Is it some kind of nerve thing that makes you itch?
2007-01-21 12:32:21 · 4 answers · asked by raynbeau 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Skin Conditions
Itching is complicated; it's closely related to pain. Itching signals come from sensors in our skin that are quite similar to the sensors--the nerves--that tell us something hurts, or whether something is hot or cold. Itch signals are apparently carried by about 5 percent of the nerves running from our skin to our spinal cord. In one way, that's a small number. You might not notice if 5 percent of the milk in your glass leaked away while you were enjoying a few cookies. But in another way, 5 percent is a large number. You'd sure notice if your glass held a mixture of 95 percent milk and 5 percent onion juice, whether you had cookies or not.
The itch-making nerves run up your spine, and they have a couple of remarkable features. First of all, they cross over from right to left. Itches on your right side stimulate the left side of your brain. Secondly, strong itch signals often induce a reflex right in your spine before those signals ever make it to your brain. Ever had an itch so strong that you just squirm to rub against some scratch-worthy object, or so sudden that you find your hand reaching for it and scratching before you can even think about it? Your arm and elbow twist and move in just the right way, all without much going on in your head. That spine-reflex business is what makes you pull your hand back without thinking when you touch something very hot. Ouch! But the pain signals and itch signals travel on what's called a spinothalamic tract. It runs up your spine to the part of your brain called the thalamus. There, your brain works on a complex calculation accounting for how strong the itch signal is, where it's coming from on your body, and what motions you have to perform to scratch that itch away.
2007-01-21 12:35:57 · answer #1 · answered by Rawr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, your nerve synapses spasm and make you itch. And when you scratch, you temporarily damage the nerve that is effected and deaden the itch.
2007-01-21 12:36:44 · answer #2 · answered by lilmiss629 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Among other things it can be due to lack of humidity indoors.
It can be medical-liver problems can cause severe itching.
Try skin body lotion after showers but I think if it is of long duration,never lets up,etc. I would see a dr.
2007-01-21 12:37:46 · answer #3 · answered by marlynembrindle 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Being dehydrated for one, drys your skin and will make it itch.
2007-01-21 12:36:10 · answer #4 · answered by letgo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋