Q. What is the science behind itching?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Itching, or pruritus as it is commonly known, is an uncomfortable sensation that occurs due to mechanical stimulation of nerve endings in the skin. It is not a disease but can be a symptom of many underlying health conditions including skin allergies, eczema, psoriasis and fungal infections. Scientists have long tried to uncover the science behind itching and its neurological mechanisms.
At the most fundamental level, itching appears to result from certain chemical mediators released by nerve cells called pruritogens. These chemicals interact with sensory neurons in the skin which then send electrical impulses to our brain where we perceive them as an itch. Interestingly these same types of signals would also be sent if you were being exposed to damaging irritants on your skin such as extreme temperatures or dangerous chemicals - indicating that there may be some evolutionary significance behind this phenomenon.
Different areas of our body appear particularly sensitive to different kinds of itch stimulus like heat and scratching; for example dermatologists note that people are more likely to feel pain after scratching their cheeks than other parts of their body because this area contains higher concentrations of free nerve endings/nerve fibers per square centimeter compared with other areas such as arms or legs.
The second component explaining why we experience itching has been identified within recent studies looking into psychological effects on our perception – they found out that emotions and mental states can influence how intense our feeling will be when exposed to an itch stimulus: People who are under stress are more likely experience stronger itches than those without any sort of anxiety disorder; similarly those in depression often report feeling greater sensitivity towards tingling sensations on their bodies compared to controls without depression symptoms. It's quite clear that these feelings then contribute significantly towards whether someone experiences strong or mild itches depending on what else may be going through their mind at any given time point!
Finally scientists have hypothesised about potential biological reasons behind why some people might suffer from chronic cases with no clear medical explanation; one possible idea suggests there could exist specific genetic mutations which cause overly sensitive receptors too easily detect normal touch sensation potentially resulting in perpetual forms - though currently not much research exists around this topic yet so only time will tell if this potential hypothesis holds true!
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