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Dermographia - Myelin Sheath

steve45fla

By steve45fla
in Related Issues & Disorders

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steve45fla Newbie
steve45fla
Posted

Hi...this is my first post and hope to find answers to a problem I have suffered thru for 17+ years. It is called dermographia. Basically, I can write on myself but touching my skin and it itches terribly. The itch is generally felt below the surface of the skin. I take antihistamines to "control" the itch but I'm always aware of it.

Has anyone ever heard of myelin sheath? I have read where it is a substance that is present in the nerves (especially the endings) and if the sheath is damaged, then an itch like i experience can occur. I have also read where sulfur supplements help in healing the sheath.

I am hoping to learn more about this topic. I have yet to try sulfur supplements but will shortly (depending what I hear here).

Thank You

Steve

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VioletBlue Contributor
VioletBlue
Posted

I started a similar thread here a while back about Dermographia. I had little response except sympathy, LOL. I have been suffering from Dermographia for awhile now. Antihistamines have no effect, unless I take them in very high doses. But the high doses make me extremely physically uncomfortable and drowsy so I've chosen to live with it for now. I have no idea what if anything I'm allergic to that is causing it, though the doctors best guess is it's stress related. I have family "issues" these days. I sometimes think if I'd been born an only child I'd be a hell of a lot healthier than I am just from the stress of idiot siblings. But that's another story.

I have some nerve damage from years of undiagnosed Celiac Disease. Some of the nerve damage has gone away since I went gluten-free 9 months ago, but some lingers on. So the concept of sheath damage as an explanation doesn't seem that far fetched to me. Perhaps there's hope yet then that this thing will go away one day.

Violet

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
Hi...this is my first post and hope to find answers to a problem I have suffered thru for 17+ years. It is called dermographia. Basically, I can write on myself but touching my skin and it itches terribly. The itch is generally felt below the surface of the skin. I take antihistamines to "control" the itch but I'm always aware of it.

Has anyone ever heard of myelin sheath? I have read where it is a substance that is present in the nerves (especially the endings) and if the sheath is damaged, then an itch like i experience can occur. I have also read where sulfur supplements help in healing the sheath.

I am hoping to learn more about this topic. I have yet to try sulfur supplements but will shortly (depending what I hear here).

Thank You

Steve

Hi Steve, Do you have any other symptoms, even stuff that is seemingly unrelated? I do know that there are some that have had this, I am one of them. I also used to get pressure uticaria where for example the waist band of my pants would cause hives. I know it is quite uncomfortable. It is one of those things that I don't have anylonger so in my case it was connected to celiac. Damage to the myelin sheath is what causes MS, although they did not find evidence of this in my spinal tap I did have a great many MS type symptoms and an abnormal MRI. For me the cause was actually celiac and not MS.

Helena Contributor
Helena
Posted

Hi,

I am dermographic also---and have been so my whole life. My allergist tested for this by taking a tongue depressor and scratching my back with it. (I already knew what would happen LOL!)

I don't have a severe case --- I just get hives if my skin is scratched . . . I don't have problems with pressure on my skin or anything. And the hives don't particularly itch and aren't severe----just one big scratch-shaped bump that looks red and angry and with time settles down. I've read that for a lot of people the condition comes and goes. It doesn't really bother me, but I understand that it can be a difficult condition depending on its severity.

I understand that it is "idiopathic"---i.e. it isn't a reaction to anything in the environment . . . it is just how my body reacts. I also sometimes get hives with extreme cold temperatures (cold urticaria). Again, this can be a severe problem (in the worst case = anaphylactic shock when swimming in cold water), but mine isn't that bad. (explains why I got hives when snow got in my mittens as a kid.)

I do have a *ton* of allergies both envirnomental and food.

Sorry---I don't have any helpful info.! I haven't heard that there is any cure for dermographism . . . I have a feeling it is one of those immunological issues that isn't that well understood. I have read that people who are dermographic are more prone to getting idiopathic hives (even without the pressure).

VioletBlue Contributor
VioletBlue
Posted
Has anyone ever heard of myelin sheath? I have read where it is a substance that is present in the nerves (especially the endings) and if the sheath is damaged, then an itch like i experience can occur. I have also read where sulfur supplements help in healing the sheath.

Hi Steve. Would the sulfur be in the form of MSM? I've been reading up. Fortunately I have some Chondroitin/MSM tablets from the pre-Celiac diagnosis days. I was taking them to ease the joint pain I was having. Well, I no longer have the joint pain, but I bought a two for one deal on the tablets. They're still in date and gluten free. The dose is 500mg. Since nothing else has helped I'm going to give it a try. Wish me luck. The itching when it's bad is maddening.

Violet

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      @nancydrewandtheceliacclue, you are welcome. After looking at this thread again, I would like to suggest that some of the other comments from @Russ H are worth following up on. The bird-bread may or may not be contributing to what you are experiencing, but it seems unlikely to be the whole story. If you have access to decent healthcare, I would write down your experiences and questions in outline form and bring this to your Dr. I suggest writing it down so you don't get distracted from telling the Dr everything you want to say while you have their attention.
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