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 ...

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts. Russell has ...

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 ...

Any doctor—or parent—will warn you that scratching an itch will only make it worse. But it turns out it has a surprise ...

When normal mice were allowed to scratch, their ears became swollen and filled with inflammatory immune cells called neutrophils. In contrast, inflammation and swelling were much milder in normal mice ...

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 ...

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 ...

You can combat the vicious cycle caused by atopic dermatitis — aka eczema, a condition in which scratching leads to more itching — with simple but effective methods and treatments. Tanya Trevett, who ...

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.