Itching hands and feet

I came down with a viral infection last week that followed with a full body rash. My hands also got red, swollen and itchy. Most symptoms have faded but I’m left with terribly itchy hands and feet that keep getting worse. The tricky thing with tms, as we all know, is knowing what is “real” and what is tms! This symptom is generating a lot of fear and panic as it will not go away and is rather uncomfortable. So when you find yourself in this position, what is the best approach? Treat it like tms anyway? Ignore? Soothe? The temptation is to google incessantly but I’ve already been down that road with this virus and it’s just caused more fear and that opens the door for tms. I’m actually wondering if this exact symptom is from reading the worst case scenarios and my tms brain is trying to convince me something more is wrong. Any thoughts? TIA

 

During a particularly bad pain episode, I also developed extremely dry eyes (this was before I knew about TMS). The doctor prescribed steroid eye drops. The next day, I broke out in a horrible rash all over my body. However, it did not itch. I was constantly checking the rash and obsessively looking at pages and pages of rashes on Google. Finally, I went to my primary care physician who prescribed -you guessed it- another steroid! I didn't want to go that route, so I waited and after about 14 days the rash disappeared and never returned. In my case, the rash was simply another TMS manifestation. Looking back, I was upset that my eye doctor couldn't find a reason for my dry eyes, and so I manifested another symptom that temporarily took my mind off of them. I'm extremely good at symptom imperative, I've had a ton of them. By the way, since applying TMS techniques, I no longer have dry eyes.

For me, I get the most benefit from soothing and self-care. Perhaps find an organic hand lotion that you know will not irritate your skin while you self talk. Something like, "this hand lotion feels so soothing; my hands are healthy and strong." I've used the lotion/self talk technique many times for various muscle aches and spasms.

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I’ve thought back to it several times this past week. Good news is, the rash is gone. Bad news, my primary tms symptom, which was absent during the virus, is back. It’s never ending but I almost have to laugh at it! Thanks for your ideas on self soothing. That is definitely something I’ve never been good at.

 

Acknowledging that the rash has gone, I'd still like to offer this link courtesy of @Tennis Tom.

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/are-most-skin-issues-tms.17334/#post-91742 (Are most skin issues TMS?)

I think most of us suffer some kind of skin issue as a symtom imperative so it's important to have great resources to hand.

As @HattieNC says a solid day-to-day routine of self-care is essential. This becomes ever more powerful when it builds on and supports the various self-soothing practices that reliably bring relief and healing. Most of the time this can be as simple as making a sage choice in the heat of the moment such as not googling your symptoms and instead devote that time to resting while listening to a guided meditation or some peaceful music. These small choices truly craft the healing path. It gets easier and becomes much clearer over the long-term.

Nurture patience, compassion and peace. Let go of stress, worry and anxiety.

Plum x