What can help with severe chronic itching for a 98-year-old woman?

What have you tried? Where is the itching? Is it possibly shingles?

Ugh, my (91 y.o at the time )mother had severe chronic itching under her breasts, on her thighs and torso. We tried everything, nothing really worked. The best thing I got her was anesthetic spray with benzocaine. When sprayed on the itchy areas, she was able to find relief for a couple of hours. Other than that, the doctor prescribed Benadryl cream, Benadryl tablets, and about 10 other things that did not work. They call it geriatric pruritus, and it's quite common. It lasted the better part of a year for my mother, then magically disappeared *thank God*.

Best of luck trying to find something to help.

For 3 months cut out gluten, tomatoes, peanuts and eggs, if you want to go a dietary route.

Sarna lotion is very good. Used to be rx, now OTC.

It seems to me that if Xanax helps, you may be dealing with psychogenic itching. There is evidence that SSRIs like Paxil can help in these situations.

How's her kidney function? The reason I ask is that severe itching is common in later stage renal disease, and apparently (don't take my word for it) Gabapentin and Pregabalin are the drugs of choice.

Just something to check, and I'd rather hope it's absolutely not relevant.

Did any skin care products change? My 87 year old mother went through the same thing. Intense itching almost all of her waking hours. There was no rash. Doctors did tests, everything was normal. She had purchased a new body lotion and had been using, but I didn't think that could be the cause. I decided it wouldn't hurt anything to stop using just to see. Within the day her itching started subsiding, and within 3 days it was completly gone.

My mom had an experience a couple of years ago, eventually breaking out in a blistering rash. PCP referred to dermatologist who took one look at her skin and her meds list. It turned out to be a reaction to Lyrica, although she'd been on it for several years. After weaning off it slowly and a number of visits to clear the blistering rash, no more problems. During that time we did double her hydroxyzine for anxiety to help the itching. Maybe get a dermatologist involved?

I have it from time to time, and I use fragrance-free soap & lotions. A Loratadine 10 mg pill at night helps. My skin has always been thin & sensitive. It gets more so with aging.But I have developed skin allergies as I have aged, too, and I have to be careful of certain shrubs & even my precious dogs. ( I try to cover forearms which are the most sensitive.) Live life as you wish, taking a few precautions on the way!

Usually from dry skin. Especially after bathing, use MINERAL OIL -- plain mineral oil. Right after the bath. The mineral oil soaks right in the skin and you won't even know it's there. It's the best thing in the world to relieve itching.

My Auntie is 94 years old and we go through this daily only thing that calms her is Atavan but cant give too much of that she gets loopy it is lowest dose that there is and we have to cut it in half for during the day... I beleive that this is because of her dementia or Alzheimer's disease lots of patients get this way they start picking at skin for no reason but it drives us crazy she scratches herself raw !! Now I put soft gloves on her hands so she can't break the skin HELPS ALOT!!

Crazy as it may sound-try Biofreeze on it. It worked for us and comes in a roll on to make the application easy.

Anither idea would be order a fidget doll from amazon or amazon or somewhere and maybe that will keep her busy and she will forget about the itching.

Please have her BUN levels checked by her PCP or in the ER at your local hospital as soon as possible. My grandmother had the same itching that her nursing home refused to recognize as anything more than dry skin. She scratched herself so violently (even in her sleep) that she drew blood and got a dangerously significant staph infection. I had to take her to the emergency room where the staff checked her blood and discovered her severely low BUN levels. The itching stopped and the staph infection cleared up as soon as she received the appropriate medication! Additionally please ask the PCP to check for a UTI as that can be problematic in older women. My grandmother lived to be 98
as well.

My 93 year old mom uses hydroxyzine for severe itching which needs to be prescribed by a doctor.

As someone with eczema I know that it is extremely important to stop the scratch/itch cycle and that scratching can lead to bacterial infections of the skin and just exacerbates the problem in general. I would say your really need to consult a dermatologist. Steroid creams are good but if use strong prescription steroids they can thin the skin after two weeks and cause a localized compromise of the immune system leading to other infections. One really safe and effective way is to use colloidal oatmeal baths. They are very soothing when itching is severe and preserve the skins moisture barrier. You can follow up with colloidal oatmeal moisturizer or Eucerin which is an excellent moisturizer.

Sturgeon1,

For my 93 year old mom, her back itched constantly... we used Cetaphil and mixed pure aloe Vera gel with it after her shower. Also, I just looked online and CeraVe Itch Relief Moisturizing Cream gets good ratings from people who had itchy hives from Medication reactions. Hope that helps!!

Instead of drying off with a towel after baths, dry off with a wet wash cloth. This works for me in winter I itch so bad I feel like scratching with a wire brush. lol You could wet a hand towel wring it out and use that instead of wash cloth. According to how much water is absorbed wring out excess water. This works great.

Instead of giving her more drugs, check the drugs she is currently taking. I've taken meds before that made my skin crawl. No rash, just itchy all over. How I recognize the feeling of I've taken some new medication. But the first time I didn't know what was going on. My skin was crawly. All day and all night - even in my sleep - when I was finally able to get to sleep. It was miserable. It was driving me crazy. It made me cry. Don't let the doctor say it wouldn't be drugs if there is no rash. Because that is 100% untrue. I had no rash. I've had an allergic reaction to meds before - and I got a rash. But that's different than what I am talking about. Be persistent in looking at her meds closely. Another thing it could be is laundry soap or fabric softener. Laundry detergent and fabric softeners are full of toxins that can cause itchy, crawly skin. They leave residue on our clothing that clog our pores or enter our bodies through our pores. I would put my money on one of those things. Her meds or laundry soap. Applying oils, lotions or creams might not be a good idea. Unless it was certain that her itching was dry skin, I wouldn't want to risk causing more irritation. Besides, you don't want to just treat or mask the symptom. You want to eliminate the cause. The soft gloves on her hands is a sweet idea ... Just to protect her skin until you figure out the cause. But don't let that he the solution. It would be torture living with that itchiness. (Laundry detergent can make your skin itchy and crawly without leaving a rash too. I've experienced that before as well. Many times.)

How are her iron levels; I know that severe itching can be a symptom of low iron.

Is there a geriatrician available in your area? The same way a pediatrician can best handle the needs of youngsters, a geriatrician can be very helpful in diagnosing and treating the elderly.

Many things can cause itching...drug reactions, liver problems, low iron, allergies- a regular primary care doctor might not be as up to date on drug reactions in the elderly as a geriatrician would be. I would try to start there.

Also, make sure your grandmother's diet incorporates lots of healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, walnuts, fatty fish). You might try a cod liver oil supplement. So many people don't get enough healthy fats in their diet and that definitely will affect skin health.

Try avoiding any shampoos, soaps or lotions with SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate). My brother and I grew into this sensitivity and once we removed it from our routine the itching stopped. Another issue could be her liver. I once worked with a person who had liver malfunction and she constantly scratched her skin due to itchiness.

This article may be of interest. http://www.todaysgeriatricmedicine.com/archive/summer2011_p22.shtml

Try Zyrtec. It helped my elderly relative who was having itching for some undetermined reason.

My Mom (now 92 years old) has suffered from chronic itching for over 10 years. We have taken her to multiple dermatologists and allergy docs. She is currently taking (under doctor's orders) Allegra twice a day, Claritin once a day and zantac twice a day. Zantac is an H2 (histamine) blocker and it does help. We have tried everything we can find to get her some relief. She is going through a really bad time with this and we've found that washing the area with black soap, rinsing and then putting thin layer of a thick cream, like eucerin helps calm it for a while. I suspect Mom's is autoimmune related but no doctor has ever confirmed that.

I hope you can get her some relief.

I've found that Eucerin diabetic care lotion is a long lasting moisturizer. I don't have diabetes. Others have covered all of my other ideas.

This may or may not help your Mom, but you may want to try plain old coconut oil. The cheap kind used for cooking found in the grocery store, does not have to be organic or virgin. It was the only thing that cured up my mother's itching and now my Dad's. As a side note, the only thing that worked for our elderly dog with severe itching after trying expensive prescription shampoos and multi-drug regimen (super expensive!) from the vet. I don't know why I did not think of it when Dad started itching like crazy and it took a very educated and experienced CNA to recommend it. Worked like a charm!

I suspect it will only help if your Mom has become sensitive to fungi which normally occur on the skin (and are in the air all around us -- there's always a fungus among us!). I know for sure this was the case with our elderly dog (testing showed it to be so), but unknown if the culprit with my late Mom or my elderly Dad. Might be worth a try! It takes a few days to really work. Apply liberally twice dai!y.

If she has scaly itchy patches on or near her scalp (looks similar to "cradle cap" sometimes seen in babies and not uncommon in the elderly) you can gently remove the scaly patches with a cotton ball dipped in witch hazel and then apply the coconut oil to give her relief.

I had severe itching in back of my knees that I would cry. It was so bad that I destroyed muscle tissue from scratching. Doctor offered little help. It stopped as suddenly as it started and has returned on occasion. I read about using cold packs for temporary relief and have found that to work as well as anything else I've tried.

I had severe itching in back of my knees. My doctor offered little help. It was so bad that I would cry and I destroyed muscle tissue from scratching. The itching stopped as suddenly as it started and has returned on occasion. I read about using cold packs for temporary relief and have found that to work as well as anything else I've tried.

Itching can sometimes indicate liver disease.

It also can be caused by new allergies that form when the immune system starts to break down with age.

Some of the suggestions regarding various lotions are excellent to start with as a way to quell the itching.

I used to have this unbearable itching myself, cornstarch patted all over my body eased the pain and discomfort, as simple as that, no other medications did that. Good luck and keep us posted.

I had shingles a few years ago and was left with post-herpetic (??) nerve damage. My skin looks fine but the nerves under the skin were damaged from the shingles. I get bouts of itching - horribly on my back between my lower shoulder area. I go insane and have to walk around with a long, long fork in my purse or pocket so I can reach up and scratch. It is horrible and only scratching with something very sharp will stop the itching until the next round. I take daily showers and use a brush with stiff bristles and an apricot scrub on the brush. I really scrub my back with that and that seems to ease the itching for several hours. Then when I am out of the shower I apply Jergens Lotion with shea butter using a spatula that is flat plastic used for cooking. That way I can reach where the lotion needs to go. NOTHING ELSE - only intense scratching - gives me relief. it is horrible but it is my life since the shingles. No one can find a solution.