Last Updated: March 15. 2011 1:00AM Dr. Paul Donohue: Your Health

Dear Dr. Donohue: I am a 24-year-old man with a persistent and aggravating skin itch. I’m told it’s eczema. can you tell me how to control it? I’ve had it in more than one place, but right now my forearms are the most bothersome area. I wake up to find dried blood on my arms from scratching during sleep. is this an allergy?

T.C.

Dear T.C.: Eczema (EK-suh-muh or ek-ZEE-muh) might be related to allergies, since many who have it suffer from asthma or hay fever. a direct link between an allergy and eczema has not been found, although a battle on this topic among experts continues.

Eczema is an outbreak of patches of red skin, often covered with tiny blisters that become unbearably itchy. Scratching is a natural reflex, but scratching opens the skin to infections and turns it into leather.

You have to restrain yourself from scratching. You can gently rub the skin with the tips of your fingers but not with your fingernails. Wet compresses over your forearms at night will end scratching during sleep.

Dry skin encourages the development of eczema. Rehydrating it relieves the itching. a humidifier in your home will help.

Take only tepid to warm baths or showers, not hot ones. then pat yourself with a towel, but leave a layer of moisture on the skin. Immediately apply a moisturizing cream such as Eucerin, Cetaphil, Nutraderm or petroleum jelly in its many Vaseline forms.

An antihistamine before bedtime will control nighttime itching and scratching. Benadryl is a good one and is available without a prescription.

You also can use wet compresses during the day.

Cortisone creams, gels and lotions reduce the skin inflammation that is the basis for all of eczema’s symptoms. such products are on the shelves of drugstores.

The strength of over-the-counter cortisone products might not be strong enough to quell the itch and inflammation. You might need a prescription item.

dear Dr. Donohue: Three months ago, I had a vasectomy. My wife and I don’t want any more children. We can’t afford another.

Ever since, I have had pain. If I had been warned about this, I would have chosen some other birth-control method.

How common is this, and what can be done for it? My doctor tells me nothing.

Dear C.D.: Post-vasectomy pain syndrome isn’t common, but it does happen. the explanations range from nerve injury to granuloma formation (heaps of dead inflammation-fighting cells) to inflammation of the severed ends of the spermatic cord or to pressure generated by sperm production.

Have you tried any pain medicines? Tylenol might be all you need.

If the pain persists, then consider a vasectomy reversal, a rejoining of the cut ends of the cord. that works for many who have this syndrome.

M.J.

Dear Dr. Donohue: If you are on a cholesterol-lowering diet, can you eat shrimp? I have heard it both ways — you can and you cannot. I’m not a shrimp fanatic, but I would like to have it occasionally if it’s OK to do so.

Dear M.J.: Four ounces of shrimp has about 172 mg of cholesterol, a fairly high amount. however, it’s been shown that eating shrimp doesn’t raise cholesterol all that much, and often not at all. the reason is that shrimp has little saturated fat. Saturated fat sparks liver production of cholesterol. Shrimp doesn’t do this.

Write to Dr. Paul Donohue at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from rbmamall.com.

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