'Devil’s Itch' in Disguise

“Have you ever heard of ‘Devil’s Itch'?" the phone-in customer asks.

“No, but I am looking it up as we speak.” I scan the horrors of ‘skin on fire’.

“It happened to me”, she continues.  “I had sunburn and the itching started after I showered.  It felt like ants crawling inside me.  It was a hell.  I called to tell you that your zinc oxide saved me.  Nothing else worked.  Any cream or lotion I applied made it worse.  Yet your zinc worked.”  

This phone conversation surfaces in my mind several months later in Prince George, BC.  A beautiful silver-haired, elegant, woman enters the booth, wide-eyed and anxious. She looks distraught.             

“I am  at a loss.”  She manages a smile,  “ I do not even know how I made it down to this craft show.  I just had to get out of the apartment, but I am not well.  I am so itchy I cannot stand it.  I do not know what to do.  The doctors first thought I had scabies and that was a nightmare.  But now they say I don’t have that. Nothing suggested helps. The relentless itching is all over."  

I thought of the similarity to Devil’s itch and the resulting torture. As I introduce myself and our product line, I learn her name is Annie.  Annie’s situation was not the result of sunburn, but the itching she described was beyond comprehension.  By the end of our conversation Annie departed with two Charcoal Clay soap, the Clay Neem, and the Zinc Oxide.  She was going to buy salts and apple cider vinegar at her local health store.  As she had no bath in her complex, we worked with a shower solution.  Instructions were as follows:

A Shower solution:   

1.  Apply clay-neem poultice all over.  After 5-8 minutes rinse in the shower.
2.  Wash with the  Charcoal Clay soap, hair included.
3.  Spritz the body with salt water.  Allow the minerals to be absorbed for a few minutes.
4. Spritz the body with a mix of 1: 4 organic apple cider vinegar and water    Rinse in cool water.  (You can also use our apple cider vinegar rinse)
5. Apply the zinc

or, if you do have a bath, even better.

A Bath Solution:

1. Soak in a clay, apple cider vinegar and salt bath.  . Add 4 T salt to bath water, 1 cup apple cider vinegar and ½ clay neem.  If you want to apply a clay poultice to the skin first, do so, and then submerge yourself in the bath water.  Soak 10-15 minutes.  You can use our dead sea salt spa or Himalayan rock crystals, or buy salts like Annie did from your local health food store.
2. Wash all over with the clay soap. Rinse off.
3.  Apply the zinc

The next day a smiling Annie entered the booth, gave me hug and whispered, “I feel like a new woman.  I am not completely itch free but I feel saner and I now have hope that I can have some relief.  But I do have a question.  You mentioned yesterday that I should do the vinegar spritz once a week.  It felt so good.  Can I do it more often?”

I replied.  “Annie, don’t worry about it.  Just do what feels good.”  I think about Annie a lot.  While Annie’s ‘Devil’s Itch’ was not caused by sunburn, it was very real.  Hopefully she is continuing to win the battle.