This is one case where dancing won't help.

December 14, 2005 4:20 PM

ObscureMedicalFilter: Why do my feet itch when I do the dishes?

Since I was a child, whenever I wash dishes, my feet start to itch something fierce. Not my hands, which are gloved in latex (no latex allergy, either) or my bare forearms. I don't think it's the liquid, though I usually use Dawn, because I have no reaction to the soap no matter where I apply it to my skin. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing on my feet, whether sandals, socks, or bare. It's not quite to the point of pain, but it's severe enough that I'm almost compelled to scratch (with my toenails). It's very distracting and I've dropped two dishes in just the past month. It's irritating enough that I almost don't want to do the dishes. What the heck is going on?

posted by Eideteker to Health & Fitness (31 answers total)

Response by poster: And since I don't hold out much hope for an answer, points will also be awarded to anyone who can tell me what my garbage disposal is for and when I should use it. I've never had one before.
posted by Eideteker at 4:21 PM on December 14, 2005

You scrape uneaten food into the garbage disposal, flip the light switch nearby, it grinds the food up into something that will wash down through the pipes without blocking anything up.

No clue about your feet, though.
posted by cmonkey at 4:30 PM on December 14, 2005

dood, or dootette.

happens to me too, but its my back, not my feet.
posted by jdg at 4:32 PM on December 14, 2005

If you have a good disposal, you should be able to put nearly any food item in it just fine (bones included). If you have a poor one, like I do, don't put teabags in it, I can tell you that.

Oh also, don't pour hot grease down your sink, ever. It cools and gels up just like in your arteries.
posted by puke & cry at 4:35 PM on December 14, 2005

Funny, I was going to suggest the vibration from the garbage disposal until I saw your [mi].
posted by metaculpa at 4:38 PM on December 14, 2005

Completely uninformed guess, but could it be because you're standing for long periods of time and blood is pooling in your feet? Whenever my hands or feet get overly warm, they tend to itch, as well.
posted by Zosia Blue at 4:43 PM on December 14, 2005

Response by poster: I just scrape food into the trash. Thanks, though.

Zosia: I had thought of that, but it doesn't seem to happen any other time I stand in place for awhile (waiting for a movie, organizing my laundry, working on my bike). I've also tried consciously moving my feet a lot to keep things circulating without much help. It's almost as soon as I start washing dishes that it happens.
posted by Eideteker at 4:45 PM on December 14, 2005

You're not diabetic, are you? Does the same thing happen if you take a hot shower? How about if you wash the dishes using cold water instead of hot? (ie, is it heat-induced neuropathy).

The other thing to test besides it being a result of temperature is the whole standing up thing--standing up doing the dishes can be different than standing up waiting in line because subtle leg movements aid in blood return up the leg. Do you lock your legs when you wash the dishes? Or try standing upright in one *fixed* place for awhile (when you're watching tv or something), and see if you get those itchies.
posted by neda at 4:51 PM on December 14, 2005

Response by poster: Not diabetic, no. I don't really pay attention to the temperature of the water; normally I can't feel it through the gloves. I'll try to pay more attention to it and see if there's a difference; thanks.
posted by Eideteker at 4:54 PM on December 14, 2005

I second the opinion that it's a circulation problem. Perhaps it doesn't happen at any other time because you only stand in that exact way when you are doing the dishes. For whatever reason.
posted by hermitosis at 5:06 PM on December 14, 2005

Do you like to use really hot water? Do you get a nice silk of steam on your windows when you're dishwashing? Are you usually shod while you're doing this? It could be that you're just getting a bit warm while standing in place, which could make your feet a bit sweaty and, hence, itchy.

(I've have gotten inexplicitly itchy feet now and then too, but not often and I can't recall the circumstances.)
posted by cortex at 5:07 PM on December 14, 2005

(Doing something slightly strenuous could be part of that sweating theory, too -- I get a bit of a sweat sometimes doing household chores vigorously, including dishes.)
posted by cortex at 5:08 PM on December 14, 2005

Response by poster: cortex: But then wouldn't the same thing happen when I cooked? And honestly, I usually use fairly lukewarm water (except for grease which gets the hot).

At one point, I stood in water while doing the dishes. I don't remember how much it helped, just that it was a pain in the arse. I might try it again, if I can do so without too much mess.
posted by Eideteker at 5:15 PM on December 14, 2005

It may be the combination of standing up AND having just eaten. After dinner the body is in "rest and digest" mode (ie, getting a lot of stimulation from the parasympathetic nervous system, as opposed to the "fight or flight" input from the sympathetic nervous system). And one thing that happens in "rest and digest" mode is that the peripheral vasculature relaxes and opens up. So, more blood to the feet, maybe, as Zosia Blue suggested above.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:18 PM on December 14, 2005

Could it be a referral sensation (stimulation of a certain nerve can cause another nerve seemingly really far away from the initial site).

Kind of like how certain acupuncture points function (headache? stick a needle to stimulate a nerve in your big toe [not really - just an example]).

Do your feet itch if you're in an identical stance/posture but not washing dishes? Identical stance without the lukewarm water?
posted by PurplePorpoise at 5:22 PM on December 14, 2005

That was my thought too, cortex — the heat of the water. Your reaction down south could be along the lines of pressure points, acupuncture channels, qi, etc.

As for the pig*, a plumber told me that they were the most delicate appliance in the kitchen, prone to problems and easily overwhelmed. He suggested scraping plates before putting them in the sink, so what goes down the drain is smaller and softer. So keep the quantity — and the texture — to a reasonable tolerance, and your pig won't squeal.
*family name for garbage disposal
posted by rob511 at 5:25 PM on December 14, 2005

If you're too tall for the sink (at 5'10" I'm too tall) you could be compressing some nerves in your spine bending over at the sink.
posted by fshgrl at 5:30 PM on December 14, 2005

points will also be awarded to anyone who can tell me what my garbage disposal is for and when I should use it. I've never had one before.

Ever had bits of onion skin or other vegetable matter clog up your drain basket? Instead of emptying that shit out into the gabage, just let it go down the drain and turn on the disposal (while water flows) now and then.

When do you wash the dishes? Is there a routine to it? If it's the first thing you do after getting up, you might as well ask why your feet itch in the morning.
posted by scarabic at 5:33 PM on December 14, 2005

maybe it's your subconscious looking for an excuse to leave. with me, it's my colon - i hide in the bathroom when the dishes need washing.

i think the garbage grinder thing must have been the 60s equivalent of the moleskine - something that made your waste pipe more precious than everyone else's. and so it caught on.
posted by andrew cooke at 5:37 PM on December 14, 2005

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that it's psychological. It may be that odd phenomenon that makes you want to do something exactly because you can't do it. It seems that when my movements are restricted in some way (in a meeting, say, or standing at the sink with wet, gloved, sudsy hands, I'm always more conscious of itching, and more tormented by my resistance to scratching.

Mark Twain noticed it too:

There was a place on my ankle that got to itching, but I dasn't scratch it; and then my ear begun to itch; and next my back, right between my shoulders. Seemed like I'd die if I couldn't scratch. Well, I've noticed that thing plenty times since. If you are with the quality, or at a funeral, or trying to go to sleep when you ain't sleepy -- if you are anywheres where it won't do for you to scratch, why you will itch all over in upwards of a thousand places.

--Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 2, when he's hiding in the Widow's backyard and Jim is awfully close to discovering him.
posted by Miko at 5:47 PM on December 14, 2005

Also, using the disposal greatly reduces the garbage-can smell. (Particularly indispensible to those of us in small apartments with once-a-week garbage pickup.)

What material is your kitchen floor and how even is the floor beneath? The combo could cause you to be stimulating your feet in funny ways when you stand in front of the sink, causing a weird circulation glitch that makes your feet itch.
posted by desuetude at 6:09 PM on December 14, 2005

I call these sorts of phenomena crosstalk. I don't understand why they happen.
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:16 PM on December 14, 2005

A lot of cities ask that people not use their garbage disposals because they require a lot of water for proper use and improper use (without the water) can clog sewer pipes farther down.

I don't know why your feet itch.
posted by hydropsyche at 6:29 PM on December 14, 2005

Response by poster: PurplePorpoise: Nope. Only when washing dishes.
fshgrl: I'm 5'12", so you may be on to something.
Miko: But I do scratch it, vigorously! (just with my toenails rather than my hands)
ikkyu2: You may also be on to something. It may be a bizarre sort of synaesthesia that's triggered by some combination of stimuli I haven't yet isolated.
posted by Eideteker at 6:39 PM on December 14, 2005

Someday you might reach 6 feet! ; )

I'm almost certain it has to do with the way your standing. Unless there's leg room under your sink (which isn't the case in most kitchens) you have to lock your legs and lean over slightly.

I sometimes get a strange tingling behind my knees when I brush my teeth. When I shift positions it goes away. Try sitting on a stool or something instead and see if it goes away.

Garbage disposals are really great. It's a little much to put big things in it (as it does require a lot of water and energy to grind it all up) but the little stuff is great. So much better than cleaning out the little food trap thing.
posted by aladfar at 7:06 PM on December 14, 2005

I have memories of my feet itching something fierce when I did the dishes when I was a teenager, still living with my parents. I always attributed it to having to stand in one place when I didn't want to. You know the idea of "bristling," getting flushed in an uncomfortable situation? Same thing for me. I hated doing chores.

My best suggestion would be to play your favorite music or do something else pleasurable while you wash. Make it enjoyable. Ask for some privacy if that's what you'd prefer (leave me alone and let me get this done!). Alternatively, ask for some company (let's chat while I'm getting this done!).
posted by Mapes at 7:07 PM on December 14, 2005

I think it's the peripheral vessels opening up due to your hands being warm, either by water or by being in a glove. I remember when I worked offshore in the winter, if I took a hand out of its glove and put it in my pocket, it would get very warm. I could switch hands, and the other one would get warm.
Have you tried not wearing gloves? Or standing in cold water? Does it happen if you wash using cold water?
posted by atchafalaya at 7:44 PM on December 14, 2005

Eideteker: Put anything biological down the garbage disposal, recycle anything paper or plastic. Net effect: almost zero garbage leaves your house in a plastic bag.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:17 PM on December 14, 2005

I experience a similar phenomenon. When I wash the dishes and I'm not wearing trousers my ankles and lower leg start itching like crazy. The same used to happen when I was brushing my teeth, and still does sometimes.
posted by grouse at 12:43 AM on December 15, 2005

Dunno about the itch, just going for the extra points: garbage disposal units are for ignoring. They use vast amounts of water and energy to do what a worm farm does with way less noise and fuss.

Keep a cafeteria tray with about ten thicknesses of newspaper over it somewhere near your sink, and scrape all the food scraps, leftover vegetable bits and whatever onto that throughout the day. Every night, slide the whole pile including the lining paper off the tray onto two or three sheets of newspaper, wrap it up in a parcel and pop the whole lot into the worm farm. No mess, no fuss, no maintenance, no hideout squealing and grinding noises, no stinky clogged overloaded drains, no nasty smelly scraps bucket, no stink from the trash bin.

My own worm farm consists of a decent size discarded car tyre sunk into the ground, with another similar tyre sitting on top, and a round, painted plywood lid with a brick on it on top of that. I have two of those setups. When one starts looking a little full, I switch to the other. I empty our vacuum cleaner in there as well as feeding them wrapped kitchen scraps.

I got them started with half a kilogram of commercial compost worms and a bucketfull of spent mushroom compost between them. These guys have been eating all the once-was-food from our 3 person household for two years now, they don't smell, and the garden within a ten foot radius of them is noticeably healthier.
posted by flabdablet at 1:06 AM on December 15, 2005

s/hideout/hideous/
dang.
posted by flabdablet at 2:28 AM on December 15, 2005