There are 4 types of itch that haunts humanity on a daily basis. Each one has a level of distraction valued from 1 to 10, a level of urgency to be rid of it from 1 to 10, and a depth. Yes, an actual depth to the itching. Let’s start this off from going from the least to the worst of this affliction.
1. Bug Induced Itch. Level of distraction is 1 to 3, depending on where the bug bit you. The bug can be a mosquito to a chigger laying the eggs under your skin. A simple mosquito bite, not counting other afflictions or diseases that can be transferred from that bug, can cause a distraction level of 2 and an urgency of 3.
The chigger induced itch is a nightmare of another factor. Each time you scratch the chigger eggs under the skin, the eggs can spread out and make it a larger area of itch. Yuck. This itch is on the surface and is easy to reach.
2. Chemical Induced Itch. This is from a reaction in the skin that produces Histamine. There are anti-histamines that can be taken orally that will remove the itch, or a topical lotion that a pharmacist can recommend. A common Histamine type itch can be as hardcore as Hives, which is swelling from the histamine building up under the skin.
The deeper chemical itch comes from a topical poison, like Poison Ivy. These itches has a Level of Distraction of 4 to 5, with an Urgency of 5 to 6. This itch is also on the surface and is easy to reach.
3. Biological Induced Itch. A biological itch starts out with medical conditions that cause the itching. An example would be a yeast infection. Or a bacterial infection, even from a fungal infection. Curing the infection also cures the itching. The level is Distraction from this nasty itch ranges from a 5 to 8, with an Urgency range of 3 to 8.
This hardcore itch has a minor depth to it, and can feel like it’s originating just under the skin, not just on the surface. It can be easy to reach, but also happens in embarrassing areas, like the crotch, back of the leg, or in the butt crack.
4. Nerve Damage Induced Itch. This is the nightmare of nightmare itches. This has a Distraction level of 8 to 10, and an Urgency level of 7 to 10. It can be on the easy to reach surface, but generally locates itself 1 to 2 inches under the skin, deeper into the meat. Sometimes it can feel too deep, as if it’s in the bone. The itch can be so deep into the bone, no amount of stimulation on the surface can touch it for any kind of relief.
This diabolical itch has a nasty cousin that places ‘patches’ of large itching in areas on the back, under arms and anywhere on the scalp. This nerve damage itch goes away with a good amount of scratching or stimulation, but if the scratching comes from a third party, from somebody who is not ‘you’, the itch can be resolved for about 24 hours. Otherwise, it tends to return after 15 to 20 minutes from self stimulation on the itch patch that lives on the surface.
No amount of medication or lotions solve Nerve Damage Itching for good. Rubbing or scratching the itch patches do help, but the deep itching that goes well below the skin is merely suffered, typically to the point of causing high end anxiety.
This is the only itch that can ‘run away’ from a good stimulation that would help kill it, traveling across the nerves of the human body. Once the surface patch of itching is caught and stimulated enough, it can resolve enough to stop for a short time, but it will return. This is the type of itch that commonly haunts much older patients.
When a patient with Nerve Damage itching hollers during effective stimulation, it’s not out of pain or irritation. It’s the only time that they will actually holler from the relief they get from a scratching delivered by somebody else. That relief can be that epic, as the intensity of that kind of itch is the worst imaginable.
Now you know something of this terrible situation.
I hope and pray nobody ever suffers from Nerve Damage Itching. It’s a nightmare of a different kind. It’s the only time when you prefer to suffer pain over the itching, because at least pain can be tolerated much easier.
Stay Safe and God Bless.
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