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 ...

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 ...

Ever had an itch you can't scratch? Maybe it's out of reach, or your hands are full, or you don't want to damage your skin. It can be deeply frustrating. And even though the itch response, or what ...

It can be a relief to scratch the occasional itch, but when itch gets out of control, it can become a serious health problem. How does the body know when to stop? Scientists at UC San Francisco are ...

WE'VE ALL had it—a pesky persistent itch down there that demands to be scratched (and scratched and scratched) no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Awkward. If it sticks around, it could be ...

Under most circumstances, scratching an itch can offer momentary relief. Typically, itches are experienced due to an external irritant, such as a scratchy sweater or a bug landing on the skin. This ...

Medically reviewed by Eva Umoh Asomugha, M.D. Jock itch (tinea cruris) is a common, preventable fungal infection mainly ...

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 ...

I remember it well: our dark winter of itch when the kids were small. It started with a note sent home—years before the pandemic—that my child had been exposed, not to a deadly virus but to lice.