Salt Baths, Sunlight
★★★★☆
I have had this skin disease for years. The only thing that has worked for me is a combination of salt baths and sunlight. During the winter months, when I can't get to the beach, I put sea salt in my bath and soak in it. It clears up infected sores and dries them out and they form a crust which can be pumiced off with an emery board of callus pumice. It also helps to decrease the itching and therefore the scratching as well. When the weather gets warmer, I lie in the sun. Sun exposure is the best treatment. I have gone from approximately 200 sores on my arms and legs to about a dozen.
(Blue Springs, Mo, USA)
04/11/2013
I've had Prurigo Nodularis 27 years now. I had read something interesting. Have or do any of you had throat or tonsil conditions?
(Virginia Beach, Va)
05/30/2013
I seem to have this skin condition. I have hyperthyroidism. I went through a very stressful situation when I started getting the itch. It started on my arm. Initially the itch looks like a bug bite. It was very itchy. The more I scratch, the itchier it gets until it turned to be an open wound. Then I started noticing that the top portion of the itchy wound is filled with fluid. The itching didn't stop. I was placed on Prednisone for 10 days and the itching ceased but then I started to develop itch on my legs and lower back. I need the itch to go away. Dr don't seem to know what it is.
(Union)
08/26/2016
I am 67 years old. Have had prurigo nodularis for years, it got worse when I got chronic fatigue and Epstein bar virus. It is in my system since l988. It has gotten worse every time I am severely stressed out. I too think this is viral, because I have virus(s). I also have a low thyroid. I wonder if a sun lamp would help? What exactly is Valtrex/ Is it what doctors give you when you get shingles? It seemed worse after my mother died, 7 years ago.
(Tennessee)
08/27/2016
Dear Sophia,
Yes, valtrex is an antiviral drug.
If you are dealing with a chronic virus, you might consider extra virgin coconut oil. We have had amazing results using it for viruses. It sounds so simple but it sure does help.
I use 1 tablespoon three times a day for viruses. I once took it for a year for my low thyroid and it actually appeared to heal a different autoimmune disease I had. But if you are petite or prone to digestive problems, you could try 1 or 1 1/2 teaspoons three time a day.
I put it in my oatmeal for breakfast. I mix it into cooked vegetables. I mix it with blackstrap molasses and peanut butter to make a fudge.
You could try epsom salt baths or a magnesium supplement to help with stress.
There is a lot of information on this site. I encourage you to keep reading and be encouraged. I think that you can be helped with your condition!
~Mama to Many~
(Ireland)
09/28/2016
Prurigo Nodularis:
Thank you all for your suggestions. I have suffered from this skin complaint for the past 7 yrs and after reading all of your testimonies, I feel that I have a couple of things in common with other sufferers.
I contracted MRSA during a stay in Hospital, and being Viral, I was quarantined for a month. A few other people have mentioned this, so it must be one of the common factors.
I have Hypothyroidism - chronic fatigue - and have to take hormone tablets every day. This obviously effects the body's natural Immune system and ability to fight disease - especially anything Viral.
Stress is huge factor with the Skin. It is the biggest Organ of the body, and is the one in contact with the outside world. It effects our self image, and our self esteem. It represents our Individuality, so if we feel 'threatened' by our environment, it can result in skin ailments. We must treat the cause - not just the symptoms in order to get rid of it for good.
The Doctors know little of how to approach this skin disease and Steroids don't work. We are the only ones who are willing to put the effort into finding a cure for ourselves, so it is vital that everyone stay in touch with this site to report any finds (good or bad) and hopefully we can come up with an overall 'salve' and 'organic' treatment. I believe that Nature has the answer to every problem, it's just a matter of finding it.
I have used Chamomile Tea for dabbing on my skin and found it very soothing and it helps to calm down the itch and redness. There is a cream available online from Amazon called 'Kamill' which contains Chamomile and Bisabolol and I found instant relief from it. Aloe Vera is a good gel and moisturiser. Oatmeal is good in a bath.
I am fascinated by the Ayurvedic treatment mentioned by Rukhsana, using Gandhak (detoxified sulphur) and Neem powder. and I am going to try this treatment myself.
I will keep you posted on any other treatments I come across and check in here regularly. Wishing you all the best.
(Ct)
09/30/2016
In July of 2016 I had terrible itch which turned out to to be this PN or Prurigo Nodularis....very painful about 14 bumps on left leg and 3 on other under my buttock area.top leg...I commute with airline job and very stressful job..so stress and being away from family got me itching so an extreme and these lumps, appeared ...felt like bee stings and then would zing around elbows where itches broke out ..my skin on arms feel lumpy ..the more I itch it opens the histamine in my body to itch more....I have been put on dyoxoline also..they have dried up a bit but I still have like a heat rash on back n arms..is this part of PN or something else..and if I go in salt water at beach...will these become more infected as they are open lesions?...can anyone one tell me?.
I am also slathering triamcinolone acetonide cream for some relief 2 x a day morn n nite...and on Claritin for itch from histamines...some days I feel no one cares...and myregular doc just put me on netrexolene to block itch. That's used for opiate patients for drug addicts.. I don't want to mix this with dyoxoline.
cuz I hate takin any pills...will be 62 in December..this itch is pushing me towards retirement...has anyone tried Emuaid creme...
(Connecticut)
10/02/2016
I have narrowed it down to prurigo nodularis which had formed on my ankle. I don't know if it initially started with a bug bite but my ankle area has been itchy during winter months and I attributed it to tight socks . I would scratch until sores appeared. This summer nodule seemed like a winter sock itch, that may have started with a mosquito or flea bite. I developed a hard bump which itched like crazy. When I looked closely at it, it reminded me of a wart. I had luck in the past with banana peel and a wart, but didn't have any bananas, so I took a leaf from a Jade plant, a juicy succulent, exposed the juicy inner flesh and taped that with paper tape over the bump. Next day I scraped off the softened skin. The itching had stopped. Today is the third time I've finished removing the taped jade leaf and scraped away the softened skin and it is flat! It doesn't itch! I will continue to tape jade leaf on it for a while. After looking up jade leaf and the juice in it, I see it has been used to remove warts. I wish you all good luck with this method.
(Ireland)
10/14/2016
Hi Linda, I found a cream called 'Kamill' effective for the itch. Also Chamomile tea - drink some and use the rest to dab all over sores. You can mix your own moisturiser with Coconut oil and Tea Tree Oil, wheat germ oil and evening primrose oil. If you like you could also try the Ayurvedic method explained by Rukhsana in April (listed above) which I am trying now as it attacks the root of the problem as well as the symptoms. Let us know how you get on, as it's important for suffers to keep in touch here and report back anything positive they have found. Best of luck.
(New York)
04/22/2017
I have had this condition for many years now. I read another article that said that you can get this if you have thyroid problems. Well, the dermatologist and then also my regular doc, gave me some lotion to use on this. It started to help, the stopped working and it bleached my clothes. I have had to use a wide variety and it is not 100%. I found that hydrogen peroxide helps dry them up. Then, I have been using something called Manuka Oil, which I purchase on Amazon. Then, I get itchy from them being dry, so I use shea butter that I purchase from Amazon also. I fight with drying them up and the dryness. I am also going to try some of your remedies. They sound pretty plausible.
(San Jose)
08/13/2017
I have had PN for 6 years everything Doctors suggested didn't work so I have many scars.
What I found recently was I changed my shower head to Aquasena to remove containments in the water, I wash with Dr .Bonner peppermint oil soap, after I dry (always a fresh clean towel) then I dab SeaBreeze toner on all the spots (it cuts the iching down 90%) sometimes I use perxoide on stubborn spots to dry them out.And finally I use either vinegar or Lysol laundry sanitizer in my washer to kill any bacteria or virus.
I started this March 1st and there is a major difference in recurrance or drying up and fading of existing spots. I also took for 100 days D'Limonene supplements 1 per day. The Brand I took was Jarrow.
I believe this is some sort of either bacteria or virus, and I do this maybe helpful to someone too.
(Northampton)
08/15/2017
Vaseline
★★★★★
Wart Remover, Oregano Oil
★★★★★
I am a 71 yo Caucasian naturalist and ecologist in good health and about 10 pounds overweight with past history of MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, which is now under control.
Six years ago, a nodule started on my left forearm and became aggravating to the point that I went to a dermatologist who took a biopsy.
The diagnosis was Prurigo and no effective treatment was offered.
A week later the nodule began to reappear so I read all that I could find about Prurigo in the web and began to experiment.
Considering that Prurigo resembles warts, I softened the nodule with warm soapy water then shaved off the hard scab to reveal the live tissue and coated it with liquid wart remover that has the glass applicator.
I repeated the application for 2 days then shaved the area on the third day again and repeated the applications as before and again on the tenth day.
In 10 days the nodule was gone, the skin returned to normal and the nodule did not return.
But more nodules showed up on my left cheek and on each side of the nape of my neck. I repeated the process with those nodules and they too disappeared. I
learned from a trial that applying the wart remover without shaving off the hard callus first is ineffective.
Today there is a nodule 2 inches above my navel that will get the same treatment and I will report on the results.
A relevant note is that I have used Mediterranean Oreganum vulgare since 2000 in its various forms as fresh plant, whole leaf extract capsules with oil and oregano oil in dropper bottle. I have not had any other illnesses besides Prurigo and the nodules have shown up during periods that I have not used oregano oil for a several weeks. So I will henceforth continue a weekly maintenance with the oregano.
