Why Can Itching Feel Moved In Several Parts Of The Body? This Is The Medical Explanation

Illustration of women sneering (Photo: Freepik/Freepik)

Itching is one of the small enjoyments of life. But have you ever noticed that sometimes itching seems to move places when we scratch it? So why is that?

It turns out that according to the latest scientific research, itching is not just a simple problem in the skin, but a complex reaction involving the brain, nerves, and human evolution.

Itching taste or in medical terms called pruritus, can arise for many reasons. Starting from allergies, dry skin, insect bites, to body reactions to certain substances such as hysterins.

But scientists found not all itching stems from physical causes. Some itching arises due to the natural defense mechanism of the body inherited from the past of our ancestors.

"Having itching can be important," says Dr. Desiree Kozlowski, a researcher from School of Health and Human Sciences at Southern Cross University, quoted from the ABC News page.

In the context of evolution, the human body is designed to react to threats such as ticks or parasites. When the skin feels itchy and we scratch it, it's actually the body's way to get rid of the threat," he continued.

Pulling itching can also be contagious. Seeing someone scratching the body can make us feel itchy too.

"It's enough to see other people scratch it can make us feel itchy. That's because the brain automatically responds to signs of danger to the skin," said Dr. Kozlowski.

When painting the skin, the body actually causes a little pain. But strangely, it actually feels good.

"Most people feel relieved when scratched because the garukan causes a little pain which then triggers the release of a chemical called serotonin," explained Dr. Kozlowski.

Serotonin is known as the hormone of happiness, because it plays a role in regulating moods and feelings of comfort. But in an itching context, serotonin can actually strengthen itching signals in the brain.

This phenomenon is called the itching cycle (itch-scratch cycle). The more often you scratch, the more itching it can get worse.

When we scratch one point, itching feels like it's moving to another place nearby. According to Dr. Kozlowski, this is caused by the way nerves work on our skin.

"On the surface of the skin, there are many pain receptors, maybe one every one millimeter," he said.

"However, the nerve fibers that detect itching cover a much wider area, up to five or six centimeters," he added.

So when we scratch one point, the brain can miscapture the source of itching signals. As a result, we feel itching to move, when it actually doesn't.

Even more interesting, itching is not always caused by real things such as mosquito bites or allergies. Only the friction of clothes on the skin can trigger itching signals in the brain.

"In such a case, there is actually no real source of itching, only perceptions arise from the nervous system," said Dr. Kozlowski.

"So itching is arguably not only a physical sensation, but also an experience formed from the perception of the brain," he added.

This complex itching phenomenon has a special research center. In 2011, the Center for the Study of Itch was established at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States.

This research center studies how it it works at the level of nerves and looks for treatment for chronic itching sufferers, namely itching that lasts a long time and is difficult to cure.

"Gatal chronic can be very serious. There is a real case of a woman who keeps slashing her head until she injures herself. This case has been reported by The New Yorker." said Dr. Kozlowski.

In the past decade, scientists have realized that itching has its own nervous system and receptors, separated from the pain system.

With more and more research, experts hope that in the next few years new ways will be found to deal with chronic itching.