Runner's itch, what do?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

If this belongs in the medical forum apologies. But I don’t think it’s really serious enough to be a medical concern and only effects training, so I posted here. Feel free to move or correct that!

Anyway, I get runner’s itch and it comes and goes and is sometimes gone for months, and sometimes it’s constant every time I exercise and sometimes it’s so severe I have to stop (rarely though), symptoms below (if they matter). Overall, it’s manageable. But I am really annoyed at not finding any good information on it at all no matter how hard I search. For background, I’m an MD as well.

Some sites speak with authority on exactly what it is and why it happens, some sites list lots of different theories, and some sites seem to mix in what seems like completely unrelated phenomena such as anaphylactoid reactions, hives, wheezes etc. Some use explanations like blood vessels expanding and physically touching nerve endings causing itching, sometimes explanations are ill-fitting clothes or histamine release from exercise, all of them seem speculative to outright absurd. Sometimes the term “exercise induced urticaria” is used synonymously, which seem inappopriate as there is no urticaria (or any rash). I have a few friends who experience this as well, and no rashes. Getting a good rash from exercise, or wheezing, or anything else than an itch seems like a completely different thing. Prevention advice seem to range from skin moisturizers, to antihistamines, to hydrating properly, warming up properly, or that it just goes away with time. It’s mildly frustrating reading all these opinions.

Symptoms: Mild to severe itching of mainly lower legs, but also sometimes arms and feet during warmup. Will invariably go away once I break a proper sweat or stop and take a shower. I can get it from getting too warm while sleeping as well, necessitating getting up and taking a quick shower. Can happen during any exercise, but most problematic in settings where I get a bit warm but never break a complete sweat, like running or biking and being cooled by the wind, or lifting in a somewhat cool place. Seem to happen in phases, sometimes no issues for months, sometimes issues every time I exercise for a few months. No rash or wheeze. Otherwise healthy, no meds, no long list of allergies.

Is there any authoritative theory on what this is? If there isn’t and everything is just speculation, that’s fine and that’s what I’m suspecting. And is there any solid advice on how to prevent it?

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I don’t know much about this, unfortunately. We’ll see if anyone else has some insight.

3

I will say, and this is coming from a couple of years of experience in a rehab hospital, it is probably temperature-related. There have been countless times where patients would make a comment about having itchy or itchy and hot body parts, and this was easily remedied by simply having them roll to one side.

Since you mentioned the exact sensation as them in the same position, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was just a heat buildup thing and nothing more, especially since you made note of this symptom disappearing when you broke into a sweat or took a shower.

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I guessed that would be the case, but thanks for replying!

5

I do feel it’s a bit of a different phenomena, but I do appreciate the input. I can get warm and warmed up with zero itching, sometimes. And sometimes warming up, or just being too warm under a blanket in bed will get it started. However, if I do get the itches and I do cool down it will subside, just like you mentioned. The difference is that once I’ve had that itch, it will invariably return once I get warm again unless I shower. It feels like a shower is a reset button for the process. So I’ve considered whether salt crystals are irritating the skin and dissolve in water (pure speculation of course). But hey, maybe the patients would have the same effect from a good shower?