Itchy Palms - cause?

[Green]

Last Friday I quite suddenly had very itchy palms, like right down to the bone itchy, woke in the night kind of itchy - it has subsided the past 2 days, but still lingering, worse at night. I am wondering if the cause might be related to drinking 'Sunquick' Orange concentrate, which I dilute and drink with water pretty much everyday for the past couple of months.

I stopped yesterday and it subsided, I drank it again in the evening and the itching started again. Today none and it seems to be ok. I also took celebrex 400mg yesterday and today which may have helped.

Other things I have seen reported are diabetes type 2 (doesn't seem likely, no other symptoms), skin rash, outbreak (which I dont have at all), I don't have any known allergies, carpal tunnel syndrome (again doesn't make sense the way it appeared like that)...

Any ideas? Thanks.

[maddas]

stay off the juice longer to see if it is the culprit

[Sheryl]

Are you on any medications?

Did you touch anything unusual the day this happened or the day prior? Any plant, weed etc? Contact dermatitis being the most common cause.

And do you eat a healthy balanced diet? (nutritional deficiencies sometimes a cause).

I doubt the juice is to blame if you have been drinking it for months and the itching just started. However it's not very healthy stuff anyhow, you'd do much better to buy real orange juice (or other real fruit juice), there are many brands of such in Thailand, look for ones without preservatives and preferrably without added sugar and not made from concentrate.

[infinity11]

Good question, i had the same on my palms and sometimes on the bottom of my feet.

I suspect it is an allergic reaction to: MSG, and/or shrimp, and/or impure foods and drinks like the OJ you buy on the street.

(There are also different types of bugs that bite some you can not see, they attack the ankles often.)

If you are consuming artificial sweeteners, try to stop?

Edited June 26, 2013 by infinity11

[Green]

Not on any meds other than occasional anti-infl, I have been eating salads, indian, mainly vegetarian for the past year, didn't touch anything that I can think of that might have caused it.

I was drinking 2-3 cartons of tipco squeeze/day for quite a while, the sunquick was an alternative to save money and increase my water intake, I also quite like the tangy taste of the sunquick, but realize its basically just liquid sugar. I'm going to switch to water with fresh lemon, I can never just drink water straight in any quantity.

[JDGRUEN]

Possibly sulfites preservatives in foods - wine ....The sunquick drink could have some sort of sufite in it ..

If you have a rash - or a raised rash it could be something else... Also if you have a slight swelling with redness. The sufltes could cause swelling and redness.

In extreme cases allergy to sulfites in wine or when used to preserve fish, seafood, especially shrimp - can cause bronchial swelling and extreme difficulty in breathing - the lungs may become very inflamed...

One form or another of sulfites are commonly used to preserve fish, seafood - especially shrimp - preserves color and gives artificial appearance of freshness ... and the vendors are not likely to let it be known ...

[Green]

I see, I had no external rash of any kind, nothing raised, just internal itching. Still have a bit, but it seems to be on the way out. I would guess like Sheryl mentioned that it was a contact dermatitis of some kind, a kind of allergic reaction, never experienced something like that before. I do have sarcoidosis, diagnosed 16 years ago, it went into remission a few months after the diagnosis though and never had a problem with it since. Thanks for those responses!

[JDGRUEN]

OP ... How long have you been in Thailand on a consistent basis? ... If you have arrived relatively recently .. did you come from a cold (temperate) climate country ? I have some ideas here...

[infinity11]

water with lemon and/or honey is a great refresher as well as tonic good for many reasons

if you are lazy you can buy electrolyte mix you add to water for about 6 baht each

there are many brands, at least one is quite tasty

[paleodoc]

Itchy palms (and feet) is a common manifestation of allergy. You are allergic to some constituent in the orange squash. Don't drink it again. Further exposure to this allergen (whatever it is) might result in a more extreme manifestation of allergy: anaphylaxis. This is a serious business!

The suggestion that 'pure fruit juice' is more healthy than squash is simple nonsense. Have a look at the 'sugar' content of pure fruit juice. It is simply a sugar drink. If you want the benefits of fruit...eat some, don't drink it.

live well

Regards

[Green]

It was pretty much calmed down, had a glass of sunquick last night and about 5-6 hours later itchy palms again. So that would seem to be it.

[tropo]

I see, I had no external rash of any kind, nothing raised, just internal itching. Still have a bit, but it seems to be on the way out. I would guess like Sheryl mentioned that it was a contact dermatitis of some kind, a kind of allergic reaction, never experienced something like that before. I do have sarcoidosis, diagnosed 16 years ago, it went into remission a few months after the diagnosis though and never had a problem with it since. Thanks for those responses!

I don't want to freak you out, but....,

The very first thing I would do if I had deep "unscratchable" itching in the hands would be getting my bilirubin levels checked. Celebrex can be hard on the liver along with many other medicines. 400 mg Celebrex tabs are high dose - I only use 200 mg Celebrex a day at the most for osteoarthritic pain. Even something as innocuous as Tylenol can put a great deal of stress on the liver. It soon gets me itching and I can't take it.

When bilirubin levels become elevated, a common symptom is pruritus. It's deep itchiness that cannot be relieved by scratching. I had it for a month and it was living hell. It's a symptom of drug induced (and other types of) cholestasis of the liver. The itching starts at lower bilirubin levels than jaundice. I had itching over many areas, but the itching pattern can vary from person to person.

It's a cheap test and worth doing. You may want to check ALP, AST and ALT while you're at it. A full liver function test is about 350 baht in Thailand.

On a more humerous note, my wife gets itchy palms when she's about to receive money.

Edited July 9, 2013 by tropo