I am a 62-year-old woman. For several years now, once every few weeks, I have been awakened at night by an itchy attack under one of the soles of my feet. The itching lasts about 20 minutes, after which it subsides. I’ve tried cold water and alternating baths, and a short walk on a cold floor. Nothing helps. What can I do?
Female, age 62
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
Itching is probably meant to alert you to unwanted bugs and the like on your skin, causing you to scratch. Itching in a place that you cannot reach, because it is deep under the skin, should therefore be regarded as an abnormality in the function of the nerve. I don’t know how it arises, but emotional nerves that for one reason or another are disturbed in their functioning, start to send out inadequate signals. You can think of a tightness somewhere in the foot – for example due to incorrect footwear, or a deteriorated diet or blood flow. Such nerve disturbances can be treated with remedies that slightly influence the nerve conduction, such as medicines for depression or epilepsy. If you have a lot of trouble, you can try it. Keep in mind that it remains an experiment, because very little is known about this complaint to date.
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