Itch At Base Of Thumbs

[Tilly2]

For the past two weeks, the muscles at the base of my thumbs are very irritatingly itching. No rash, no visible redness, just an infernal, internal itch.

I scrape it with my teeth, it's that irritating. Creams don't seem to help.

Any ideas?

[Sqad]

In the absence of any underlying medical condition e.g diabetes,.............I have no idea except to say it is not life threatening.

[Tilly2]

I don't have diabetes, I think, and I know it's not life threatening but it is extremely irritating.

What if I was diabetic? How would that affect my thumbs please, Sqad?

[Tilly2]

My only underlying health problem is an underactive thyroid.

[Sqad]

Well you are not diabetic Tilly..;-)

IF you were and it was badly controlled, then the nerves of your fingers may be damaged in what is know as Diabetic neuropathy........but you haven't and it ain't.

[ummmm]

I get something similar on my feet and you can't scratch the itch. I'm not diabetic either, it just happens now and then. Very annoying.

[Sqad]

Well an underactive thyroid could give those symptoms, so if you haven't had a blood test for a year......have one, although it is unlikely that it would be the answer to your problem.

[Tilly2]

Oh well, I'll just keep scraping away with my teeth then. :-)

Had a raft of blood tests recently. No phone call from GP. Assume I'm ok.

Thanks for answering, both of you.

[Patsy33]

I get this too Tilly. I think the antibacterial liquid soap might be the cause with mine...

[Tilly2]

Do you have any signs of irritation, Patsy? Redness? Dry skin?

[melv16]

Crabs?:-)

[Tilly2]

Lobsters?

[Patsy33]

A little bit Tilly...

[LadyCG]

I get eczema in the web spaces of my fingers and thumbs when stressed and run down. Right now its the base of the ring finger of my right hand that's itching like crazy although there's no erythema or rash to be seen.

I find antihistamines and 1% hydrocortisone cream helps.

[rowanwitch]

Try an antihistamine. I get similar itching, either hands, across my toes or more rarely other places. Always in one small spot GP thinks it is stress related because it was much worse when Dave was ill. The old fashioned ones like Piriton seem to work better and ice packs also help.

[Tilly2]

Thanks, Lady CG and Rowan.

I take antihistamines as a matter of course throughout the summer. I am still taking one a day.

I will try hydrocortisone cream though

[rowanwitch]

If you haven't tried it already I found Eurax cream was the best at damping the itch down. I also stopped wearing rubber gloves as they seemed to aggravate it

[Tilly2]

I'll give it a try, Rowan. Thank you.

[Eve]

Eurax lotion is good too, lovely and cool if you keep it in the fridge and apply on a cotton wool pad and hold it on. Was great when I had Shingles and another skin thing which was really itchy.

[Tilly2]

Thank you, Eve. I'll get some Eurax tomorrow. I'll try anything. It drives me bonkers.

[Quizmonster]

Have you considered the possibility that this might be a message from the supernatural world?

Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1 Second witch:

"By the pricking of my thumbs

Something wicked this way comes."


Sorry, couldn't resist!