While aquagenic pruritis is a rather common condition, it is very often either misdiagnosed or mistreated. The condition is characterized with the very intense itching sensation after your skin has come in contact with a certain amount of water. Moreover, you are also likely to witness the development of skin lesions around the affected area. In some more severe cases of the condition, the affected individual does not even need to come in direct contact with water, but simply exposing his or her skin to excessive levels of moisture, humidity or even the sweat emitted by their own body can trigger of a reaction. Some other common triggers include differences in temperature, contact with certain types of synthetic fibers or even simply lying down to go to sleep. The exact reasons that create an allergic reaction in the skin cells when they come in contact with water is still unknown, but studies on affected skin cell samples show the presence of a number of chemical mediators like acetyl alcohol and histamine. Some other factors that also contribute to the manifestation of aquagenic pruritus include myelodyplastic syndrome and metastatic carcinoma of the cervix in women as well. It is important to be able to differentiate whether you are affected by aquagenic pruritus or simply an itch that has developed as a result of your skin coming in contact with over chlorinated water. While excessively chlorinated water can cause intense itching as well, it can usually be cured simply by applying a skin lotion. This treatment option will not be effective when dealing with aquagenic pruritus.
Suffering from aquagenic pruritus can be a very inconvenient problem as it can severely affect the quality of a person's lifestyle. There are a number of workarounds that you could incorporate into your daily routine to reduce the extent to which the condition will affect you. For example, before you go for a bath, make it a point to apply an oil based lotion over your body, face and limbs as this will reduce the amount of water that comes in direct contact with your skin - thereby reducing the intensity of itching. Avoid wearing tight, body hugging clothes as this will tend to retain any sweat that your body generates. Instead wear light, cotton clothes as this will increase evaporation of any sweat produced. Curb your diet to avoid eating any hot, spicy foods as they tend to promote sweating as well.
answered by G M