I was taking lisinopril for high blood pressure, but developed a cough. my doctor switched me to valsartan. after a couple of months i developed very dry skin and itchiness all over, but mainly on my scalp. what cam be done?

As your doctor: likely told you, developing a cough with ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors like lisinopril is quite common. Often switching to the ARBs helps. Dry skin/itchiness is not commonly reported as a side effect of Valsartan so my opinion is it is not related. Aggressively treat the dry skin with sensitive skin moisturizers. If needed, do a trial off Valsartan under your Doctor's supervision.

ACE ARB reaction: Cough is the most common side effect to these class of drugs however your itching is also possibly a drug reaction and another class of hypertension management drug needs to be tried.

Side effct: Please have the doctor change medicines to a different class of medicine for BP treatment

See a dermatologist: Changing from ACE to ARB got rid of the cough. Your dry- itchy skin is probably not related to valsartan. A dermatologist will help you. Meanwhile take a long bath or shower every night using a skin cleanser such as Dove or Eucerin with a pH of 6 to 7. Immediately after soaking, apply a ceramide cream, rubbing in well. These creams include Eucerin, Aveeno, (oatmeal) CeraVe, generics. Do not heat your home o