Scratching legs problem

God Of Radio

Someone close to me scratches her legs.

This will sound weird but I swear to God I'm not just making this up.

I've never heard of this.

She sits around and scratches her legs. There are red scabs all over her legs. I've asked her about it before and she confessed to me that she does it when she's nervous and can't stop doing it.

HAS *ANY*one ever heard of this before?

She has GREAT legs, but she has not worn ONE pair of shorts this entire summer. Won't walk around the house with shorts on. She's completely self-conscious about it but won't stop doing it.

I don't even know how to address it to her. I tried once about a month ago and she blew up at me.

Thanks. Again, I know this is weird, but I am seriously asking for some advice.

whiskeyman

perhaps she has some skin condition?
psorosis maybe?

Has she seen the doctor? Think she should

Cuddlesworth

It's a nervous tick. Like biting your nails or a eye twitch but on a more extreme level. She will probably have to try professional support to help her deal with the reasons behind it(ie; why is she so nervous).

The real question is how do you tell her that?

Dinter

Actually it's also a pretty severe symptom of depression especially if she's hurting herself doing it.

Stick this in Google and see if she has any other syptoms. "self harming by scratching".

RossFixxxed

Did you ever see saxondale, the static from the carpet was getting people's tights and it made them very itchy...

Just a random thought.
r

miss deise

I do this too, but for me it's a comfort thing... I like how it feels

I never have scratches or scabs on my legs though... I don't do it that hard...

LegacyUser

hi

OK... This happens to me to but in a different way.. I have an allergic reaction to certain foods and when I eat those foods it brings me out in an itchy rash.

The rash ONLY presents itself on my legs - the knee down and no where else on the body.

It is sooo itchy that you cant help but scratch it and often times it bleeds because they are so itchy.

Very peculiar I know but unfortunately for me it is just an allergy//fact of life and I try to avoid those foods to stop this happening.

Anyway the reason I am explaining all of this is because do you think this is at all possible that it could be allergy related and she thinks it is a nervous thing??

mud

if you're sure she doesn't have a skin condition then definitely ask her to recognise and seek help, human nails are so strong and hard they do extreme damage to the skin, personally I have excema on my legs that I am constantly scratching, even and especially in my sleep, my OH is nauseated by it but it's such a compulsive itch I literally can't stop and as a result my legs ain't seen the light of day since 05/06

Einstein

dammit..anyone else have itchy legs now?

Silverfish

Einstein, this isn't AH.

Please post constructively.

Einstein

/apologise

Carrigart Exile

God Of Radio wrote: »

Someone close to me scratches her legs.

This will sound weird but I swear to God I'm not just making this up.

I've never heard of this.

She sits around and scratches her legs. There are red scabs all over her legs. I've asked her about it before and she confessed to me that she does it when she's nervous and can't stop doing it.

HAS *ANY*one ever heard of this before?

She has GREAT legs, but she has not worn ONE pair of shorts this entire summer. Won't walk around the house with shorts on. She's completely self-conscious about it but won't stop doing it.

I don't even know how to address it to her. I tried once about a month ago and she blew up at me.

Thanks. Again, I know this is weird, but I am seriously asking for some advice.

I remember spending a summer scratching my legs until they bled; eventually a trip to the doctor, a quick change of soap powder (avoid biological powders) and itch free legs. Your friend may have a simple allergy.

FionaC

I am in a similar situation. I have a mixture of eczema/old mosquito bites/scabs on my legs i scratch sometimes and i don't even realise i'm doing it or sometimes things like fake tan can make it way worse or i proberly do it when i'm nervous sometimes too. As a result my legs are in bits. It may sounds like a habit maybe it is to do with a skin condition or just a nervous habit but the girl isn't doomed.

If she has great legs she can wear tights (i put foundation on my legs and then wear tights for extra coverage) or she can wear fake tan (Sally hansan is great for coverage of scars on legs). She can still show off those great legs

Anyways you could say it once more to her just remind her that this habit is scarring her legs but after that its this girls business and its just going to cause conflict persisting at the matter. She has already blown up at you so its obviously a sensitive matter and in all fairness its her legs and its her responsibility to maintain them.

otwb

This used to happen to me...uncontrollable itching on my legs. Changed my washing powder which helped and then realised that it actually only happens when I eat lots of bread. Even a combination of toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch for a day or two and it sets the itching off.

? Allergies ?

LegacyUser

Chances are shes already very self-conscious about it. If you're her friend, stop pointing it out as you're probably embarrassing her, stressing her out more, and making it worse!

LegacyUser

I totally get your girlfriends problem, i get times where i can't stop itching my legs, it drives my boyfriend mad.

like seriously bad itching to the point where my legs bleed and have sore little scabs.

tell her to just slap it instead or somthing, then moisturize to the max, it works for me.

The scabs heal real fast on me though, so never has prevented me from wearing shorts.

LegacyUser

When I get nervous or stressed i get very itchy legs, and the more i scratch the itchier they get. Nothing works except to ignore it and try to distract myself, and even that rarely works. It doesnt usually get far enough to hurt me badly, but it used to.

I may be totally off the mark, but I used to be very badly depressed and thats when i did scratch enough to hurt myself, and the compulsion to scratch was much worse then aswell. This is just a heads up that if you know someone who is doing it for these reasons, it may be a symptom of something much worse, and even though you might make her feel more self-conscious by talking about it it would be worth it if it ends up uncovering whats really going on.