Other treatment is usually focused on topical itch management. This can be effected by the application of hot water at the end of a bath or shower, antipruritic lotions or creams such as lotion containing capsaicin, using phototherapy, or the application of hot or cold packs to the skin after water contact. Paradoxically, hot baths or showers help many patients, possibly because heat causes mast cells in the skin to release their supply of histamine and to remain depleted for up to 24 hours afterward.