Eurax for Pruritus
Pruritus is an unpleasant sensation that causes the need to scratch. Pruritus is commonly called itching by most people. Pruritus can be frustrating and can cause discomfort. If there is a severe case of Pruritus it can lead to anxiety, sleeplessness and depression. Pruritus manifests itself in rashes and can be localized to one area of the body or can be generalized thus covering all the body.
The exact reason for Pruritus is not known. It can be a part of skin disease, like hives, chickenpox, eczema, dermatitis or internal diseases, like kidney failure, liver diseases, blood disorders, neurogenic conditions. The causes may be purely neurogenic, psychogenic or mixed. Itching is a complex process. Our nerves respond to certain chemicals like histamine that are released in the skin. It causes the processing of the nerve signals to the brain provoking itching sensation, which, on its part, calls forth scratching.
Areas of itching that are only on one part of the body are more likely to be caused by a problem of the skin. Itching may affect a scalp, eyelids, nose, ears, chest, back, arms, legs, groin, armpits and hands. Pruritus on these areas is commonly associated with different forms of dermatitis (contact or atopic), eczema, psoriasis, scabies infections and allergic rhinitis. The causes for the generalized pruritus may vary. Its development can be connected with medication use, various infections, iron deficiency, liver disease, kidney disease, blood disorders. In case of generalized pruritus rashes are seldom to occur that proves that the core of it lies in internal conditions.
Pruritus is diagnosed either with an examination or by a blood test, skin scraping or biopsy in order to determine a specific cause of the itch. Topical medications are generally prescribed for the itch relief in case it is a cause of some skin disease. If the itch seems to be secondary to an internal disease, patients may require treatment for the disease with oral medications or ultraviolet light therapy.
Eurax in the form of a cream or a lotion is often applied to for the treatment for pruritus. It contains an antipruritic agent under the name of Crotamiton. Crotamiton is a colorless to slightly yellowish oil. Its main function is to relieve itching of the skin and the skin irritation. Crotamiton, representing itself in Eurax, provides relief from skin itching for 6-10 hours by producing what is called a counter-irritation. As Crotamiton evaporates from the skin, it produces a cooling effect which diverts a patient's attention away from the itching.
The dosage of Eurax will be different for different patients. When deciding upon the dose one should follow the orders from the doctor or the instruction on the label. Eurax is not reported to have severe adverse effects when curing pruritus.