Geriatric pruritus is mostly seen in elderly people over 60 years of age, with a higher incidence in men than in women, and has now become a factor that seriously affects the quality of life of the elderly.
Analysis of etiology
1, physiological factors: the human body’s hormone levels will increase with age and physiological decline, skin relaxation and atrophy, sebaceous gland secretion is reduced, sweat gland secretion sweat function is gradually reduced, the skin surface water locking function degradation, many factors lead to reduced water content of the skin, the lack of sebum moisturizing, and when encountering changes in the surrounding environment prone to stimulation and itching. This is the cause of the deficiency of qi, blood and fluid, according to Chinese medicine, and the external invasion of evil.
2, climate factors: the dry and cold climate in autumn and winter, the human body will appear instinctive protection mechanism, the skin coup becomes compact, not conducive to the exchange of air between the skin and the outside world; coupled with the dry and cold weather tends to make the human skin become dry and rough, epidermal shedding increase and thus make the nerve endings within the skin become more sensitive, encounter stimulation and induce itching.
3, physical factors: local topical detergents and chemicals can easily lead to pruritus, especially some alkaline detergents such as soap, disinfectants, etc. can stimulate the skin.
4, life and mental factors: diet spicy stimulation and long-term addiction to alcohol and tobacco, coffee, etc. can easily lead to the gathering of damp heat in the body, damp heat in the skin will form a variety of pruritic skin diseases. Long-term mental anxiety, emotional depression, irritability and poor sleep quality can lead to the occurrence of itching, but also some older people like to keep pets, not knowing that cats and dogs and other small animals on the parasites and hair can induce itching.
5, disease factors: certain diseases such as constipation, diabetes, varicose veins, indigestion, etc. can easily lead to the occurrence of this disease.
Clinical manifestations
Age-related pruritus is generally more serious than the daytime itching in the evening, because the human body’s defense function is the lowest at night, while the human body blood circulation slows down after night, the human body tends to stabilize, itching will be relatively significant. The main manifestation is dry and thin skin, the surface has chaff-like flaking, long-term scratching, the skin will appear many scratches, blood crust, pigmentation, moss-like changes, heavy cases can occur skin infection.
However, if the main manifestation of pruritus is red papules or oozing lesions on the skin, other diseases should be considered, such as diabetes mellitus, varicose veins leading to bruising eczema, rubella, urticaria, neurodermatitis, flat warts, etc.
Treatment misconceptions
See the itch to scratch is really a patch of good medicine, scratch itch only temporary, so most people began to think that the bath is not diligent dirt stagnation and lead to, so increase the number of baths, increase the temperature of the bath water, temporary scalding to bring the relief and anti-itch effect so that we are happy. I do not know that this is precisely to put out the fire, the more scalding the more serious, the more frequent the number of washing the more enhanced the degree of itching. But why does scalding relieve the itch? Because itch and pain are generated by the same peripheral nerve receptors located in the dermal papillae, just because the lightness of the stimulus is different, light is itch, heavy is pain.
When scalding with hot water, the temperature of the water is significantly higher than the temperature of human skin, so that in fact enhances the stimulation of the skin, so that the skin produces pain, thus masking the itchy feeling, the bathers just because the itchy feeling disappears only to this pain artificially ignored. Of course, the only thing left is a comfortable feeling. There is also the frequent hot rubbing and soap scrubbing, will make the human epidermis was insufficient fat film loss, even the normal moisture content of the skin surface is difficult to maintain, so it will be more itchy.
If the itch is not treated for a long time and the itch does not stop, secondary damage such as skin pigmentation and moss-like changes and local skin thickening will gradually form.
Proper treatment
1, reasonable diet: the elderly in the autumn and winter season should be light diet, eat more vitamin A-rich foods such as pig liver, cod liver oil, increase the oil-rich can moisten the food such as sesame, peanuts, try to avoid eating spicy, seafood, sweets, barbecue, etc.. Avoid smoking and alcohol, at the same time for milk, lean meat, eggs, soy products and fresh fruit should also be supplemented at the right time.
2, regular life: the elderly should adjust their mindset, adjust the mood, do more daily activities to divert attention from the “itch”, reasonable living, can not stay up late, drink more water, avoid prolonged sun exposure; do not be too diligent bathing or rubbing, not alkaline soap, soap, winter bathing to once a week is appropriate. Seniors try to choose comfortable, soft, breathable cotton clothing, less chemical fiber clothing, especially to wear less thermal underwear containing chemical fiber components.
3, choose the appropriate drugs: most of the elderly pruritus does not need drugs to treat, but if the itching is serious and affects sleep and living and other social life interactions will need drugs to regulate the choice of drugs is best to use reasonable drugs based on the nourishment of qi and blood and fluids to complement the treatment, such as commercially available: Golden Cicada anti-itch particles, moistening and anti-itching capsules, Liu Wei Dihuang Wan, Ginseng and wheat drink etc. For some liver depression and qi stagnation is obvious, bad mood of the elderly is best to be able to cooperate with the free of charge pill or Mu Xiang Shun Qi pill to dredge the liver and regulate qi.
4, medicinal food afterwards: the elderly in the autumn and winter season in addition to a light diet can choose medicinal food to remove the remaining evil of pruritus.
Commonly used and reliable therapeutic effect are.
① lily 20g yam 30g barley 30g and black rice appropriate amount of porridge together for long-term use, warming the three jiao, strengthening the spleen to stop itching.
② a small section of white radish sliced and corn grits together with porridge to take can be smooth and laxative, long-term use has the effect of preventing itching.
③ raw hawthorn 10, two pears washed and de-cored and cut, add some honey on the steamer steam, a day to eat, long-term use of lipid lowering and moistening effect of itching.