# What is an itch?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-itch/421156>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 1, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-itch/421156 "2007-10-01T15:17:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-itch/421156/1 "2007-10-01T15:17:35Z")

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Or more specifically, what causes an itch?.

I’m not talking about an allergic reaction to an insect bite or nettle sting, what I really mean is a sensory itch.

The kind that just arrives and you just gotta scratch it.

While on the subject, why does scratching alleviate it?

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-itch/421156/2 "2007-10-01T15:21:49Z")

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[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_090.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_090.html)

> **[When you have an itch, what is happening under your skin?](https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/information/anatomy/question600.htm)**
>
> What exactly is an itch? Find out what your nerves register as "itching" and why you need to scratch so badly.

> **[Itching (Pruritus) Treatment, Pictures, Causes & Symptoms](https://www.medicinenet.com/itch/article.htm)**
>
> Dry skin, fungus, sunburn, and bites may cause itching. Learn about medications and treatments for itching (pruritus). Get relief with home remedies for itchy skin.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-itch/421156/3 "2007-10-01T15:21:59Z")

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“An itch,” one of my doctors once told me, “Is a low-grade pain.”  
It’s an irritation caused by something firing off one of your pain sensors, and it’s telling you to do something about it. The easiest thing to do is to scratch, which works if the source is something small that can be dislodged – an insect or a little piece of something stuck in your skin.

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**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-itch/421156/4 "2007-10-01T15:27:59Z")

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[QUOTE=chowder]

While on the subject, why does scratching alleviate it?  
[/QUOTE]

> [@](#):
>
> Why does scratching an itch make it go away?
> 
> It turns out that mild scratching is one of the best ways to excite the pain neurons with uninsulated axons. There are several competing theories regarding why this relieves itch. Essentially, scientists believe that the massive signal that mild scratching sends to certain populations of pain neurons temporarily overwhelms or masks the itch sensation.

> **[Re: What causes an itch, and why does scratching eliminate it?](https://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar97/857507616.Me.r.html)**

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**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-itch/421156/5 "2007-10-01T15:33:56Z")

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[QUOTE=Gfactor]  
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_090.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_090.html)  
[http://health.howstuffworks.com/question600.htm](http://health.howstuffworks.com/question600.htm)

> **[Itching (Pruritus) Treatment, Pictures, Causes & Symptoms](https://www.medicinenet.com/itch/article.htm)**
>
> Dry skin, fungus, sunburn, and bites may cause itching. Learn about medications and treatments for itching (pruritus). Get relief with home remedies for itchy skin.

[/QUOTE]

:smack: :smack:

In future use the search function you stupid twat