[Shazza]

Thank you for your replies.

I've been avoiding gluten for the past 6 months Marlene but that doesn't seem to have made any difference to the itching - I don't seem to ache quite as much though!
I hadn't thought about homeopathy so might give it a whirl - I'll let you know how I get on.

Thank you Curlygirl for the link. If I'm honest, it was a bit of a knee jerk reaction giving up the pills after reading just one article. However, I must've been taking a lot as I'm shocked to find how much I itch without them.
I'd prefer to get to the bottom of the problem & avoid pills altogether but it's good to know that Claritin is an option.