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What Causes Itchy Arms?

what causes itchy arms

How do you get relief for itchy arms?

Medical science is getting closer to understanding one of the most common causes of chronically itchy arms called brachioradial pruritus.

This means we're also getting closer to helping people get relief for itchy arms, an extremely frustrating condition! A new study exploring the cause of brachioradial pruritus was just reported in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

The authors used MRI imaging to look at the cervical spine of 41 patients suffering from chronic itching of what was otherwise normal-appearing skin on the outer surface of their forearms arms (called brachioradial pruritus).

MRI imaging showed a very strong correlation between the arm itch and nerve compression in the patient’s neck.

In fact, the exact site of the itch on the skin correlated precisely with the spinal location in the neck where the nerve resides that supplies that part of the arm skin (we call this a dermatome*).

What’s so interesting is that the only sign of the nerve compression in the spine was the itchy skin "downstream" in the exact nerve root dermatome of the spinal nerve that was compressed - on the arm skin!

When we think of nerve root compression in the spine, we expect pain, numbness, decreased muscle strength, and many more symptoms to be present, not just itch. These patients, however, did not have neck pain or other signs that we doctors would associate with spinal disease; they just had itchy skin "downstream" from the nerve! ~ Dermatologist Dr. Cynthia Bailey

cause of itchy arms is neck spinal problems

We already knew that severe spinal diseases (disk herniation, spinal tumors, etc.) can result in an itch that’s seen in the "downstream" dermatome of skin supplied by that spinal nerve. But it also includes a host of other symptoms (pain, numbness, paralysis, etc.).

Now, we are finding that even subtle, nerve root compression can cause just this vexing itch without all of the other symptoms. We’re still not sure exactly why the itch happens in a compressed nerve because the itch nerves are usually quiet unless something is tickling or biting the skin.

The authors of the study speculate that the slight compression may be making the itch nerves "hyper-excitable."  They point out that the dermatome of skin with the subtly-compressed nerve has altered sensory perception to pinprick and temperature, suggesting that the nerves really are "tweaked" by the compression.

The itchy arm skin of brachioradial pruritus is "hyper-sensitive" to stimuli that can cause itch.

What else did we learn about the arm itch (brachioradial pruritus) from the 41 patients studied?

  • Itchy skin biopsied looked totally normal; in every patient, a skin biopsy showed completely normal skin, confirming that the itch was not due to a skin problem. They did see changes common to chronically scratched skin (leathering, callous-like lesions, and scratch marks), but no rashes or skin problems that could cause itch.
  • Itch was accompanied with burning and stinging sensations at the site most of the time. 
  • The itch got worse with warmth and heat. (This is interesting because for years we've known that brachioradial pruritus is often worse in the summer. We attributed it to sun exposure, but perhaps the real trigger is heat.)
  • The itch was improved by applying something cold (e.g. an ice pack).
  • The itch often started in the dermatome of the nerve that exits the spine at cervical (neck) vertebra #6. (This nerve root supplies the outside surface of the forearms, over the brachioradial muscle, called dermatome C6.) Over time, the itch often grew to several adjacent dermatomes, and the spinal issues and nerve root compressions were found in those dermatomes too when that happened.
  • In most people, the itch was constant 24/7, but in some, it occurred intermittently.
  • In about half of the patients, it was on both arms.
  • In about half of the patients, the itch was worsened by touch, pressure, or scratching.

What can you do to get relief for itchy arms?

Talk to your doctor. Take this information to him or her and ask if it might fit your situation.

Keep your arms cool. Heat seems to make the itch worse.

Keep your arms skin sun protected all the time to prevent itchy arms.

Keep your arms out of the sun. For years, patients have told us that sun exposure brings on the itch. This would mean wearing a sun-protective long-sleeved shirt and/or zinc oxide sunscreen since these are the coolest ways to keep the sun off of your skin.

get relief from itchy arms with this

Remember, chemical sunscreens generate a little heat when the sun hits them and zinc oxide sunscreens don’t. My favorite zinc oxide sunscreen for arms is Sheer Strength Pure Physical SPF 50+ Sunscreen. I wear this on my itchy arms daily when they are not covered by soft clothing.

Keep your arm skin well-hydrated and free of scaly, flaky-skin to prevent arm itch!

We think these troubled nerves are hyper-excitable. And, dry skin that’s got a fine covering of dry flaky scales will act like little tickling feathers when clothing or air cause the scale to move. 

control itchy arm and back skin with this

My favorite regular skin care treatment to keep skin hydrated and scale-free when it's suffering from one of these neurogenic itch syndromes (like brachioradial pruritus) is my Ultra-Fast Triple Action Skin Smoothing Kit. I depend on it and can promise that it helps.

Spine disease and nerve compression are more likely to happen as we age, as is dry flaky skin. It's a perfect storm, but combining exfoliative, hydrating skin care with my Triple Action Body Kit helps. 

Another option is AmLactin Cream applied immediately after exiting the bath/shower and toweling dry (within 3 minutes), combined with the use of exfoliating bath mitt and very mild soap in the shower to exfoliate the skin.

3 tips to treat your itchy arms once the itch has started.

  1. Slap on an ice pack! It’s the single biggest way to quiet down the itch because your nerves can only send out so many messages. And when they’re screaming at you that the skin is cold, they can’t also keep sending you the message of itch.
  2. Apply skin anti-itch products with pramoxine (such as Prax Lotion or Sarna Sensitive Lotion) or cooling itch creams with menthol and/or camphor (Sarna Original or Eucerin Itch-Relief Spray). Even better is to keep these products in the fridge so that they’re cold when you apply them.
  3. Don't scratch. It makes the itch worse. Plus, it thickens, leathers-up and damages your skin. It also causes your skin nerves to enlarge, which we can see under the microscope when we biopsy skin that's chronically rubbed and scratched.

What to avoid when you have itchy arms? 

  1. Don't scratch. Nerves get bigger when you do and you don't need your skin nerves to be any bigger than they already are, so you've got to find some other way to respond to your itching.  I suggest that ice pack.
  2. The application of capsaicin cream topically to the itchy area of skin has been shown to help, but it can cause stinging and irritation on sensitive skin.
  3. Be sure to avoid anti-itch products that contain diphenhydramine and benzocaine because people often become allergic to these medicines when they apply them on their skin. The allergy results in an itchy rash that will make your itchy arm problem worse.

Talk to your doctor if you don't get relief from arm itch.

If you’re not able to get sufficient relief with these measures, you may want to talk with your doctor about some of the more involved treatments that have been shown to relieve the chronic itch of brachioradial pruritus.  

These include “cervical spine manipulation, physiotherapy, or orthopedic treatment,” according to the authors. (I’ve had patients whose dermatomal neurogenic itch syndrome was cured by spinal surgery, but they needed the surgery for symptoms well beyond itch.) An oral medicine called gabapentin also shows promise for the treatment of neurogenic itch syndromes such as brachioradial pruritus.

The bottom line with itchy arms:

The good news is that the causes of the itchy arm syndrome called brachioradial pruritus are becoming better understood. This means that we're sure to get better and better treatments for the relief of this vexing neurogenic itch syndrome.

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Want relief for itchy arms? Check out my Ultra-Fast Skin Smoothing AHA Kit here!

 *A dermatome is the skin area supplied by a spinal nerve. Your skin is "wired" very precisely; a nerve exits the spine between 2 spinal vertebrae and travels to a very specific area of your skin. It travels to only one part of your skin and that's called a dermatome. We doctors can actually map dermatomes on the entire body that correlate with each of the spaces between your spinal vertebrae. The outer side of your forearm is usually supplied by nerves that come for the 6th intervertebral space in your neck.

Reference:

Martin Marziniak, et. al., MD, Brachioradial pruritus as a result of cervical spine pathology: The results of a magnetic resonance tomography study, JAAD 65(4):756-762 Oct. 2011

 

Marziniak Martin, MD et. al., J Am Acad Dermatol 2011;65:756-62.