Itchy skin is undoubtedly a big problem for middle-aged and elderly people. Especially in winter, through the thick clothes, all over the itchy unbearable, can’t wait to reach into the clothes to scratch hard. But excessive force will make the skin irritated, lightly caused by eczema, or serious skin breakdown. This is even more obvious in the case of sugar lovers. Eighty percent of diabetic skin winter “mood” According to statistics, Guangzhou winter at least 80% of diabetic patients will have itchy skin, and some will cause diabetic foot, winter is the high incidence of these two types of disease. Experts say that in addition to this, patients should also pay attention to whether the feet appear cracked phenomenon, that is likely to be a diabetic foot aura, and also in the winter more frequent. High blood sugar levels cause itchy skin The reason why diabetics are prone to itchy skin is mainly caused by high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar puts plasma and tissue fluids in a hyperosmolar state, which not only stimulates nerve endings to produce itchiness, but also causes intracellular dehydration, leading to dry skin, which can worsen itchiness. Nerve endings can also cause itchy skin in diabetic patients. As microcirculation in diabetic patients can become impaired, peripheral nerve nutrition is impaired, resulting in demyelination of nerve sheaths, dysfunction and increased sensitivity of sensory nerves. External stimuli such as hot and cold changes, clothing friction, contact with chemical fiber and fur fabrics, drinking and eating spicy food can trigger itchy skin. In addition, low immune function is also a cause of itchy skin in diabetic patients. Because glucose is not fully utilized in diabetic patients, the negative balance of protein metabolism leads to nutritional disorders; at the same time, high blood sugar weakens the bactericidal ability of white blood cells, and the immune function of the skin decreases. It is easy to secondary infections such as folliculitis, ringworm, candidiasis, trichomonas, etc., which aggravate the itchy skin. From the perspective of TCM, diabetes complicating pruritus is caused by blood deficiency and wind dryness, therefore, in TCM treatment, attention should be paid to the use of herbs that nourish yin, such as angelica, xuan ginseng, American ginseng, dendrobium, etc. Herbal baths can moisturize the skin to a certain extent In winter, middle-aged and elderly people, especially sugar lovers, are actually not advised to take a bath every day, and even more so, they should not take a bath with water that is too hot. Otherwise, it will accelerate the drying of the skin and take away the moisture, which will more easily lead to itching attacks. In this regard, the bath water boiled with some Chinese herbs can have the effect of nourishing and stopping itching, and old sugar lovers may want to try. Specific method: take 20 grams of henbane, 15 grams of angelica, 10 grams of umeboshi, 20 grams of raw earth and 20 grams of tribulus terrestris, add about 800 ml of water and boil for half an hour. After the juice is boiled, you can use warm boiled water into about half a basin portion, to wash. This can be washed every other day, or 2 to 3 times a week. You can scrub with a towel to keep the medicine on your skin for a longer period of time. According to the boiling habits of Chinese medicine, you can also turn the medicine over and use it again, but don’t turn it over more than 2 times to avoid affecting the effectiveness of the medicine. Pruritus self-care is important Pruritus is a self-conscious symptom, and its onset and severity are closely related to the patient’s spirit and mood. Therefore, the patient’s self-care is particularly important. 1, try to self-adjustment, choose to allow people to focus on the interest of activities to distract the attention of the itchy skin. 2, do not scratch. Scratching can make the itch spread, and once scratched up is difficult to contain. If an itch attack somewhere on the body, you can apply anti-itch medication, or gently pat the itch to stop the itch. Pay attention to keep the vulva and anus clean and dry. 3, do not use hot water to scald. Scalding only to relieve the itch at the time, the skin is a bad stimulus, scalding is often increased itching. Especially dry skin, should be appropriate to extend the time between baths, less or no soap, after the bath to apply emollient products. Wear cotton fabrics close to the body, to avoid the stimulation of chemical fibers, fur.