An itch can feel like a burn, an electric shock, or a crawling sensation. It’s caused by stimulated nerve cells in the skin, which make you want to scratch the affected area. Share on Pinterest If ...

Everybody itches. Sometimes itch serves as a useful warning signal — there's a bug on your back! But sometimes itch arises for no apparent reason, and can be a torment. Think of the itchy skin ...

When you’ve got an itch, you probably want to scratch it. But whether it’s from a mosquito bite, chickenpox, or chronic skin issue like eczema, any relief from scratching will be short-lived. And too ...

US researchers have discovered that scratching an itch releases immune cells and produces inflammation, but also reduces bacteria on the skin. It could be one of the reasons why scratching an itch ...

Poison ivy, bug bites, allergies — just hearing those words can make you want to scratch. But even though we all itch, and we all scratch, we don’t know very much about what is happening in our brains ...

One of the greatest pleasures in life is to scratch an itch — in both the real and figurative sense. Although scratching an itch provides immediate (albeit temporary) relief, it may actually trigger ...

Everyone knows what it’s like to itch. And the sensation can drive you mad. Or, if you’re Yan-Gang Sun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it can drive you to explore how the brain tells you it’s time ...

University of Oxford provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK. Having an itch can be incredibly annoying but it actually serves an important function, protecting us from damage to our skin.

What’s common between a scratchy sweater, a mosquito bite, and poison ivy? A brush with any of them guarantees an itchy spot on the skin. Scratching that itch is extremely tempting because of how ...

One of the greatest pleasures in life is to scratch an itch — in both the real and figurative sense. Although scratching an itch provides immediate (albeit temporary) relief, it may actually trigger ...

Everybody itches. Sometimes itch serves as a useful warning signal — there's a bug on your back! But sometimes itch arises for no apparent reason, and can be a torment. Think of the itchy skin ...