Old scar is extemely itchy (sinus, infection, skin, surgery)

[adventuregurl]

I have an old surgery scar (1988), lower abdomen, that is VERY itchy all of a sudden, to the point of keeping me awake. It's also not a great place to be itching in public .

It's been itchy before but never this bad for this long. Any ideas why this would happen?

The only new thing is I'm on antibiotics for a sinus infections (not penicillin which I'm allergic to).

Weird!!!

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Is the area red and sticky? You could have a yeast infection on the skin. Taking antibiotics can make yeast infections more likely anywhere on the body. If this sounds like what you've got, you can get rid of it by washing the area with soap and water twice a day and letting it dry completely. That will clear it up in a couple of weeks, or you can ask your doctor for a prescription for it, a powder or cream with nystatin, and that will get rid of it a lot faster. The rash will probably peel before it's done healing, once it's past the itchy stage.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You can use vaginal yeast cream on your skin. Obese folks get yeast infections in the folds of their skin and something like Monistat is both helpful and OTC.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

You can use vaginal yeast cream on your skin. Obese folks get yeast infections in the folds of their skin and something like Monistat is both helpful and OTC.

I had those infections for years and Monistat doesn't clear them up faster than soap and water, but the prescription creams and powders do.

[cb at sea]

Or, you could have formed some scar tissue (under your skin) that has tightened and pulls...causing itching....

[adventuregurl]

Thanks everyone, I was so busy with my move that I forgot about this post. My scar stopped itching on it's own (probably in conjunction with the stopping of the antibiotics, now that I think of it!).