Is the laundry detergent different than she's always used? What about the fabric softener, is that different? Sounds like a process of elimination that you need. Could it be a yeast infection? How about a medication that's different?
My Mom has problems with itching skin, we tried different soaps, even the one her Dermatologist recommended didn't really help. We tried various skin lotions, and Mom finally settled on Vaseline intensive care. Now I wonder if it is the laundry detergent that Mom uses on her towels, or the fabric softener. Or if the water is just too hot when she baths/showers.
Avoid soap entirely on the very old, because their skin is just too fragile. There are moisturizing body washes from Olay, Eucerin , Alpha Keri and Moisture Therapy (avon). Or try the No-Rinse body wipes.
Murphy's Oil Soap? It has a pH of 11, which is rather alkaline, but it is made with vegetable oil. Castile soap (olive oil) is slightly better with a pH of 9. Your own skin is slightly acidic, between pH 4 and pH 7. If you go too far past 7, you will definitely dry the skin out.
It could be her soap. Lots of suggestions about soap and lotions in this thread.
It could be too frequent bathing, drying out the skin.
It could be something in the laundry, even if you haven't changed products. (My dermatologist pointed out that we are not born with allergies -- we develop them, and that can happen at any time, even with a product we've used a lot.)
It could be dementia, which can make people experience many "mysterious" sensations that don't seem to have a physical cause.
September 1 is coming up soon. I hope that the doctor and/or your own experimentation resolves this problem for the dear lady soon!
Faithwalk, what type of material clothing does your mother wear? I noticed the other day that my Mom wears a lot of cardigans that she has owned for the past 50 some years, and I bet they probably feel like cardboard after all these years.
I have bought Mom much softer material clothing to wear but she seems to prefer her older clothing.... maybe my Mom trying to wear it out to a point where she can eventually toss it out [she's a child of the Great Depression].
It could be too frequent bathing, drying out the skin.
It could be something in the laundry, even if you haven't changed products. (My dermatologist pointed out that we are not born with allergies -- we develop them, and that can happen at any time, even with a product we've used a lot.)
It could be dementia, which can make people experience many "mysterious" sensations that don't seem to have a physical cause.
September 1 is coming up soon. I hope that the doctor and/or your own experimentation resolves this problem for the dear lady soon!
I have bought Mom much softer material clothing to wear but she seems to prefer her older clothing.... maybe my Mom trying to wear it out to a point where she can eventually toss it out [she's a child of the Great Depression].
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