My Lamma Forums

Leggova · Pets Forum Co-Moderator Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 287

..and maybe answered?

In the summer time I get really itchy when I get out of the shower. Here are some criteria for when this happens

Only happens at home, never at the gym
Seems to happen mostly in hot weather
Happens regardless of the soap I use
Only gets itchy on the legs and arms
Get's REALLY bad if I scrub, shave etc
Also bad if I rub myself dry with a towel on my arms and legs rather than "patting" myself dry
Happened in the last two flats that I have lived in on Lamma

When it happens, it takes around 30 minutes for it to stop itching....no rash or anything, just the skin is really prickly

This is a total mystery to me....

Something about the water system on Lamma in the summertime maybe? Anyone else find this?

Foxy · over 500 messages posted Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 575

Sounds like 'Hong Kong foot' to me - a common type of athlete's foot (Tinea species) that affects most of the body, most commonly causing intense itching in the groin area. Mild cortisone/antifungal cream e.g Dactacort or similar usually sorts it out.

Alan

Try having a cold shower, or at least rinsing off for a couple of minutes with cold after washing.

Makes the skin less sensitive, stops you sweating (at least for a while).

poilkoop · over 200 messages posted Joined: 07 Apr 2009 Posts: 297

Isn't this prickly heat and the treatment prickly heat powder?

Leggova · Pets Forum Co-Moderator Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 287

Come on folks....read the original post and think logically!!! Laughing

Can't be any of those things, otherwise it would happen when I shower off Lamma Island at the gym.

I assume it must be something to do with the water on Lamma, but what has me stumped is that it only happens in the hotter months.

Leggova · Pets Forum Co-Moderator Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 287

Alan · Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 11:41 pm Post subject:

Foxy · over 500 messages posted Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 575

Could be prickly heat perhaps - try watson's prickly heat powder and see if tht has any effect. Doubt it's the water, maybe a soap/shampoo allergy?

Leggova · Pets Forum Co-Moderator Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 287

Leggova · Pets Forum Co-Moderator Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 287

Oh and if it was heat and sweating...would definitely happen at the gym!

Moley · Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 86 Location: NgaKaoWan

Haha! Finally I find someone who has the same situation as I do (I am worse as I have it in winter time as well).

Initially I suspected that it's the soap I used, but over time and over 50+ different types of soap/shower gel/shower oil, I am more inclined to think that it's the water.

AND...I do showers in Cold water in summertime and cool water in wintertime - I paddle in the water over the year through the coldest months from Dec. through Feb. in my shorts, so when I say cool showers in winter, it is cooooooooool, if not freezing.

I am pretty sure it's not "Hong Kong foot" for it's just pure itch (not even reddish rash), no scaling afterwards or persistent itch...just when I have a shower and regardless how long I wash my limbs in the shower, the itch would always come back.

It's slightly better if you rotate 4 different types of soap all the time, but I am getting tired of it and that's why I am trying to make my own soap with next to none chemical. Hopefully that helps.

Lamma-Gung · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:29 pm Post subject:

Try eliminating the soap altogether, just for testing. Shower a few times without using any soap at all and see if you still get the same itch.

Do you have the same problem as Leggova that it happens ONLY when showering on Lamma?

Leggova · Pets Forum Co-Moderator Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 287

It really is only on lamma for me....never when I travel, never at the gym...but the thing that really has me puzzled is it doesn't happen in the winter which eliminates anything like soap, laundry detergent etc.

So the only theory I can come up with is that it is something to do with the water supply to Lamma in the summer months....

G.O.D.S · over 200 messages posted Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 230

I think your wife is trying to poison you by putting drain cleaner in the shower head.

Alan · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:38 pm Post subject:

Sneaky-O · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:20 pm Post subject:

Cat hairs?

Leggova · Pets Forum Co-Moderator Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Posts: 287

greyhair · Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:21 pm Post subject:

It is caused by mold (mould) which is usually found inside shower head where the environment is most suitable for it to grow. The best method to eliminate the mold is to remove the shower head and soak it in bleach for half an hour and then rinse it in water. Lamma island is very humid in summer, you can find mold any where, mold will cause skin itching. Winter is too dry for mold growth, so you do not have skin itching.

Alan · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:12 am Post subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjL9g3s6Fro&NR

Lamma-Gung · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:48 am Post subject:

greyhair,

That's by far the best explanation we've heard so far! As an ex-biology major at university, I think you could be right for many good reasons. And it's most likely in the shower head as mold needs air to grow, so it wouldn't survive in the water pipes.

Plus a dermatological hypersensitivity to cause the rash, otherwise lots of people would have the same problem.

My own only other guess would have been the laundry detergent and fabric softeners left in the towels causing a chemically induced dermatitis. Chemical allergies are becoming really common these days, as everyday household products contain an ever-growing list of ingredients. Easy to check out by simply not toweling off after a shower. And if the towels stay wet in the summer, mold can start growing in there within 1-2 days.

Leggova, let us know the result after bleaching or exchanging the shower head and the hose (just to make sure as air gets in there, too)!

And if greyhair is correct I think he deserves a meal or something similar from you for solving this mysterious case! Very Happy

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