are actually caused by compressed nerves in my spine. (I have itching, which is fairly common; others have experienced burning, pain, and even a tickling sensation from similar spinal damage.)

Sometimes, yes, the false signals break through my medication, and since I know this may be helpful to many of you out there who may be suffering as I did for years -- *ICE* is the Godsend I wish I'd known about all those years ago. Before you scratch the FIRST TIME (and even if you've already started, as I sometimes do, because I'm half asleep, this STILL works), force yourself to get up, fill a good old-fashioned ice bag with ice, and put it on the itchy area. It can be a challenge at first to deal with the shock of the cold on your skin - especially when you fall blissfully into sleep and roll over on the ice bag an hour later. But sleep you WILL. The ice both soothes and numbs the itch, and I have slept better in this past year, with the occasional use of the ice as needed, than I did for the 10 years prior.

And don't give up. If you've been to a dermatologist, or a couple of them, and the topical creams, ointments, steroids, and systemic allergy prescriptions aren't making it stop, consider whether you could be missing the real cause.

I hope this helps some of you - both in the short term and for the long run. Yes, eventually, surgery may be the right answer for me, but as long as my body allows me to sleep, and I know how to stop the itch, I feel just fine!

Good luck, everyone!
SD