Causes and Treatments for Feeling Water Drops on Your Skin

Reasons You May Be Feeling Water Drops on Your Skin

Feeling sensations of water dripping or running down your skin can be alarming. While this symptom may seem inexplicable, there are actually several potential causes for feeling water on your skin when none is there. Understanding the reasons behind this strange sensation can provide some relief and guide you toward solutions.

Multiple Sclerosis

One of the most common reasons people experience phantom sensations of water on their skin is a neurological condition called multiple sclerosis or MS. MS damages the myelin sheath protecting the nerves, causing a variety of symptoms including abnormal skin sensations.

MS can make people feel like water, rain or cold drips are running down their arms, legs, face or other body parts. These odd skin sensations are called Lhermitte’s sign or symptom in people with MS. It’s caused by lesions on the myelin of sensory nerves from the spinal cord to the brain.

Nerve Damage

Nerve damage, also known as neuropathy, can also make you feel dripping water on your skin. Diabetic neuropathy is a common form of nerve damage related to elevated blood sugar levels. Nerves running from the spinal cord get damaged, causing numbness, tingling, prickling or the sensation of water trickling on the skin.

Chemotherapy treatment can sometimes lead to a condition called chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) causing similar abnormal skin sensations. Radiation therapy may also irritate and damage sensory nerves.

Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Not getting enough vitamin B12 can affect your nerves, too. Vitamin B12 helps produce myelin to protect nerve fibers. Without adequate B12 levels, myelin sheaths deteriorate, leading to odd skin sensations like water dripping.

Vegans and vegetarians who avoid meat are at a higher risk of B12 deficiency. Low stomach acid, digestive disorders like Crohn’s disease and medications that reduce acid production can also contribute to poor vitamin B12 absorption.

Anxiety or Stress

Feeling random skin sensations like water dripping may also be related to anxiety, stress or a panic attack. When you feel severely anxious, your mind can start noticing harmless bodily signals and misinterpret them as a sign of danger or illness.

Focusing too intently on minor skin sensations can amplify them and lead to feeling phantom dripping. Relaxation techniques, cognitive behavioral therapy and anti-anxiety medication can all help ease this anxiety symptom.

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease affects the nervous system by depleting dopamine levels and can cause very vivid hallucinations. Some people with Parkinson’s report tactile hallucinations of water running down or dripping onto their skin.

Parkinson’s medication adjustments may help reduce this symptom, as can treatment for co-occurring conditions like dementia, anxiety or psychosis contributing to the hallucinations.

Seizures

Epileptic seizures stemming from the brain can sometimes manifest with odd skin sensations. Feeling like water or electricity is trickling, crawling or coursing over the skin may signal focal seizures affecting only a small part of the brain.

These unusual skin sensations are called auras or warning signs preceding a full epileptic seizure. Tracking auras and alerting your neurologist can help better control seizures through medication or even surgery if necessary.

Stroke

A stroke cutting off oxygen-rich blood flow to parts of the brain can also lead to strange skin sensations if it damages areas controlling sensory perception and processing.

Feeling water dripping on your skin could indicate a mini-stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) that briefly disrupts blood flow. Seek emergency care if accompanied by facial drooping, arm weakness or speech issues.

Diabetes

Skin sensations like water dripping down may be a warning sign of unmanaged diabetes. When blood sugar levels remain severely high over many years, it can cause neuropathy and nerve damage.

Getting diagnosed early and controlling diabetes through medication, diet and exercise is key to preventing and minimizing related nerve damage that leads to skin symptoms like feeling phantom dripping.

Pinched Nerve

Compressed or pinched nerves in the spine from conditions like a herniated disc, arthritis, bone spurs or a tight piriformis muscle can interfere with signal transmission to the brain.

This nerve compression disrupts sensory feedback, leading to strange skin sensations including feeling water trickling on the skin. Seeing a chiropractor or physical therapist can help alleviate a pinched nerve.

Brain Tumor

In very rare cases, feeling water or liquid dripping on your skin with no apparent cause may be linked to a brain tumor impacting areas that control sensory processing and tactile hallucinations.

Seek immediate medical evaluation if the phantom dripping is accompanied by severe headaches, vision changes, seizures or memory problems as these require prompt diagnosis and treatment.

When to See a Doctor

Experiencing sensations of water dripping on your skin is not normal and warrants a trip to the doctor. Seek medical care promptly if you experience:

• Accompanying numbness, tingling or burning sensations
• Muscle weakness interfering with coordination or stability
• Dizziness, headaches or confusion
• Slurred speech or vision changes
• Trouble walking or loss of balance

Schedule an appointment with your primary care physician for evaluation if you have mild, intermittent dripping sensations without other neurological symptoms. Based on your medical history and description of sensations, they can determine if neurological testing, bloodwork or a referral to a neurologist is warranted.

Treatments for Abnormal Skin Sensations

Treatment will focus on addressing the underlying cause of your symptoms:

• MS: Steroid therapy to reduce nerve inflammation and slow progression.
• Nerve damage: Prescription medications, topical creams, physical therapy or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).
• B12 deficiency: Vitamin B12 injections or high-dose oral supplements.
• Anxiety: Anti-anxiety medication, psychotherapy and stress management.
• Parkinson's disease: Dopamine therapy, medication adjustments and treatment for co-occurring conditions.
• Seizures: Anticonvulsant medications to control electrical impulses.
• Pinched nerve: Chiropractic adjustment, massage, pain medication or surgery for severe cases.

Seeing your doctor promptly when you feel phantom dripping or water on your skin can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment to alleviate this abnormal sensation.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.