Feels like bugs crawling on my skin

[Julieharber]

Hello - Anyone have an answer as to why my skin (all over) feels like tiny bugs are crawling on it. I don't have any visible rashes or bumps or bites. This has been going on for about 3 weeks now. No changes in soaps, diet, lotions, etc. I've searched the web, but not coming up with any answers.

[Dr.Deepak]

Most of the problem of bugs crawling the skin is due to anxiety and stress. People do have this sort of problem when they are in stress and is normal. The more you think about bugs, the more it crawls on your skin, so the first remedy is to forget it. Secondly taking over the counter antihistamines for few days might resolve. The most important is to visit a dermatologist in person so he can examine if it is related to some disease and suggest you the best option. Most probably it might be just due to stress and forgetting about the bugs might resolve the problem. If you search the web about the bugs crawling you'll get different opinions and thinking about those opinions might make the condition worse. So try making up your mind that this is just a normal and you don't have any bugs crawling on your skin. If it doesn't work visit a dermatologist.

[vencasand]

have you tried to stop a bad habit lately? like biting your nails? when i stopped biting my nails i had this reaction. it was horrible. i didn't realize what it was. don't go back to the bad habit but soon your brain will adjust to not doing whatever the habit was. also stress, grief, even total boredom can cause your body to go crazy. are you on medications? sometimes you can have a side effect with taking some drugs. not really an allergy just a side effect. is your skin dry? try aveeno anti itch lotion. are you pregnant. my daughter had an allergic reaction to being pregnant!!!! it went away of course but she spent her whole pregnancy using aveeno products.

[Shalini]

We often hear this from new Bedbuggers–that no matter where they go, they feel they’re being bitten and crawled on. But it’s unlikely.

Although you may feel the bites begin to itch any time during your day, and even days after you are bitten, you probably don’t feel them when they actually occur. So if you feel you are being bitten, don’t assume there are bed bugs in that space.

The feeling of bugs crawling on your skin is technically called formication, and we don’t fully understand it, but it may be caused by your allergy to bed bugs, or by bites already received (which often don’t itch until hours or even days after you’re bitten). It can sometimes be caused by delusional parasitosis (and this can even happen to people who have suffered from bed bugs in the past.)
To ensure that you truly are not being bitten all day long, even outside of your home, you might want to keep your washed clothes in sealed bags, and shower and change into clean clothes from a sealed bag when you go out (to avoid spreading bugs). Keep shoes and bags in a sealed place too. Frequent showers and/or hot showers can dry your skin and make itching worse. Use a moisturizer like Cetaphil or Aveeno or another that does not contain perfumes or dyes, to make sure your skin isn’t dry, which can make things worse.