-
Asked by kayaretee to Anil, Blanka, Cees, Emma, Mike on 25 Jun 2012.
-
Blanka Sengerova answered on 25 Jun 2012:
Itching is when you feel the need to scratch your skin. The reason why it feels itchy (I itch now as I type, because of the psychological effect, methinks) is because the skin is compromised/broken in some way. This can be for a wide range of reasons such as insect bites, allergy to something that is in contact with the skin or even hormone imbalances or problems with some chemicals that have bveen produced by the body but cannot be got rid of (waste products or more clearly metabolites), This is what the NHS has to say on itching: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Itching/Pages/Causes.aspx
-
-
Emma Trantham answered on 28 Jun 2012:
Great question 🙂
I think Blanka has pretty much covered what an itch is so I just wanted to elaborate on some of the different types:
-most of the time we itch because something is bothering our skin and the layers below it. It might be that we are touching something we are allergic to, or an insect bite or just something ‘itchy’ rubbing against our skin (like an itchy jumper)
-if we are unlucky and our nervous systems get damaged that can make us feel itchy. In fact some people that have lost arms or legs report feeling itchy in their limb, even though it has already been cut off!
-there are some drugs that act centrally on our nervous system to make us feel itchy
-some psychiatric disorders (mental health disorders) can make us feel really itchy
-and yes, like Blanka, just answering this question has made me feel itchy!
How about you? Did you feel itchy reading the answer?
Comments