Workout - Causing Itching

I have a question - everytime I do a good workout I itch all over.  Arms, legs, etc.

I do suffer from chronic hives that is brought on from stress but I am wondering if it is from that or something totally different.

What are your thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Are you maybe allergic to the fabric in the clothes?  I mean lots of workout clothes have spandex.  Different detergent?  Just plain allergic to exercise LOL

Hmm.  How soon does it start to itch?  While you are still working out, or right after?  If it's during your workout, does it happen right away, or only once your heartrate gets elevated and you start to sweat a bit?  Do you usually take a shower right afterwards?

I'm sure it could be any number of things, but the first thing that popped into my head was sweat, because I know my skin can be a bit uncomfortable when it's gotten sweaty and then dries out. 

But I should also say I have no experience with hives, and if you have problems with hives it does seem as if this could be related.  Stress can make a person flushed, which could have a similar effect on the skin as exercise/sweating.

That happened to me too. It was friction from the clothes rubbing my skin,

e.x.

I start itching as soon as I am done usually.  Mostly arms and legs.  My skin is also flush color.

Usually I don't have material/clothes rubbing because I am in shorts and t-shirt.

Could be a sweat thing.  I HATE sweating too - very paranoid about it so maybe it is the stress thing.

Thanks for your thoughts.

salome - that happenned to me back when I just started working out. I felt blood rushing through all the veins in my body! I looked flushed, and I could feel my pulse quickened and quite strong on my main arteries. LOL kinda spooky!

Don't have the problem anymore though. I can't remember how long it lasted unfortunately. It was during my on-off-on-off workout bugs :(

Do you do warm ups and cool down after your workout? That will help with settling your body for the exercise and after. I was really bad at cooling down before, but after I started doing stretching, and short yoga after exercise, I do feel a big difference. ^.^;

Thanks Sweet_tart - I will make more of an effort to warm-up and cool down.

I don't exercise regularly so that is similar to what you talked about.

Hopefully it won't last long. 

Thanks for the advice.

When I began itching on my legs and arms, my doctor noted me to use cocoa butter, and once I did I noticed that those annoying little stretch marks were fading. That was my problem. So now when my workouts are steady and eating is on track I do get the 'itchies' and each time cocoa butter does the trick.

Thanks Kina - I will try the cocoa butter.  :)

When you have blood rushing to an area (ie: your inner thighs when you're walking) it can cause an itching sensation.  This sometimes happens when you start a new exercise.  Try putting a little anti-itch spray on the area before you exercise.

That happens to me running if I haven't gone running in a month or so. I found out that the more I ran, the less I itched; I mean the more days I ran. It is unbearable yes! I found it goes away with time. Try hydrocortizone cream.

I suffer from hives too. Once after working out my entire face broke out. I later found out it was probably a mix between a new face wash & not showering immediately after exercise. Now I jump in the shower & scrub as soon as possible!  It's amazing how the sweat affected my skin. I'm extremely sensitive and I had hives, and breakouts all over.  Good luck to you & I hope you figure out something that works for you.

BTW, what do you do to treat your hives? I figure I just have to wait them out... hydrocortisone doesn't help for long. Thanks!

I get itchy due to sweat, and more itchy in places where I sweat more.  Sweat, depending on your body and your diet, contains minerals that are deposited on the skin after the sweat evaporates.  The more you workout, the more efficient your body becomes at sucking those minerals back into the body through the pores.  If you don't workout very often, then those minerals stuck to your skin could be what's causing your itch problem.

For me, it's usually the back of my hands because I tend to wipe off my forehead during runs so the sweat won't drip into my eyes.  When my hands itch after a workout I wash them thoroughly and then use a moisturizer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholinergic_urti caria

 

Here is another possible cause . The cure, consistancy.

 

 

"Itchy skin usually occurs during exercise performed after a long period of inactivity. The itching is not on the skin, it's inside the actual limbs. There are millions of tiny capillaries and arteries inside our muscles which expand rapidly due to the demand for more blood that is brought on by exercise. When fit, these capillaries remain open allowing maximum blood passage, but when unfit and inactive they tend to collapse, allowing only minimal blood passage (which is sufficient for a sedentary person however). The rapid expansion of these vessels causes adjacent nerves to send impulses back to the brain which are interpreted as an itch. That's why after a few sessions the sensation tends to go away. Just another indication of increasing fitness levels."

Source: Maximus from the John Stone Fitness Forum on 02/09/04 (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/a...php/t- 830.html)

I have this too! It only happens when I run, but does not bother me when I do the elliptical. I played college soccer and it never happened, and then a couple months after soccer was over my legs would start to itch.  I have found it starts after running for about 10 minutes as well. But if I run on grass, a turf soccer field, or something with cushion that it does not bother me as much, I think it has to do with the shock from my leg hitting the hard surface of the treadmill, track or sidewalk. I have had my same running shoes for awhile and they are worn so I bought Adidas Megabounce running shoes I think it helps absorb the shock. So try running on grass, and getting more cushioned running shoes! It really helps!!