My cat looks very silly...but hopefully for a good reason

I have a 12-year-old cat (Buns) that has about as many allergies as I do, but he has the extra problem of licking himself when he itches. Just in case you're not a cat person, let me explain that cats have very rough tongues. We've changed litter, food, given him steroid shots, etc. But he still has trouble, and it causes open wounds that are pretty big in relation to a fairly small (7-8lb) cat. What's really a shame is that's he's normally absolutely gorgeous--a spotted brown calico with white stockings, which is very rare in males. We've done what we can to alleviate his actual itching but he still worries his skin--at this point it's a little dry but not inflamed, and I think he may be doing it more out of habit than anything now. Every time his wound tries to scab, he licks it raw again. So, I've put a triple-layer non-stick pad on with some hurt-free (read latex-free tape) that sticks to itself pretty firmly, and placed over that...a large sock with the toes cut out. Yup. He looks like he has a diaper around his middle. But I'm hoping it will help. I checked with a variety of people and it should help the wound. One of my coworkers who works with animals a lot suggested a very tiny dose of Benadryl to cut down on the last of the itching. Zabet even offered to knit some white cotton "Buns cozies", which is good, ,because the sock is way too short. Since he tends to get cold easily (he's always warm around the trunk but has cold paws, so his circulation is mucked up), that may help. And I checked, the sock isn't too tight. He doesn't like it, of course. He ate and now he's licking it--but he's not pulling at it, so I'm hoping I don't have to add an Elizabethan collar to the mix. Which I may, because he's really not liking this. He hates it when the 'thumbs'--people--get crafty.