Fibromyalgia affects nearly 10 million Americans, making it a chronic and debilitating condition for many individuals. Chronic pain can be unmanageable at times, especially when new symptoms like skin problems arrive. As if the pain and fatigue weren’t enough to make you feel uncomfortable, when you add in the effect that fibromyalgia has on skin, it becomes even more challenging to live with this condition. Luckily, just as there are ways to control chronic pain and fatigue, you can learn to manage your skin flares more easily as well.

Symptoms and Causes of Skin Flares

You may wonder how or where these bumps and rashes originated from. However, if you have fibromyalgia, chances are that you are acquiring yet another symptom from this condition. These rashes can be raised and bumpy, also while developing skin sensitivity and tenderness with the rash.

The itchiness from your rash may or may not come with pain and tenderness, but also can create a crawling sensation on your skin. It’s been studied that more than 3.3% of individuals with fibromyalgia experience some type of itching sensation without any cause. Although the cause is not exactly known, it could be your brain sending these signals to your nerves in the skin causing an itch. These rashes can also be caused by certain medications that you take for your other fibromyalgia symptoms.

How to Manage Flares 

While there may not be any cure for fibromyalgia, there are certainly ways to alleviate symptoms. When it comes to dealing with a chronic illness, the first and best methods you should attempt are natural relief techniques. With skin rashes and tenderness, you can alleviate some symptoms by applying a cold compress to the skin or taking a lukewarm bath. The cool compress helps reduce swelling and takes away some of the itchy sensations.

Drinking plenty of water will also help keep your body and skin hydrated to prevent your skin from drying out and becoming itchier. Most importantly, but oftentimes the hardest to handle, don’t scratch the itch. Scratching will make you itch more and cause you to break open the skin, potentially creating an infection. Taking care of your skin is important regardless of whether you have a chronic condition like fibromyalgia. However, when you are dealing with other debilitating symptoms, it’s best that you learn to manage your flares to prevent them from wreaking havoc on your body. To help soothe the itch and inflammation, you can try a natural essential oil blend with chamomile. Sandalwood essential oils are also known to help moisturize your skin while limiting the number of toxins.

Making Your Skin Healthy

As you continue to deal with and manage the many symptoms of fibromyalgia, it can give you some peace of mind to at least regain control of your skin flares. Even with the many different causes for the itching, you should feel confident in knowing that there are ways to find relief. Normally, a simple change in diet can make your skin look and feel healthier, but with fibromyalgia being the cause, it may be a bit more difficult than eating healthier. To make your skin feel its best, be sure to take care of it with natural cleansers and keep toxins out of your system. Studies show that healthy fats can act as an anti-inflammatory, which can help lessen the inflammation and tenderness on skin rashes.

As an individual diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you may feel that your entire body is working against you, and it’s no fun when you find a new symptom such as a skin flare. Between the increased sensations and itchiness, it seems to be a never-ending nightmare. However, there are ways to easily manage fibromyalgia skin symptoms to make your rashes more tolerable.

Author bio: Jenny Holt is a freelance writer and mother of two. She loves nothing more than getting away from it all and taking her pet Labrador Bruce for long walks, something she can do a lot more now she’s left the corporate world behind.