Itchy Legs!

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  • kunibob
    kunibob Posts: 608 Member
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    read this on another site:

    That itching is caused by an increased blood flow through the capillaries in the skin. You are actually feeling your body expand your circulatory system.

    This is what I was going to suggest, as that was my problem, so I'm going to 2nd this!

    I have this problem, though it has faded away somewhat in recent years. I did notice that the type of fabric I'm wearing on my legs makes a noticeable difference. Wearing short, baggy shorts seems less distracting than longer or heavier fabrics. I guess that when the fabric rubs against the already itchy skin, it makes it even more noticeable for me.

    The exercise urticaria that sirabe mentioned above might also be a possibility.

    For me, it seems worse when I'm on an elliptical or something stationary. Stopping and really shaking out my legs and using my hands to jiggle my quads/calves seems to help a bit. Scratching usually makes it worse for me, as it irritates everything even more.
  • Katie3784
    Katie3784 Posts: 543
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    If you have not been running or exercising much lately, the capillaries in your legs collapse slightly. However, once you begin exercising again, your legs require an increased supply of blood. As the flow of circulation to this area increases, the capillaries in your legs must expand to allow for more blood flow. As these capillaries expand, the nerves surrounding them send "itchy signals" to the brain. Fortunately, these symptoms typically stop after a few days of regular running.
    I actually do the elliptical 6 days a week, and this never happens with that. I think I might try compression shorts.
  • hopebuck
    hopebuck Posts: 138
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    OMG...this used to be me. I would get it just WALKING to school when I was a kid and i would be in tears I was itching soo badly. Wasn't til about 5 years ago a dr told me to try claritin. I have since taken one claritin a day and I do NOT have this problem anymore. I just remember NO ONE being able to tell me waht to do about it and i wanted to run.... Now I CAN!!!! I'm not in to taking much medicine, but I swear by my generic claritin!!!! :)

    good luck!
  • Blondie2400
    Blondie2400 Posts: 5 Member
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    I have had this problem for years and tried just about everything that has been suggested - allergy meds, benadryl, lotions, etc etc. This week I started drinking about 10 glasses of water a day to help fight a cold...well my itching disappeared!! I keep drinking lots of water and I have yet to have any itching! I think the itching was caused from the salt in my sweat and drinking water helped dilute it. I could not be happier to be free from the horrible, horrible, torture of itchy legs!!!!!!!!! please try this!!!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Thanks for all the great responses, very helpful. I too have this issue with walking, running or using the ellip.

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