# Does this Itch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083 "2003-01-01T19:57:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twelfthsign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@twelfthsign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twelfthsign)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/1 "2003-01-01T19:57:07Z")
Do you ever suddenly get this itch, just about anywhere on your body, like say your shoulder, and while your’ scratchin’ your shoulder, your feet feel itchy? Like a contagious itch, for no reason. Why does this happen? _or is it just me?_ (And if I may add, hell no, it is’nt an allergy or skin infection blaa blaa.) ---
**Author:** ![twelfthsign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@twelfthsign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twelfthsign)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/2 "2003-01-01T20:52:57Z")
_scratches his head and closes the window_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/3 "2003-01-01T21:05:44Z")
Yes - exactly as you describe, **twelfthsign** - I had always assumed that it was either crosstalk between adjacent neurons in the spine or perhaps in the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/4 "2003-01-02T00:28:21Z")
There’s a place on my eyebrow, that, if I rub it, I get an itch on my scalp. _shrugs_ ---
**Author:** ![Harli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c0e974/32.png) [@Harli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harli)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/5 "2003-01-03T14:23:55Z")
I don’t know if I heard this somewhere else, or if I came up with it myself, probably the former… Itches are caused by an irritation due to any number of things, and that our skin is constantly irritated, just in varying degrees. When you scratch an itch, it causes the itch to go away, but because the skin has been stimulated, it will trigger the next most irritated spot on your body and it then becomes the next itchy spot. No idea where I heard this. ---
**Author:** ![Fallus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5e925/32.png) [@Fallus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fallus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/6 "2003-01-03T14:38:06Z")
Now I’m having itches everywhere. Thanks a lot. ---
**Author:** ![hobbes730](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/97f17d/32.png) [@hobbes730](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobbes730)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/7 "2003-01-03T16:11:24Z")
I’ve heard this is rather common, although I don’t remember ever experiencing it myself; IIRC, it’s caused by a string of nerves that are shared by both the neck/shoulders and the feet. I think acupuncturists often exploit this common “nerve pathway”, but I’m not really sure. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-itch/146083/8 "2003-01-04T05:39:27Z")
Yes, this happens to me. There is a small patch on my back that when scratched causes a tingle in my foot. Although I don’t know the answer to this, I think that Mangetout is on the right track for an explanation.