Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Itching, and the subsequent urge to scratch, can make eczema worse. Kinga Krzeminska/Moment via Getty Images Itching can be ...

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 ...

You’ve likely heard it since childhood: Don’t scratch that bug bite or rash, you’ll make it worse. But why would something that feels so good be bad? A lot of things can cause itchiness, sometimes ...

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 ...

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 ...

If you've got itchy skin, it could be that a microbe making its home on your body has produced a little chemical that's directly acting on your skin's nerve cells and triggering the urge to scratch.

Journalist Annie Lowrey has a rare disease that causes a near-constant itch that doesn't respond to most treatments. She likens the itchiness to a... Chronic itch is miserable. Scientists are just ...

There are a number of ways to stop scratching, from medicines to mental tricks. By Elizabeth Passarella I’m one of the unfortunate souls who, for reasons still only loosely explained by science, seems ...

When you develop a terrible itch somewhere on your body, it’s nearly impossible to think about anything else. You can’t sleep. You can’t focus. Must scratch. is the only thing registering in your ...

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 ...