[Hank Rearden]

Hot water for itching does work. I'm highly allergic to ivy (any species of ivy is poison ivy to me), and when I was a kid I'd eventually encounter it and my hands would swell and itch like crazy.

About the only relief was to run hot water over my hands; the hotter the better, as hot as I could possibly stand for as long as I could stand it.

I probably was just killing off all the nerve endings, but it worked.

[AlbertWang]

Hot water for itching does work. I'm highly allergic to ivy (any species of ivy is poison ivy to me), and when I was a kid I'd eventually encounter it and my hands would swell and itch like crazy. About the only relief was to run hot water over my hands; the hotter the better, as hot as I could possibly stand for as long as I could stand it. I probably was just killing off all the nerve endings, but it worked.

The hot water uses up the histamine in your skin. Generally a hot soak will give 4 to 8 hours of relief.