Dryness

by Nancy
(Canada)

With MS why are my extremities so dry and slippery?

Thank you in advance.


Reply:

Hi Nancy,

Dryness of your extremities may have something to do with your body not being able to control it's temperature very well. Cir has that problem. He'll be cold one minute and too hot the next. But most all the time his hands are cold and dry, even in the summer.

Another reason his hands are dry is because he self-cathes and washes them frequently. I have that problem as well because of frequent hand washing. If you wash your hands a lot, for any reason, you may be prone to dryness.




Cir has also complained about his feet being dry. We put lotion on them to combat this. The slippery feeling may just be a "side-effect" of the dryness. I know my hands sometimes feel extra smooth when they are really dry.

As far as this being an MS symptom - I've never heard of this - however that doesn't mean it's not. It could be a result of nerve damage, perhaps mild numbness may actually give you that feeling. I'm not sure.

I've never come across this particular symptom or even heard it described the way you described it. I'd be interested to know if any other MSers have the same problem.

It could possibly be a side-effect of one of your medicines. Many MSers take the same or similar medications for their symptoms. This could result in similar side-effects for many of you.

I hate the feeling my hands have when they are extremely dry and take every opportunity to moisturize. This helps most of the time - winters are the worst. Sometimes I mix a little petroleum jelly with the lotion to help hold in the moisture after I wash my hands.





Many people don't like the sticky feeling that some lotions have, so you have to experiment till you find something that works for you. If this hasn't really answered your question, maybe you can talk to your doctor about it.

Check your medication pamphlets to see if any of them cause dryness. Maybe your doctor could change the ones that have dryness as a side-effect.

Hope this helps and maybe other visitors have some insight when it comes to this symptom.

Take care,

Akrista