Your Mon was right: scratching makes you itch more

Scratching an itch only makes it worse. New research from scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that scratching causes the brain to release serotonin, which intensifies the itch sensation.

The findings, in mice, are reported online in the journal Neuron. The same vicious cycle of itching and scratching is thought to occur in humans, and the research provides new clues that may help break that cycle, particularly in people who experience chronic itching.

“The problem is that when the brain gets those pain signals, it responds by producing the neurotransmitter serotonin to help control that pain,” Chen explained. “But as serotonin spreads from the brain into the spinal cord, we found the chemical can ‘jump the tracks,’ moving from pain-sensing neurons to nerve cells that influence itch intensity.”

How do they know this now? torturing rats

As part of the study, the researchers bred a strain of mice that lacked the genes to make serotonin. When those genetically engineered mice were injected with a substance that normally makes the skin itch, the mice didn’t scratch as much as their normal littermates. But when the genetically altered mice were injected with serotonin, they scratched as mice would be expected to in response to compounds designed to induce itching.

Source

Mom was right!!!, probably about lots of things too, call your mom if you still have one

I only had to scratch to know it was true.

Great. Now my back itches and my wife is still asleep.
Thanks.

I've had that happen, especially when I'm trying to sleep. My nose itches first and, when I scratch it, it jumps to my face, then my shoulder. I end up chasing it down my side and across my stomach until it ends up between my shoulder blades. Then I have to get up and grind my back against the edge of a doorway. After all that, I go back to bed and my nose starts to itch.

Do they have a theory on why we scratch then?

a reply to: Indigent

Hot water is the only thing I've found that truly relieves itching for me.

a reply to: Indigent

After opening this thread I have an itch on my back, lol. Weird.

The worst itch is a healing tattoo. There are times where I just want to sit in the corner with an auger bit and just scratch, all day. Lol. Hot water works too, that's the best relief for an itch.

This is so weird. I read this thread late last night right before bed. I found N3k9Ni post especially funny but no way could I relate. I've never had nighttime itches.

I didn't think too much about it, closed out, went to bed. My hubby was already asleep, I didn't say anything about this thread. This morning he tells me he slept like crap had itches spreading from one place to another all night. I couldn't believe it, I don't remember him ever complaining about this before.

Every night I fall into a deep coma like sleep so I'm absolutely no help with his itches/scratches. Seems I'm immune but somehow I transferred the itching curse over to my poor hubby. LOL