Brachioradial Pruritis

If you have severe itching and a burning sensation on your arms, chances are that you have brachioradial pruritis. There are many other possible causes for your condition, however if you have seen a dermatologist and they have diagnosed this annoying and painful condition, you are probably looking for more information about this condition and seeking a possible treatment for it.

This is what I have found about this condition since I have been diagnosed recently with it.

It was seeming like every summer, anytime I was out in the sun cutting the grass or spending time with my family that if I was out in the sun, my arms, mostly my left arm, would just start itching and burning. It was almost like the shooting pains in my forearm would make my arm twitch. The painful itch was almost unbearable to the point that I was ready to get a grill brush to scratch it. I was using my keys to scratch it and although it provided some relief, it would only end up making it worse.

My skin looks fine and normal, other than the redness from scratching it like crazy. I have had it so severe that scratching has left marks and broken the skin in areas also.

I finally went to the dermatologist and this hub is about my experiences and what I have learned by researching the condition. It is also hopefully going to offer some insights as to what I have found that has brought some relief to this condition.

Brachioradial pruritis is a painful sensation, mostly noted in the forearm area, that is caused by over sensative nerve endings.  Since the nerves are supersensative, it seems like it doesn't take much to cause them to send signals to the brain that your arm is itching.  Once you start scratching the area, it only seems to make it worse.  This is because you have agitated the already delicate nerve endings in your skin.

Since one of the things I noticed that would really set off the itching and burning was being out in the sun, after going to the dermatologist I really began to see it. Before I just thought it was a "flare up" of the itching, but I began to notice the pattern. Sort of like when you buy a new car, you all of a sudden begin to see them all over the place.

I noticed that when I was driving and the sun would hit my left arm, which is the most affected arm, it would almost immediately begin to itch. I began to experiment with keeping my arm down out of the sun instead of putting it up on the window while driving and this seemed to help some, but not completely.

I also noticed that when I was outside, if I kept my arm covered up with a shirt or something else so the sun didn't hit it, there was no itching. However, as soon as I uncovered my arm, it began to itch and burn. It also seemed like once I exposed my arm to the sun, the itching began and it would progressively get worse throughout the day.

While overexposure to the sun is one of the culprits of this condition, it is not the only one from what research studies have found. There is also some theory and research that indicates that a cervical spine (c-spine) issue has been found to cause it.

You can read more about this research study, although it is written in medical jargon that most people won't fully understand.

My dermatologist, when first diagnosed with this, advised me that there is no cure for this condition.  However he prescribed a topical cream for me to try when it was flaring up.  The cream is almost like a clear liquid paste and it has Fluocin, Phenol and Menthol in it.  When I first put it on, it did burn a little, but I think that was mostly due to the damage I had done to my skin by scratching it with my keys.  I know, stupid me but the pain and itching is insanely intense.

It has helped some, but if I was going outside in the sun, it didn't help.  I was at the park this last weekend with my family and had an extra t-shirt with me and took it and wrapped it around my arm while in the sun.  That really seemed to make a difference with no itching or problems.  However, once we were on the road and stopped for some errands, just walking from the car into the store the sun was on my arm and it began to itch again.

Since this condition is caused by nerve damage, my dermatologist has suggested that we would try a nerve medicine such as Neurontin.  I'm not sure if it will work, but I will keep this page updated to see if it does help.

Another treatment that I have found that has brought some relief is anytime I am in the shower, once I am done washing and rinsing, I would turn the water to as cold as it would go and put my arm in it.  I noticed that if I took a hot, or even warm shower, it would begin to itch in the shower.  By putting my arm in the cold water, it did help enough for me to be able to dry off and then apply the topical cream that was prescribed. 

I also found that using an icepack brought some great relief pretty quickly.  I think that anytime you use an icepack, it cools the area and is a natural numbing agent.  This seemed to really help and usually about 5 to 10 minutes of direct contact of the icepack on my arm made it feel a lot better.