Bizarre Fibro Symptoms Part 2: Extreme Itch

Because fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome involve the central nervous system, we get all kinds of strange goings on in our nerves. We can get burning, tingling, numbness, pin pricks and itches. This category of sensation is called paresthesia.

Fibromyalgia and itching, burning skin are well known to those who have this syndrome. These feelings can be really bad. Fortunately, there are ways in which to get some relief.

What Causes Burning, Itching Skin

Denervation is the main cause of burning skin. A nerve getting pinched or compressed by your muscles causes this. Usually this happens because the muscles are always tight and tense and this is where all of the trigger points are located. Whenever this happens, the brain loses signals from it causing the other nerves in this area to become hypersensitive. Once all of the nerves in this area become this way, your skin will begin to burn and itch.

Treatment Of Burning, Itching Skin

You can do something about your fibromyalgia and itching, burning skin. One of the first things that you will need to do is get your tight muscles to relax so that they will be able to let go of this nerve. The brain will then tell the other nerves to calm down. In order to do this you should try using a ball to give yourself a massage or you can try pressing on your muscles and squeezing all of the blood out, thus allowing fresh blood to come to the rescue.

Learning how to give yourself one of these massages is especially important if you are a fibromyalgia patient who suffers from frequent denervation. Herein you will be able to learn where your pain is coming from and how to treat it. This will boost your self-confidence, cause your muscles to begin to heal and help your body be able to relax. Once all of this happens your brain will then relax as well causing denervation to become a lot less common.

Several things may help you get rid of or at least tone down that itch:

• Capsaicin. This topical pain reliever depletes your cells of their pain messengers, essentially forcing them to stop complaining. Tread softly with this one at first, though — it has a burn that’s too intense for some people. (More about capsaicin.)

• Ice. Cooling the area can relieve any inflammation that may be putting pressure on the nerve, but most importantly it can deaden the feeling. (Learn to ice properly.)

• Pain killers. For the itch itself, acetaminophen (the ingredient in Tylenol and secondary ingredient in Vicodin) is the one that’s most likely to help with nerve pain. Again, if the nerve pain is a result of inflammation, anti-inflammatories may help as well.

• Calming the nervous system. Certain supplements (theanine, rhodiola), medications (Xyrem, Valium, Xanax), acupuncture, and yoga and meditation may all help keep your nerves from being hypersensitive and causing these kinds of sensations.

Using Anti-Itch Creams

As for the itching that a lot of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue patients seem to suffer from, there is a remedy for that as well. This is good news because this can be a very annoying symptom. In fact, you may not even know why you are itching because your skin is neither dry nor irritated. Plus you are going to feel this even more intensely than someone else would simply because of the nature of the syndrome that you are suffering from. Most people find this itching bothersome but some find that it disrupts their sleep or may trigger a pain response in their bodies.

Whenever this itch is caused by dry skin, you will want to try a fragrance-free lotion. If you don’t know what has triggered the itch, you can try a cold compress or gentle rubbing. Anti-itch creams (i.e. Benadryl Itch Relief) may also work, especially for bug bites and allergies.

Comments from people around the web:

” Yes, I have fibromyalgia and have experienced random itching all over. It was particularly worse at night which is very troublesome for us fibro. folks who already have difficulty sleeping.  Topical treatments and antihistamines did not work for me. Fortunately, it went away for now, but it was indeed horrible.  
I am on a personal mission now with the help of naturopathic practitioner to examine why all the strange symptoms occur-sometimes it’s metal toxicities causing so many bizarre symptoms that are diagnosed as part of fibromyalgia.  I had a hair analysis and will receive the results next week. Sounds a little crazy, but a popular website for fibromyalgia even discusses hair analysis and toxicities.  Toxic accumulation of metals in your body will case rashes  among  many other things fibro. suffers experience and is more common than people think. It’s worth it for fibro. sufferes to look into natural alternatives!! ” – Ree4tu

” I itch from the very top of my head to the soles of my feet…..and everything in between!  I have tried lotions, antihistimines, aveeno, etc.  NOTHING has worked.  I have even taken xanax…hoping that would help.  Sometimes the rims of my eyes itch so bad, I just want to rip the skin off.  It all feels like something is crawling on me. ” -fluffy0828

In Conclusion

Once you see that you are not alone in dealing with fibromyalgia and itching, burning skin it is time to take some action and do something about it. Unfortunately though, this is another one of those fibromyalgia symptoms that is going to require some time and experimentation in order to determine what will work best for you.

Sources: medhelp.org/posts/Fibromyalgia/Itching–anyone/show/623533, mdjunction.com/forums/arthritis-fms-combination-discussions/general-support/10648331-fibromyalgia-and-itching-understanding-the-link, chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2011/08/20/extreme-itch-in-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm