Living in a Dry Place With Scars

[Soulem]

I have self harmed for over 7 years now and have plenty of scars to show for it, but my questions lies in how to deal with the ever present itch

For those of us that live in dry climates, what helps curb feeling itchy? Sometimes it gets so bad I want to self harm again, if only to be distracted for a little while. I know I could apply lotion generously everyday, and I have, but it wasn't super effective. Any other tips, tricks, and ideas?

[xx mimi xx]

Hi there, could it be the lotion you were using? I've only experienced minor itching and it's something that I can ignore or just itch & have go away. I think Aveno has an anti itch lotion?

[Just Pomegranates]

I live in Australia which also gets very, very hot in the of summer and very dry as well depending on where you are in the country.


As far as I'm aware, I haven't heard anything else that helps with itchy scars other then moisturizing. I agree with Mimi that Aveno have a fantastic blend for super dry/itchy/unhappy skin that worked amazing for me just in general in the past, and I'd also maybe recommend Vit E cream, or bio oil/emu oil (if you can get emu oil when you live).

If that's not helping or not as much as you'd like, it may be worth asking a GP about it (if you're comfortable with that) and seeing if they have any recommendations.

[marshmallowfluff]

have you tried cocoa-butter? it is full of vitamin e and has helped me with itching in the past. then again, i live in the UK so it rains a lot here

Or i've heard bursting vitamin E capsules straight on to your skin can be helpful (though very sticky)

just pomegrantes - what is emu oil!?

[Just Pomegranates]

Here is a Wiki page that gives you an idea of what Emu oil is and where it comes from. It's super, super good for pretty much anything skin related. I mainly use it for my cartilage body piercings at the recommendation of my body piercers when they're playing up and trying to form keloid scars (those not-so-nice looking lumps people can get on cartilage ear piercings ) and just when any body piercing in general is playing up/not happy and it works really well for that if you use it consistently - I use it twice a day for that purpose. Which I guess could work for this situation as well seeing as I'm using it for scar tissue and this is also discussing scar tissue.

Here's a site you might be able to buy it on if you're not in Australia as I imagine trying to source emu oil outside of Australia would be slightly more difficult then if you actually live here. You'll have to check if they ship internationally if anyone is interested though.

[marshmallowfluff]

thanks for the links. i'm surprised to hear it is actually made from emu juice

soulem - you could also try using snail gel (http://www.drorganic.co.uk/snail-gel-products.asp). not sure if you can get it where you are from but it is made from the slime of Chilean snails. There are a lot of snails on the farms in Chile and the farmers noticed their hands were softer and less sore when they were handling the snails.

[childofchaos831]

i get itchy a lot. my arms and back mostly. the arms are the scars but the back was eczema. i started using cetaphil bar soap when i shower (i use the antibacterial for other reasons, but cetaphil is a gentle soap). and then i use the aveno skin relief lotion. if you don't dry off all the way, and then add the lotion while still a little wet, it helps it soak into the skin better. since i have been doing this, my arms have not itched as bad, if at all.

this is what my derm doc told me to do for the itching from the eczema, but its helping the arms too.

btw, i live in texas, hot and humid. not so dry because of humidity. im in central texas, there are a lot of lakes around and the coast adds to the humidity for us as well.

but i itch.

bad.

maybe it's worth a shot to try this.

coffee

[Soulem]

Thanks everyone! I just recently moved to an almost desert area, so that definitely isn't helping anything.

I have tried Aveno, cocoa butter, shea butter, bio oil, and various other lotions. I'm pretty curious about that Emu oil though, sounds interesting if nothing else.

[Just Pomegranates]

Yeah, emu oil is great stuff and the Australian Aboriginal people have been using it for a long long time, basically as long as there have been emus/the ancestors of emus around, and they wouldn't have kept using it for that long if it didn't work/didn't have something to it. And I've learned in my Aboriginal history/culture classes I took through my university that the Aboriginal people were/still are really advanced in what they could/can do and the knowledge they had/have before we had any of the lotions and medical stuff we have now and even now their herb lore/bush medicine still works a treat.

So I'd definitely recommend at least giving it a try anyway and see what happens.