So, for the past three months I’ve had itchy shoulders. Jeff thinks it’s hilarious; I think it’s infuriating. The strange thing is that I have no rash, no redness, no bumps, and it gets much more intense at night. During the day I rarely notice it, and I thought perhaps that it was just psychological, but no, last night I was awake until 3am with burning, itching arms–ah! So today I finally researched. What did I find? I have a rare, enigmatic condition called Brachioradial pruritus. I thought that sounded like something affecting my lungs, but apparently it is a real thing that causes unrelenting bouts of itchy arms for prolonged periods of time. It’s been linked to both sun exposure (probably my culprit) or arthritis in the neck which causes nerve damage in the upper arm and shoulder area. Therefore the sufferer’s average age is considerably higher than 27. However, everything I read, including online conversations, blogs, and posted questions, all point to this diagnosis. It strikes in the late summer/or early fall, or after prolonged sun exposure such as a visit to a sunny climate. Its intensity peaks and falls with no apparent predictability, and some people have it for a few months and several claimed to have had it (off and on) for over 25 years! The sufferers wrote at length about being sleep-deprived because this ridiculous itchiness drives them absolutely mad all night. Why is it worse at night? Apparently the heat from blankets causes the condition to become worse. Some people sleep with ice packs on their arms, others with wet towls wrapped around their biceps. Fortunately for me, I discovered a decade-old bottle of anti-itch gel in the bathroom drawer and doused both arms. It felt like a cool breeze blowing on my arms all night long.
All day I’ve been trying to think of some really significant spiritual insight to gain from this ridiculous disorder. I can think of none. Of course we talked about the itch of self-regard. And yes, I can wholeheartedly agree with CS Lewis and say that it is FAR better to not have any itch in the first place than to have an itch and scratch it. Scratching it just makes it worse! But, really, that’s a pretty lame application. Or, perhaps the lesson is that we should obey our husbands when they tell us to wear a long-sleeved shirt in the summer to avoid too much sun exposure (experts say sunscreen doesn’t help prevent this condition). Or, the lesson may be to keep a handy bottle of anti-itch gel handy just in case you are ever unexpectedly plagued with Brachioradial pruritus in the middle of the night. Who knows. If you have any insights or spiritual lessons for me, please, comment below. I’ll just be sitting here, scratching my shoulders.