Hi all, for those who may not have seen my new member post, I am newly diagnosed, 28 yrs old, and getting ready to start Humira. I have been trying to get a diagnosis for over 5 years, but my psoriasis had been incorrectly diagnosed in the past as eczema, so no one was linking it to my other symptoms. Over the past 6 months, the psoriasis has flared like never before...I used to only get occasional patches on my elbows, maybe one on my ankle, and only during the winter. Now there are lesions all over my body, except for my face and chest. My question for everyone is how do you keep from scratching?? I have tried so many topical treatments, both OTC and RX, and nothing has helped. Nothing seems to make the itching any better, and it is so unbearable that I keep scratching it, making my lesions worse. I'm attaching a pic to show how my skin looks. Any suggestions would be great!
Yay for the Humira. I hope it helps and works quickly for you. It can happen.
Short of duct taping your hands to your sides, had your derm had any solutions? There are many Rx creams. Just like with every other medications for us; what works for one, may not work for another. Mine was pretty gnarly before the humira and I used Taclonex. ITs a combo drug with Dovonex and Betamethasone in it. That was the best med that I used. Then for home remedies, I recommend searching Marietta's old posts. If I am remembering correctly, she has some really good home treatments that are helpful and could provide you some good relief until the Humira kicks in. No sense reinventing the wheel, since she has it all written out already. :-)
You can also have a compounding pharmacist add some topical anesthetic to one of the creams......... 5% xylocaine for example. You can buydiluted stuff OTC and I suppose in a pinch one of them would work but they usually have some alcohol in them (not a good thing)
And don't laugh a visit to a tanning salon does wonders. (Hundreds cheaper than UV therapy)
When I was kid my grandpa used to make me an ointment based with Arnica Montana (wolfs Bane) for it (he was an old time pharmacist. I think you can buy the ointment under different names in the homeopatic section of most drug stores
If you are not on a antihistamine, claritin in the morning and zyrtek at night. At night, use your favorite topological steroid, then lightly wrap your leg with saran wrap.Hope tthat helps!
Oh I forgot to say, please contact your doctor before using the antihistamines. Also, don’t use Claritin D, the one you can buy off the shelves is best.