Itching, or pruritus, is a very common problem that is likely to affect every individual to some extent on a regular basis. However, when the condition becomes intense and unrelenting, it not only causes a significant amount of irritation but can also substantially interfere with your daily life and schedule. Moreover, it can be quite socially embarrassing if you were to continuously scratch yourself in public as this may be misinterpreted as being unclean. The sensation of scratching is closely linked to pain because of the way the signals are sent to the brain through the central nervous system. The main difference between the two is the fact that while pain prompts the individual to withdraw from the source, pruritus tends to attract the person towards it, causing a reaction of scratching. In most cases, it is relatively hard to identify the root cause of the problem primarily because of the fact that it is a common symptom in a number of underlying medical conditions like chicken pox, hives, and eczema amongst many others. It could also be a sign of an allergic reaction where the individual is unaware of the allergen. In this case it is likely to be something your mother comes in contact with on a regular basis - thereby triggering the reaction. Some of the more serious medical conditions that could show up as pruritus include kidney failure and liver diseases like hepatitis or hyper and hypothyroidism. As a result, it is essential that you visit your local doctor and have a checkup carried out in order to ascertain if this is the case. It is not advisable to allow any of these conditions to go unattended.
Because of the fact that the condition is so common there are a number of easy to use and yet very effective home remedies you could try. Baking soda is known to be very effective when it comes to calming down irritated skin and, since your mother suffers from full body itching, you should try adding about 1 cup of baking soda to a tub of warm water and ask her to soak in it or a period of about 30 minutes. Once this is done, she should allow her body to air dry and she will notice that the itching has reduced. Adding about 2 cups of oatmeal to a tub of warm bath water is known to be equally effective. If the irritation returns, the condition is chronic and is most likely caused by an underlying medical complication which will need to be investigated and treated.
answered by M W