Husband has terrible itching. Any suggestions?

betskand: Perhaps he needs to see a dermatologist to determine a dx and also for a prescription OINTMENT as lotions do indeed rub off. A firsthand account - I take Seroquel and do not encounter itching.

I know how irritating that itching can be! Mine was top to bottom. Check with your doctor/dermatologist to be sure it’s ok, but my dermy prescribed Trimcinolone Acetonide Ointment USP, 0.1%. It looks like vaseline and it worked very well for me, but your guy’s itch could be cause by something different. I have no idea what caused mine. I think just dryness.
Instructions were to “apply twice a day for 2 weeks, take a break for 1week before restarting if needed”.
I only needed it for a short time and did not usually do twice a day.

It also comes in a nystatin cream either one works, it might be a fungal thing. dH itching was around his testicles a continued warm and moist area, but improved within days.

We delt with that for so long until I tried some nystatin powder and itch was gone in two days. Keeping a close eye on it moving forward.

Google geriatric pruritis.....a BEAST of a thing to address or get rid of. My mother w dementia went thru it for 2 yrs and her docs tried everything known to man, with no results, including placebos. One day, I decided to buy her a can of Dermoplast which has a numbing agent in it like lidocaine. Took the itching away and she used it as needed, thank God. There are a few different products available in that line you can try.

GOOD LUCK

You could try rubbing the gel from an aloe plant on it. My MIL was right - aloe gel is good for a lot of things. You can buy an aloe plant and freeze the leaves, then take then out and thaw a bit whenever you need the gel. This is especially good for kitchen burns when cooking. Also sunburn.

See a dermatologist. Itching is miserable. Can be a symptom of cancer or worse. Was for my dad.

It may not be a dry skin problem as much as something related to diet or medications. Have doctors check for medications that may aggravate itching. Harder to solve are dietary causes. Look for information about left -ovets and foods that contain a lot of histamine or that trigger the release of histamine when they are eaten. Eliminating high-histamine foods might help relieve some of your husband's itching. Topical lidocaine creme and prescription triamcinolone creme might also help.

My wife has a similar problem. Went to the doc and had many skin tests all negative. Finally I have determined it was a fungal infection and a fungal cream works but it is very difficult to get rid of.

dear OP,

great the doctor came.

regarding water, absolutely do NOT start adding lots of salt in an attempt to make him drink water.

1 of my LOs was very resistant to drinking water.
and as we all know, many people (including us caregivers) don't really like to listen to suggestions by family members. many of us are much more willing to listen to non-family. your husband resists your good advice: that's very common.

anyway, regarding water:
what i did was drink water TOGETHER with my LO. this way i'm not being hypocritical. i'm also drinking water.
we toasted with our glasses of water, "cheers!"
and drank at the same time.
(sometimes we even toasted together on video calls, several times a day, when i was away).

other technique:
"after you finish this glass of water, you can have your favorite snack, food, coffee, etc.."

many people find water boring.
😉 my LO says, "water is for watering the plants."

many (especially elderly) people prefer sweet food and sweet drinks. taste buds deteriorate. sweet things are stronger, more tasty.

hug!! you'll find a way.

1 reason drinking water is so important, is because since your husband takes various medicines, water washes out (as much as possible) side-effects...and it can also help to try to wash out some infections...and it can also help prevent certain infections (for example some UTIs)...
i'm not saying that water is the only thing to do. i'm saying water helps.

hug!!
❤️🙂

Thanks so much to all of you! Based on so many urgings, I did contact our doc immediately and got a house call. There are no real signs of anything -- no welts, hives, or rash. Just itching that he says gets very intense.

The doc didn't think it was Seroquel -- he's been on that for 4 months and only had the itching start a few weeks ago. However, he looked and said "Boy, is his skin dry!" We have Cera Vee and Acquaphor and he recommended that I or one of our helpers slather on a lot the second we see him scratching.

He also echoed one of you good friends by saying he MUST drink lots of water. LOTS. He is very resistant to this idea. He thinks one little sip from a very small glass is a lot of water. His dementia is moving in such a way that he is starting to interpret any suggestion from me as unbearable nagging, so I'm not sure how to get him to do this. I suppose I could do what the vet recommended for my cat once and put a lot of salt in his food...? But that might raise his blood pressure or harm his heart.

PS. I too have found Irish Spring to be kind of noxious. We certainly don't use it.

Based on my experience, I developed an allergy to certain drugs. You might consider tappering you husband off the drugs (one drug at a time) to see if that makes a difference in the itching. Prilosec was one drug, an antibiotic for UTI's was another, over the counter Pepcid AC -- these caused a rash and itching. Just in case, ask the doctor if it could be a mild case of shingles. If you changed laundry detergents recently, that could be part of the problem.

I wish you all the best.

I’ve never dealt with that but you’re right that some meds do cause that effect. Definitely a doctor call is in order because they can try different but similar meds to find the best fit or prescribe a prescription strength itch relief cream if it’s localized. Itching can really affect a person’s psyche. It’s important they’re comfortable.

Do consult the doctor. Know that today this can even be done online. Meanwhile do some sleuthing on your own.
Did this start with the introduction of any new medication or vitamin or food or laundry soap product. THINK carefully about what new has been introduced in your home including even whether or not you are in a heavy fine pollen area. Put all blankets and sheets and pillows into the dryer to kill any dust mite overpopulation; keep house as dust free as you can.

Next, what does this look like exactly? Are there any fine rash areas? Was hubby on any antibiotics recently that could cause fungal overgrowth. Where is this itching LOCATED? Lower extremities or any extremities or folds or trunk of moist areas or dry areas? Is hubby sunning himself more of late?

Any recent dietary changes?

Then speak to the doctor with a good online connection in which your hubby's skin can be clearly seen by the doc.

I wish you good luck and hope you'll update us. When I was a nurse the one dermatologist around most told us that his practice was pretty much ALL a guessing game after gathering evidence.

dear OP,

as others said: he should see a doctor.

also keep in mind, it can indeed be seroquil, or other medicines. many medicines have itching (and dry skin) as a side-effect.

my friend's mother had an itching problem, too. that stopped when a particular medicine was stopped. another friend's mother also had itching: turns out it was simply mosquitoes entering the house. conclusion: there can be so many causes.

yes, now is the time for that doctor house call.

i don't believe the cause is just your husband's dry skin. then itching would have gone away with all that lotion. i think it's very likely a side-effect of whatever medicine; or an infection.

also (and that goes for all us caregivers, too), make sure your husband drinks lots of water. ❤️🙂 i'll drink a glass right now.

Itching can also happen with kidney or liver disease.

Take him to a dermatologist. Rashes and skin problems could be caused by so many things. For example, I developed a symmetrical rash on both my shins in the same spot on my legs at the same time, covering the same amount of area. Nothing made it go away: the skin was red and thickened and itchy but no amount of creams or hydracortisone helped. I read online that it coud be caused by immunological problems. But at my visit to the dermatologist she took one look at it and knew right away it was a vascular problem. Got steroid cream and other instructions and it is now gone. Just saying, do not assume what his itchy skin may be from. See a specialist if the basic process of elimination of suspected causes doesn't yield any improvement.

Allergy? New laundry detergent or soap? Irish Spring does that to me.

He could be allergic to the Seroquel. Sometimes the binders they use in production of the med change and cause reactions that were not previously experienced.

Ask if you can send photos to your Doctor too. Obviously it's better for the Doc to see in person, but could help initiate a medication review or a referral for blood tests or tests with one less visit.

Photos are great for comparing if things are changing, getting worse or better too.

So of course it could be anything - related or unrelated - but from what I can tell from a quick Google search - an allergic reaction to Seroquel can include an itchy, red, swollen, blistered or peeling rash.

The information sheet with the prescription should include side effects - but the one I found online says to not stop taking the medication without speaking to the doctor first - BUT that you need to contact your doctor if you think you have had an allergic reaction.

Is he having any other symptoms? Shortness of breath? Wheezing? Swelling?

Does your doctor have a triage line that you can call 24/7 and ask questions?

How long has he been on the medication?

I mean it could always be other things - have you changed detergents recently? Is he wearing new clothes? I recently had a terrible allergic reaction to a new shampoo.

But if I were you I would be safe and contact the doctor right away and check into it. And if he is having any of those other scary side effects you might consider emergency care.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/19288-quetiapine-tablets

https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/consumers/cmi/s/Seroquel.pdf

Also - he says its different from Shingles - but is it possible its just a mild case? I'm assuming he has had the Shingles vaccine? I was only able to have the first one - because - laughingly I was actually allergic to the Shingles vaccine itself!

Apparently - also Dr Google -there may be some risk of medication induced psoriasis from that class of drugs. I don't know how prevalent or if it is even applicable. That's one that only your doctor could answer. But maybe worth looking into.