A-Z of Corticosteroid Withdrawal: Itching

I is for Itching

A lot of the symptoms I have mentioned so far in the A-Z can vary from person to person. Not everyone going through topical steroid withdrawal will experience gooey eyes, swelling or the characteristic red arm and white palm rash associated with TSW. People get different combinations of symptoms. However, one symptom is common to EVERYONE. I am, of course, referring to the itch, or as it is better known, the insane itch. I am actually itching as I type about it!

Itching is nothing new to people with eczema, although doctors do not completely understand everything about itching. Current theories as to why we itch relate to the fact that the same signals that send itch messages to the brain also send pain messages. However, our response to both stimuli are complete opposites. Some believe that itching is a sign of healing and that the signal to scratch is actually the body's way of getting the lymph flowing around the body and encouraging healing. Unforunately, the usual side effect of scratching an itch is skin damage and sometimes infection.

I would like to mention a serious complication caused by itching that has happened to a couple of members of our google support group. The following post is from the forum:

" I created a seroma (like hematoma but serum) of the ear by
scratching my ears really hard.  It required surgery which still didn't fix
it.  Who knows how much those doctor bills will be and I just got it to
stop refilling with fluid by using a couple things, most effective was a
couple magnets - one on each side of the ear.  So I think I am going to
have a pretty normal looking ear as it doesn't seem the cartilage was
affected - so no major cauliflower ear results.  J*****, another skin
friend, got one of those too.  It really sucked.  So if I haven't said that
one enough, leave your ears alone! "
Itching is usually worse at night and there are various ways to try and deal with it. The site at itsan.org has a whole section dedicated to dealing with the itch, and another good suggestion is to look at the area as you scratch it, which will stop you from scratching too deeply and causing damage.

Here are some more comments about itching from the google group:

" I've been going through an itching fit the lat ferw hours
after zero sleep that's much more intense than ever.  It's a 10 in
anybody's book.  Hard to type.  The waves of itching are making this kind
of panicky feeling like I'm getting ready to spontaneously combust.  I've
been pacing with ice bags wrapped to my arms and baggies of ice on my neck
and sides of my trunk.  I just resorted to to 2 atarax.  At least I might
get some sleep.  I'm raw from last night's scratch party but thought of
trying a cold shower.  That ought feel pretty spectacular with all the
scrapes!  Trying to breathe and visualize but wow pretty challenging.  What
do you do in these situations?  Skins really read and really dry.  Do I
moisturize?  Cold shower?  Jump out a 10 story window? (just kidding) "


"I am torn right now as I cannot function from the
itching and cannot sleep at all. I don't wan't to get addicted to benz but
I feel like taking the whole bottle to stop the  itching and anxiety! I
need to go to the store and can't even get dressed from itching so much!"

"The only observation I have made on J*** and these extreme
scratch attacks, is that once we have had one we dont get another of the
same severity for some time.  Im not sure if thats the same for everyone
but hope its some consolation.  I reckon we have a really really hideous
hour, then after that it begins to calm.  He screams, cries, his little
body thrashes about, but when that has passed, and we are all exhausted we
don't get one of those for a while.  So hopefully when this has passed,
whilst you will still have the itch, it hopefully will not be as intense
for a while.   Also on the docs advice, when J*** gets bad he has very high
doses of anti-histamines, think they are almost adult sized ones.  Think
you need to do all you can just to get through the frenzy,  When J*** had
one in the hospital about a month ago the nurses were so shocked they
didn't even know what to do, they had never seen anything like it.  "


These experiences show that the itch caused by topical steroid withdrawal is really intense. Unfortunately, the itching is also a symptom that lasts beyond the first few months. Finding succesful coping techniques is the key to managing the insane itch!