hello all - anyone have any luck with calamine lotion ?

[michael]

Hello everyone. I am 57 and I had my first sign of psoriasis when I was 22. I woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and seeing about 50 brand new red spots spread out around my stomach and the sides of my chest and on my thighs scared me, I had no idea what was wrong. My first visit to a dermatologist confirmed that I had guttate psoriasis and I was given a prescription for a topical creme or ointment and told that it would clear but it would eventually come back. Less than a year later I was taking PUVA treatments - that's where I would take one or more green pills before my appointment, then stand naked in a UVA light box wearing a special pair of dark goggles several times a week. My skin would always eventually clear with the light treatments but it would return sooner or later. Reading the warning about the pills I was taking for this treatment scared me and I quit taking them in the late 1970's. I haven't taken any light treatments or other medication for it in almost 30 years and have just learned to live with the occasional flare ups for the most part until now. My psoriasis never really itched much most of my life, but that has changed steadily over the last couple of years. The itching has become almost unbearable and I'm scratching so much It feels like I'm scraping my skin off. Some nights I dream of using a grinding wheel to scratch with. Bathing with Dove soap seems to help for a little while after I shower. My wife recommended using her Lubriderm but that and other moisturizing lotions seems to do nothing for the itching and turns the spots bright red and makes them even more tender and sensitive and irritated looking. Tonight I'm trying a heavy application of calamine lotion. So far (about 30 minutes) the itching has subsided but I'm keeping it close by when I go to bed tonight.