If you often feel like an insect is on your skin when there’s none, you may suffer from tactile hallucination, also known as formication. Several things are responsible for formication, including menopause, neurological disease, mental health conditions, a recreational drug, and a medication side effect. Formication is accompanied by a prickling sensation and an intense urge to scratch your body.
Tactile hallucination is usually intense, and it’s difficult to stop for some people. However, several remedies can help alleviate this sensation. A common strategy is visiting the best online therapy. Skin crawl can be highly embarrassing, especially when going out in public. You may need to see a dermatologist for a tailored prescription. Nevertheless, the suggestions in this article will relieve you of pain.
To know more about how to stop crawling sensations, read this article further. You will also discover possible causes of formication.
How To Stop Skin Crawling Feeling?
Below are ways to stop formication:
- Identify triggers.
- Practice relaxation techniques.
- Practice good hygiene.
- Take care of your skin.
- Stop recreational drug use.
- Seek psychological counseling.
How To Stop Skin Crawling Feeling?
The sensations from formication are highly unbearable. Fortunately, you can treat formication through the following ways.
Identify Triggers
Some common triggers include anxiety, drug intake, or even stress. Internal factors, such as hormonal fluctuations, dietary habits, or emotional states, may not be readily noticeable. This is why you must pay attention to certain patterns or commonalities. This may include keeping a journal where you note unusual sensations, including the date, duration, and intensity. Identifying and addressing the underlying condition will alleviate the pain and discomfort.
Practice Relaxation Techniques
Engaging in relaxation techniques, such as meditation, breathing exercises, and muscle relaxation, can positively influence the mind. Meanwhile, smart drugs and brain supplements are recommended to help improve your mind’s functionality. These techniques will calm the mind and relieve stress, potentially alleviating skin-crawling sensation.
Engaging in relaxation techniques can also provide a healthy distraction and shift your focus away from uncomfortable sensations. By diverting your mind into calming techniques, it will increase your body’s awareness of your surroundings. This will also help you to manage or avoid potential triggers.
Practice Good Hygiene
Practicing good hygiene is crucial in treating formication, as cleaning the environment can help eradicate irritants. Regularly clean your living space, and wash your clothes with gentle detergents that wouldn’t cause body irritation. You should also keep your bedsheet and pillowcase clean before lying on them. More so, practice good ventilation to reduce exposure to environmental triggers.
Take Care of Your Skin
Pay attention to your body’s reaction to certain care items. This article recommends using a mild, fragrance-free cleanser to avoid harsh chemicals that may strip your skin of natural oils. When applying oil to your body, choose dermatologist-tested and trusted products. Conversely, consider using CBD oil for back pain relief. This oil is made of anti-inflammatory and neurogenic properties that cause no side-effects.
Exfoliating your body will help remove dead cells, unclog pores, and promote healthy skin. Thus, eradicating the accumulation of dirt or debris from your body will reduce the likelihood of having a crawling feeling. However, use suitable exfoliating products for your body and avoid excessive scrubbing that could cause other complications.
According to research[7], dry skin, also known as xeroderma, can exacerbate the skin-crawling feeling. You must apply a gentle moisturizer to hydrate the body and maintain its natural barrier function. It’s expedient to choose a moisturizer that is suitable for your skin so it doesn’t cause further irritation.
Stop Recreational Drug Use
Recreational drugs such as hallucinogens cause psychological withdrawal symptoms. These withdrawal symptoms may include crawling sensations. Thus, you need to discontinue drug usage[8], so that your body can gradually adjust and minimize the occurrence of new symptoms. If you struggle with it or find it too hard to stop, kindly seek professional support.
Seek Psychological Counseling
If you are still confused about how to stop skin crawling sensations, you should visit medical professionals. It’s usually challenging to detect if psychological issues cause the formation. A qualified therapist will provide a safe environment to discuss and explore your skin-crawling experience.
The therapist will also work with you on discovering psychologically influenced factors such as past experiences. More interestingly, the role of a qualified therapist involves recommending coping techniques and treatment.
What Causes Skin Crawling Feeling?
As mentioned earlier, there are several factors responsible for body sensations, which could be psychological, physical, or medically related.
Psychological Disorders
The National Library of Medicine[1] study proves that individuals suffering from delusional parasitosis can develop a skin-crawling sensation. This condition is a primary psychiatric disorder that requires the input of both mental health professionals and dermatologists. Victims of delusional parasitosis may even report a fiber excretion from their body, firmly believing tiny mites are infecting them.
Skin Conditions
Skin conditions, such as hives, scabies, and eczema, can cause severe itching[2] sensation.. This is a typical case for individuals with an easily irritable immune system. Any contact with an allergy may also trigger the release of histamine. This histamine is a chemical that causes the body to itch. Some of these conditions may lead to body dehydration and redness, exposing it to other threatening illnesses.
Medication Side Effect
It’s expedient to use medications that’s only recommended by an expert physician. If you notice certain medications cause side effects, you should avoid them. Common examples are; antidepressants, antibiotics, and corticosteroids. Drugs like Methylphenidate used for treating ADHD may cause formication as a side effect, including Parkinson’s disease drugs like amantadine.
Recreational Drugs
Further research shows[3] that drugs can also cause severe formication—methamphetamines and cocaine are the two common causes. Unfortunately, some people struggle with body pain and severe formication, while trying to stop drugs and achieve complete alcohol withdrawal. In this case, visit a therapist for tailored information about how to stop skin-crawling sensation.
Menopause
According to research[4] from a menopause advisor, menopause and perimenopause can cause formication. This happens when changes in body hormones lead to heightened stress and anxiety. Alongside formication, some people also experience hot flashes. Kindly visit a doctor if the situation persists for a long time.
How Is Skin Crawling Feeling Diagnosed?
Diagnosing crawling feelings can be challenging, especially when the cause is unknown. Nevertheless, an expert health practitioner will know what to do.
Medical History
One of the best ways to diagnose formication is to check your medical history[5] and run some tests. You must be open-minded, to help the doctor to confirm whether there is an infection. The tests may include blood tests.
During the physical examination, the doctor will look out for signs of hives, hashes, or any other skin condition. If these signs are absent, the doctor will confirm if you previously had formication symptoms.
Identify Underlying Medical Conditions
The healthcare provider may also check for underlying medical conditions such as Parkinson’s[6]. However, this requires full patient cooperation, as it will ease the diagnosis process.
Multiple Consultations From Health Experts
You may also be referred to a neurologist or dermatologist for further consultation. However, if the doctor detects an individual’s sensations is most likely caused by a psychological condition, you will be referred to a mental health specialist. Thus, the success of a crawling sensation diagnosis sometimes depends on the collective effort of more than one healthcare provider.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now know how to stop formication. The above-mentioned techniques are easy to implement, and you can input them gradually until your body adapts. More importantly, avoid using non-recommended products that could worsen the sensations. Therefore, you are encouraged to see a dermatologist before applying any product to your skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Formication is the fear of things crawling on the skin without an actual infection. It could also involve the imagination of parasites or insects crawling on your body.
Pronged formication can cause mental health disorders. This will significantly interrupt the sufferer’s social life.
Crawling feeling can result from mental health conditions, irritations, or a triggering environment. Formication is also common among people with underlying psychological issues.
The best treatment for formication depends on the underlying cause. For instance, if you experience a crawling sensation after taking some medications, the solution is to stop using such prescriptions.
You can stop taking drugs overdose, especially when you have a professional to walk you through. This will help you to identify any present psychological issue.
Anxiety can lead to crawling sensations, so relax your mind as much as possible. You may practice some mind exercises such as yoga or meditation.
Formication is cured by following the proper techniques. However, you need to identify methods that are specific to your needs.
If your formication persists for an extended period, you need to seek the help of health professionals. Sometimes, you may work with two or more experts in the field.
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