Itching (Pruritus)
One learns to itch where one can scratch - Scott Reed
image by: KaddiSudhi
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Scratching away: The complexities of chronic itch
It seems hard to believe that a basic human sensation — one that can be evoked by a simple mosquito bite — still has scientists scratching their heads. Yet despite centuries of study, understanding itching is still fraught.
Itch, write two scientists in a review in the journal Immunity, “has been described as one of the most diabolical sensations. In Dante's Inferno, falsifiers were eternally punished by ‘the burning rage of fierce itching that nothing could relieve.’” Yet, the researchers note, “There have been very few advances in itch treatment in over 360 years.”
That’s finally starting to change. In the past decade, scientists have made strides toward understanding…
Resources
He Was Unbearably Itchy, but the Problem Wasn’t in His Skin
For the past several years, he told the doctor, he’d had sensitive skin, thin with age and easily injured. But about six months earlier, he began to itch like crazy. It started with a rash.
Itchy skin when stressed: why your skin feels so itchy when you are experiencing stress or anxiety
“Both acute and chronic psychological stress are implicated in the perception of itch.” “This is a normal response, but it does not mean that everyone who is stressed will feel itchy,” says Ahmed.
The new drugs that may bring an end to constant itching
While for most people, an itch is an annoying, temporary nuisance, one in five of us will experience chronic itch lasting weeks or months. New treatments finally offer hope.
Itchy? You can probably ease that symptom, but sometimes a doctor is needed
Some itches are mild, and others are maddeningly severe, affecting sleep and lifestyle. Fortunately, most — such as those caused by insect bites and contact allergies due to poison ivy, fabrics, cosmetics and the like — improve or disappear within a short time.
Itching: More Than Skin-Deep
Itching was long overshadowed by pain in both research and treatment, and was even considered just a mild form of pain. But millions of people suffer from itching, and times have changed. Research has found nerves, molecules and cellular receptors that are specific for itching and set it apart from pain, and the medical profession has begun to take it seriously as a debilitating problem that deserves to be studied and treated.
The Itch
Its mysterious power may be a clue to a new theory about brains and bodies.
Where Itching Comes From
The compelling, tormenting nature of itch is well known. In Dante’s Inferno, falsifiers (including alchemists, impostors, and counterfeiters) were cast into the Eighth Circle of Hell, where they suffered eternal itch.
Why some itches can’t be scratched – and how to combat them
One in five of us will experience chronic itch at some point and current remedies provide little relief. Scratching's normal success provides some clues.
Why We Itch
How it arises is only now becoming clear.
Big Question: Why Does Scrathing make You Itch More?
The good news is that most earthly itches are in fact scratchable. Physical itchiness—whether it’s from a wool sweater, a mosquito bite, or poison oak—is usually a temporary sensation. But while most itching resolves on its own, 10 percent of people suffer from some form of chronic itch during their lives.
How to Treat Eczema and ‘Winter Itch’
While there is no cure for eczema, patients can make it comfortably through the winter season with proper management.
Neuroscientists Hack Itching, Exposing a Mysterious Neural Circuit
A key to understanding why scratching an itch feels so good.
Science explains why hot water stops itching
Many people resort to cortisone cream. While it can help, we have always found that a simple home remedy can be equally effective. Hot water is as close as the kitchen sink. It is surprisingly effective against almost any itch.
The Science Behind the Deepest Itch: Poison Oak
Part of what turns a slight encounter with a poison oak plant into an epic full-body cataclysm is that its action is delayed.
Treating Insect Bites' Sting and Itch With Devices
Gadgets Use Heat or Electric Shock.
We Finally Know Why Scratching an Itch Makes It Worse
Serotonin's role in the sensation of itch has been described for the first time.
We're a Whole Lot Closer to a Cure for Itching
Scientists say skin is more than just a barrier to the outside world, a realization that could lead to the end of itching.
What Makes Us Feel an Itch? Answer Surprises Scientists
"We know much less about itch than we know about pain, and this paper advances our knowledge about the basic mechanism of itching."
Why and how do body parts itch? Why does it feel good to scratch an itch?
Pruritus is a dominant symptom of many skin diseases and also occurs in some diseases that affect the entire body. An itching sensation of the skin arises due to stimulation of pruriceptors—itch-sensing nerve endings—by mechanical, thermal or chemical mediators.
Why Does Scratching Make You Itch More? Science Has An Answer
From dry skin to mosquito bites, there are a million little reasons why we itch. But sometimes, scratching an itch can make you feel, well, itchier — and a group of scientists has a possible explanation for why this happens.
Why poison ivy is so itchy — and how scientists are working to quell the rash
“It’s the most common cause of environmental contact allergy,” said Sven-Eric Jordt, an inflammation researcher at Duke University and the lead author of the new research, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scratching away: The complexities of chronic itch
Itching has myriad causes and mechanisms, many of which remain elusive. Scientists are making headway on parsing its biological underpinnings, in hope of better treatments.
8 Natural Remedies for Itchy and Irritated Skin
Our rule of thumb regarding body products is to never use anything on your skin that you wouldn’t put in your mouth. So, every remedy listed here is made from plants or from plant-based or food-grade substances.
International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI)
Our mission is to advance itch-related research and education and to promote treatment and clinical efforts to help alleviate this debilitating symptom. Our main goal is to create an active society that will contribute to the study of Itch.
It's an Itchy Little World
It's an Itchy Little World provides you with natural remedies for eczema that work based on our family’s experience in battling eczema, allergies, and asthma using an integrative approach. It also features related news and stories from guest bloggers and industry professionals.
A Scientist's Mission To Break The Itch-Scratch Cycle
Dr. Gil Yosipovitch is a leading scientist in the field of itch. He says he hopes to gain more respect for the debilitating power of chronic itch — and to get more doctors on the search for a cure.
Health Check: why do we itch?
We’ve all experienced the unpleasant sensation of being itchy. For many years, scientists suspected that pain and itch were the same thing, only differentiated by their intensity: itch was just light pain, and pain was strong itch. But we now know these two sensations are perceived very differently. Recent research found itch is sensed through its own dedicated nerves, independent of the pain pathway.
NHS
The treatment for itching will largely depend on the cause...
Patient
Itch has many similarities to pain. They are both unpleasant sensory experiences, but pain elicits a reflex withdrawal and itch leads to a scratch reflex. However, both can lead to serious impairment of quality of life.
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