Itchy eyebrows can be related to shingles, look at other causes

Itchy eyebrows are a condition that can affect your daily life and make you uncomfortable when severe. Irritation in eyebrows is not serious and the irritation usually goes away on its own. But if itching occurs or reoccurs, there may be some health issue trying to alert you to these symptoms.

Before making a doctor’s visit, the first thing you can do which will help you as well as the doctor is writing down the signs you are experiencing like flakiness, bumps, redness, pain, or stinging. Also, note down how regular these symptoms are, that is, how much time gap is there between two subsequent itching eyebrow scenarios.

This article will help you understand the underlying cause of your itchy eyebrows and also guide you through whatever treatment is necessary for your condition.

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Itchy Eyebrows: The Causes and Their Treatments

Experiencing itching in eyebrows can arise from a vast array of causes. However, the other accompanying symptoms are generally different for different causes. For example, one cause might result in redness in addition to itching, but the other cause may lead to flaky skin.

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1. Irritation by Beauty Treatments

Threading and plucking damage skin surrounding eyebrows(Image by Freepik on Freepik)

Have you been to the beauty salon recently to get your eyes waxed or threaded? Well, if your answer is yes, these beauty services will be the reason for your itchy eyebrows. Waxing, threading, or hair plucking can irritate the delicate skin around the eyes, causing irritation, redness, and small bumps. Applying cooling products such as ice or aloe vera gel to irritated skin can help reduce pain.

Additionally, using dirty equipment for these services can also be a reason behind itchy eyebrows. Therefore, always ensure the hygiene of the products whenever you go to a salon.

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2. Seborrheic Dermatitis

Flakiness on skin (Image by Freepik on Freepik)

If you are experiencing skin flakiness in addition to itchy eyebrows, then you might have this condition. You often observe flaky skin in the case of dandruff as well.

This medical condition often requires repeated treatments as the symptoms are recurring. Antifungal or antibiotic medicines can help with this issue. Additionally, topical steroid creams, biologic medication, and even light therapy can be effective.

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3. Psoriasis

Is Psoriasis treatable? (Image by Freepik on Freepik)

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that causes itchiness, scales, redness, and sore skin in many parts of the body. Since it is a genetic skin disease, one must make sure if there is a history of psoriasis in the family.

However, these symptoms are dominant in the scalp region and can extend to the eyebrows as well. Carefully monitor your stress levels and dietary triggers, and discuss them with your doctor. Oral or topical antifungals or steroids can help. Light therapy also works well in treating psoriasis.

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4. Skin Parasites Like Lice

Lice can be contracted by sharing personal items with an infected person. (Image by Freepik on Freepik)

Parasites like mites and lice can cause itchy eyebrows too. However, they are quite uncommon and easy to treat. The key is to avoid sharing your personal items, which come in direct contact with your hair, with an infected person like hair brushes, pillows, hair towels, hats, caps, etc.

There are a number of products available to treat the lice like permethrin, benzyl alcohol, and ivermectin. If the product you are using doesn’t work for you, then you can switch it after talking to a dermatologist. But you should never mix two medications that treat lice as it can lead to side effects.

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5. Shingles or Other Viruses

People above 50 years of age can contract shingles. (Image by Mdjaff on Freepik)

Infections caused by certain viruses (like the shingles virus), can also cause itchy eyebrows, but this is rare. Shingles is contagious and elderly people are particularly susceptible to it, so it is recommended that they get vaccinated against shingles.

If you have shingles and have symptoms such as redness and swelling, you can take an over-the-counter medication to keep the infection under control and help reduce pain.

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Hence, itchy eyebrows are not a medical condition you need to be seriously worried about. However, if the other accompanying symptoms are different and causing you discomfort, then you can try simple home remedies to cure the irritation or consult your doctor to get a specialized treatment according to the underlying causes.