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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Herpes / January 2004Persistent Itching - Anybody Else?
Hello Everyone... This is my first post to this group. I would like to see if anybody has experienced what I'm going through now. First the facts: 42 year old caucasian male, married & monogamous 18 years, diagnosed with HSV 2, 20 years ago through visual exam, no blood test. Blood test confirmed HSV 1 & 2 about 1 year ago. HIV negative. Here's what's happening. Up until about 2 years ago, I would experience maybe 1 or 2 OB's per year, sometimes going up to 3 years with no OB's. Every OB exhibited the same characteristics, very classic tingling, blisters, then they would heal up in a about a week or so. Drove me crazy at first, but I've gotten used to it. I believe that most every OB was predicated by a stressful event in my life whether it be personal or work related. About 2 years ago, I started getting more OB's...about 1 every 3 to 4 months. That's what prompted me to go see my current Dr. He suggested blood tests, which I did with the results above. He prescribed a heavy dose of acyclovir, which cleared me up quickly...for a while it felt like I was cured. :) Anyway, about 6 months ago, I started to develop an itch that was primarily along the crease between my thighs and scrotum. Within a few days it became unbearable. To summarize, I've visted my doc and a dermatatologist about 6 times (literally) over months since it started. The diagnosis went from HSV to fungus...I pretty much bathed in prescription anti-fungals to no avail. The best I would get is temporary relief. Doc switched me to valtrex, but little to no relief. I can't decide if this is HSV related or not, cause I can go for weeks with none of the "classic" HSV symptoms, but the itching never stops. Once I shower in the morning, I'm ususally pretty good. I'm so busy during the day that I don't have time think about it. Night time is the worse time...sometimes I can't sleep and it *never* ends. I'm getting desparate...the docs can't figure it out and my married life is really suffering, if you get my drift. One really strange thing is that the itch is not constant in location, generally yes, but pinpoint, no. Sometimes it will itch on the left, then other days on the right, then sometimes right in middle. Has anybody else experienced this? The doc mentioned "neuritis" (sp?) Could this be stress related? I have a very stressfull job that never seems to letup. Back in the day when I would have 1 or 2 OB's per year (or less), life was much less stressful. Just trying to think of every angle. Thanks for listening. one_ I have constant yeast infections when I have outbreaks. I don't know why and my OB doesn't either....so we just treat the yeast infections simultaneously. I would be interested to know if any other females have a similar issue as well. r. >Hello Everyone... This is my first post to this group. I would like >to see if anybody has experienced what I'm going through now. [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > >one_ Yes, my situation is almost identical to yours. I've never had a confirmed OB before, just prodrome (shots of pain in the thighs) and lots of itching. They get really bad especially at night and yes, after keeping a diary, I realize they are all stress related. Sweat and dirt could be a reason as well and I keep the groin area as dry and ventilated as possible when I feel one coming. My doc couldn't discern whether this is hsv related or not either and I was prescribed many bottles of medicated shampoo which never work. I began to live with it after a year and I use regular itch-soothing creams (almond extract?) before I sleep, cleaning the area with alcohol swabs before application. On the other hand, I also realize the situation is very similiar to eczema which I used to get on my hands - the same unbearable itch which occurs in the dead of the night. I wonder if the two are related. Some of the advice offered by the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practicioners here include abstaining from deep fried or spicy foods. Also keep away from fish and bean/nut products. I also drink a concotion boiled from prunella vulgaris (Self-Heal) which I find useful. Hope this helps! - pat >Hello Everyone... This is my first post to this group. I would like >to see if anybody has experienced what I'm going through now. [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > >one_ >Yes, my situation is almost identical to yours. I've never had a >confirmed OB before, just prodrome (shots of pain in the thighs) and >lots of itching. They get really bad especially at night and yes, >after keeping a diary, I realize they are all stress related. Sweat >and dirt could be a reason as well and I keep the groin area as dry >and ventilated as possible when I feel one coming. >My doc couldn't discern whether this is hsv related or not either and >I was prescribed many bottles of medicated shampoo which never work. I >began to live with it after a year and I use regular itch-soothing >creams (almond extract?) before I sleep, cleaning the area with >alcohol swabs before application. >On the other hand, I also realize the situation is very similiar to >eczema which I used to get on my hands - the same unbearable itch >which occurs in the dead of the night. I wonder if the two are >related. >Some of the advice offered by the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) >practicioners here include abstaining from deep fried or spicy foods. >Also keep away from fish and bean/nut products. I also drink a >concotion boiled from prunella vulgaris (Self-Heal) which I find >useful. >Hope this helps! Hi Pat and OneHoliday! Reading the above reminds me of something that I don't think occurs to a lot of people, but which I've noticed affecting me, and that is soap, specifically laundry soap. If I don't make sure I get all the soap out of my underwear (I cycle the load at least two extra times) I'll have a guaranteed outbreak the day after laundry day. In fact, before I figured out I had herpes, I thought I was just allergic to laundry soap. I don't know if the same thing could be affecting you, but modern detergents are harsh items, and no matter what else you do, keeping clean and dry for instance, might do no good if you're dressing every day with an irritant impregnated right in your clothes. Wash your clothes normally, then run the machine again with no soap and while it's running take a peek inside. You'll be amazed at how much soap is still in there. Also look for detergents with no perfumes or dyes, or the ones that claim to rinse more fully. Maybe helps, maybe not, but it's something else to think of. Take care, Mike Some of the advice offered by the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practicioners here include abstaining from deep fried or spicy foods. Also keep away from fish and bean/nut products. I also drink a concotion boiled from prunella vulgaris (Self-Heal) which I find useful. <<<<<<<<<< Well garlic and onions are certainly good against the bugs. Fish and beans are a healthy source of protein, not sure how they offend the situation worse than lots of red meat... how bad does self-heal taste? I'm consider growing it in the spring. -J >Some of the advice offered by the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) >practicioners here include abstaining from deep fried or spicy foods. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >lots of red meat... >how bad does self-heal taste? I'm consider growing it in the spring. Self-Heal doesn't taste bad actually. You could probably start off by strring in a bit of honey and once you get use to the taste (relatively no smell), you could drink it pure. :) - pat > Hello Everyone... This is my first post to this group. I would like > to see if anybody has experienced what I'm going through now. [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > one_ It sounds to me that you have already identified the correlation between stress and the itching, not to mention the frequency of outbreaks. Stress is a *huge* factor in our lives. The better you become a stress management the healthier you will become. Also, you should look at any over the counter med's you are taking, especially the herbal type. I had a similar situation as you. At night I would have horrible itching around the rectum area and inner thigh. At times it was so bad I could not sleep. To make a long story short, I stopped taking *echinacea* and the itching stoped almost immediately. I then took *echinacea* again and the itching started again. You may be having a reaction to some supplement, or some new food consumption. |
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