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 ...

Do you feel an itch, right now, working its way down the back of your neck? Scratching temporarily relieves that itch, but can also make it worse. Now researchers at the Center for the Study of Itch ...

Scratching an itch can bring a contradictory wave of pleasure and misery. A mouse study on scratching, reported in the Jan. 31 Science, fleshes out this head-scratching paradox and could point out ...

It’s hard to resist the urge to scratch an itch, but doing so could help break that vicious cycle of itchiness. Hosted by: ...

Medical science has deciphered many of the body’s workings, down to the level of the gene, and isn’t too far from using stem cells to repair its hobbled organs. But in many ways, the human body ...

Despite the saying “happiness is having a scratch for every itch,” itching often makes the itchy skin condition worse. So why is the instinct so strong? In a study with mice, researchers from the ...

The itch from bug bites, rashes, and other skin conditions can sometimes be so overpowering that it feels impossible to avoid scratching them. But new research explains why you might want to hold off ...

Itching can be uncomfortable, but it’s a normal part of your skin’s immune response to external threats. When you’re itching from an encounter with poison ivy or mosquitoes, consider that your urge to ...

We've all had bug bites, or dry scalp, or a sunburn that causes itch. But what if you felt itchy all the time — and there was no relief? Journalist Annie Lowrey suffers from primary biliary ...

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 ...