What Causes Itchy Skin?

The technical term for itching is pruritus; one dictionary’s define the term as severe itching, often of undamaged skin. It is a very common occurrence among both humans and animals and can be rather annoying.

Pruritus is caused by irritation on the skin that stimulates the “itching sensation.” Generally speaking, this can be caused because of an infection of the skin, internal infection somewhere in the body or it can be caused by various skin disorders. Some are very minor and some can be serious.

So why do we itch. While there are various mechanisms that help trigger the desire to itch, one common one is caused by organisms that live on our bodies. Some of the more common ones are lice, mites and scabies. Note that these cover only one class of itching.

Itching can also be due to an allergic reaction to any number of triggering agents, whether plants, food, insects or micro organisms.

Here is a summary of some of the things that can cause itchy skin; itching can also have other causes (note that some of the conditions below are more likely to be the source of your itching than others, when in doubt seek out professional medical advice).

• Blisters
• Cosmetics
• Dandruff
• Drug reactions
• Dry skin
• Eczema
• Food allergies
• Fungal infection
• Insect bites
• Kidney failure
• Liver problems
• Lymphomas
• Over exposure to water or moisture
• Poison ivy
• Poison oak
• Pregnancy
• Shingles
• Skin allergies
• Skin infections
• Threadworm
• Various blood disorders