To get help with your kidney disease itching, speak out
If your chronic itching is affecting your life, don’t suffer in silence. Help is out there, if you ask for it.
Find people to talk to
Talk to your doctor
Speak to your doctor about your excessive itching. Write down a list of your symptoms and take a friend or family member to your appointment for support. No one should face chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus alone, so keep discussing your itch until you are heard.
Here are some questions to ask your doctor.1
Are there any ways the itching from kidney disease can be relieved?
What are the pros and cons of each treatment?
How do I choose an approach to manage my itching that is right for me?
What happens if the itching treatment does not work?
Opening up about your CKD itching can feel uncomfortable at first, but you might be surprised at how understanding your friends and family are.
You might see the same people in your weekly dialysis session. Why not open up and see how they are coping? After all, no one can understand what you’re going through more than those who are experiencing the same thing.
There is a community of people – just like you – sharing their itch experiences in patient associations and on social media. Connecting with them might help you to cope and feel less alone. Use #letyouritchbeheard to share your story online.
Remember that the support you need is just one conversation away.
Try our resources
Here you will find a variety of resources to help you make your itch heard.
From diagnosis to management, our guide contains everything you need to know about your kidney disease itch.
Read this paper, to learn from the experiences of other kidney disease itch sufferers like yourself.
Find out about evidence-based recommendations for improving the quality life for people with CKD on dialysis by reading this paper.
To learn more about how to deal with the complications of kidney disease itching symptoms, watch this webinar from the European Kidney Patients’ Federation.
How to calm your kidney disease itching
From home treatments to medication – get tips and tricks to calm your itch.
Find out more