Annoying dry skin

When did you stop the imuran? Maybe this is a reaction to the Remicade? Sometimes I get really itchy after a biological dose, usually an antihistamine works for me.

After my first dose of Stelara I got really itchy, I took Claritin 2 days in a row and it went away.

In my experience Head & Shoulders is bad; try a gentle shampoo like Neutrogena or even baby shampoo. Also, watch out for vit E in moisturizers (AKA topherol acetate); it's supposed to help but my skin hates it! Do better with plain petrolatum jelly as a starter ... Aveeno with oatmeal can be helpful to torso & limbs. Good luck getting to the root cause of your discomfort. / Old Hat (35 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Thanks for the tips. Certainly itching is better than a uc flare, but still quite annoying. I'm in new england, cold winters are typical. Crazy low humidity all winter, plus a hot air furnace in the house dries the air out even further.

Not seeing vit E (topherol acetate) in the ingredients list of the moisturizer.

Are Aveeno or cerave cream better moisturizers than mine? I have vaseline intensive care advanced repair moisturizer.

I use irish spring soap (green bars). I have some generic head and shoulders shampoo. I can try some milder stuff...

Generally have a warmish shower but not scalding. A cold shower doesn't seem pleasant, especially for a guy... yikes ... I could quote Seinfeld: m.imdb.com/title/tt0697707/quotes

Showering every few days seems to help. Rather than daily.

I have terrible issues with dry skin. Especially my scalp. In the winter it can become borderline unbearable. For that I use a scalp medication called Betaderm Scalp lotion combined with head & shoulders clinical strength. This get's me through the winter season. I've pretty much tried everything else and nothing works for me.

My body skin also get's dry to the point where I squirm around in discomfort and my upper arms (triceps) get very dry with little red bumps...

The fix for the dry body skin was super easy and cheap... A big old jar of organic coconut oil... it's a lifesaver. I apply a little all over every time I get out of the shower. Takes a bit to get used to and to learn how much is to much, and how much is to little. To much and you're super slippery, haha. But when you get it right and stick with it, the itchiness and red bumps go away fast...

As for the scalp problem: The summer solution for me is good old sunshine... The UV light makes a huge difference. I stop needing to use the bataderm lotion as soon as I get out into the sun for the first bit of spring. I drive around with the sunroof down and lay out in the sun whenever possible. To be honest the sunshine also helps my body skin dryness as well.

Sunshine and coconut oil.. amazing what the two can do.

LOL I laugh because I too, have been down your route. I go to a dermatologist who gave me two creams to mix half and half, he put my in a light box thing, he has even given me cortizone ointment for my face...which he advises against. It all helped a little...but no cure. I've used every over the counter stuff and, while some covers it...none made it go AWAY. As nutty as it sounds....I just quit telling anyone....I've found that if I mix a small amount of honey with coconut oil...it really does help. The honey is really sticky at first; but it does sink in mostly over a few hours. I use LOCAL honey that is unpasteurized. I know....you're probably thinking...this old coot is a NUT. LOL But...it works FOR ME. Good luck. I too, have used Remicade for years. Maybe get your thyroid checked, drink plenty of water, never SCRUB your dry areas, and use only warm water. Deodorant soaps seem to be a bit harsh. Good luck!!

Could you possibly have eczema?

I get horrible dry skin as well along with the itching. But I also have eczema too. I like the medicated Gold Bond with anti itch.

Hmmm. I've had eczema a few years back, a distinct, elevated, red rash. Treated it with a steroid cream and haven't seen it since. This doesn't look the same.

Thanks everyone for the extra suggestions. Now I've got some more tools to try, time to regroup and see if I can beat this thing or die itching/trying lol.

Sucks that a number of us have to deal with this nonsense, like uc isn't enough...

How greasy does one's skin get and remain from applying coconut oil? Does it dry quickly? It's described as a butter replacement in cooking (so I'm thinking butter or crisco like properties)... Just curious if that results in something that's going to stain a pillowcase and/or clothing. Don't have any of this, so I'd have to go buy it. Looks cheap enough at least.

iPoop-

I had some luck with Gold Bond body lotion ( Green bottle) to treat severe dry skin. Also if you want to go with coconut oil , go to any Indian grocery store and buy the parachute coconut oil (blue bottle).

I have had luck with Cerave but I have to admit that the coconut oil sounds interesting. Boy we are an itchy group!!
B

An update, I finally won! No more itching or flakiness. Thanks again to those of you who gave me things to try.

What produced the best results:

Switching from irish spring body soap to a hypo-allergenic soap cleared up the itchy torso & arms pretty fast. I got Dove bars that say sensative skin safe for eczema, psoriasis, etc. It contains moisturizer in the bars. No harsh perfumes.

Switching away from my shampoo helped. I had to hit it hard with a generic coal-tar-based shampoo (sorry my environmentally conscious friends) and salicylic acid drops (the same stuff that's in compound W wart remover lol). I'll go super mild, non scented shampoo going forward.

So it really sounded like a contact-dermititis thing, again, for me. So that's it for the strong scented, perfumy soaps and shampoos from this point forward. It's preferable to not itch, rather than smell like a fancy spring anyways lol. Got to set your priorities and itching is darn low on that list at least for me.

If there's others like me, itching like crazy, then give it a try. Got to go shoe the parrot off of my tea cup, as he's drinking all my Earl Grey tea, and the last thing I need is a hyper caffeinated parrot causing even more trouble than the less caffeinated variety already does... Cheers!

I feel bad I didn't reply earlier, it seemed like you had a lot of ideas already. I Just want to mention Emu oil is worth investing in, works well for many skin irritations quite quicky. I use special shampoos free of any toxic chemicals, its quite shocking what they put in those products, and head and shoulders is probably one of the worst.