Contents:
- Medical Video: CJW Doc Minute: Why does my skin get itchy after a shower?
- Apparently, itching can spread from one person to another
- What makes itchiness 'contagious' to people who see it?
Medical Video: CJW Doc Minute: Why does my skin get itchy after a shower?
Have you ever felt itchy when you saw other people around you scratching their parts, even though you didn't feel itchy before? Suddenly when you see people scratching, do you immediately feel itchy immediately?
Yes, that doesn't happen to you alone, many people also have the same experience. Then what causes the body to feel itchy when they see other people scratching? See the following explanation.
Apparently, itching can spread from one person to another
In a way, the itching you feel is transmitted from people who are scratching. Almost the same as the concept of infectious yawning. The onset of itching can also be transmitted from one person to another.
Can't believe itching can be contagious and transmitted? Several scientific studies have proven this, one of which was a study that was tested on mice. Researchers published in the journal Science found that rats will naturally scratch when they see other mice scratching.
Not only researched in mice, other scientific studies in the Europeran Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, try to prove to humans. This study included patients who have skin diseases that have an age range from 18-60 years. The researchers divided the study participants into two groups, namely the group given anti-itch medicine - a drug that prevents itching from appearing - and the group not given the drug. Next they were placed in the same room and when the group was not given anti-itch medication, they scratched quite often.
This was also followed by the group that had been given anti-itch medication, they also unwittingly scratched their body parts, even though they did not feel itchy at all.
What makes itchiness 'contagious' to people who see it?
Itching in this case is caused by the activity that is in your brain.
Actually, you will feel itchy when something unfamiliar hits the surface of the skin. Itching is a very normal body defense mechanism. The nerves on the surface of the skin will give a signal to the brain and the central nerve will process it, so you immediately feel itchy right then. Next, the brain will 'tell' your hand to scratch so that foreign substances are removed from the surface of the skin.
Then what about contagious itching and transmission?
Although researchers have not been able to ascertain how this contagious itching can occur, they conclude that the itching you feel when you see someone scratching can be caused by a sense of empathy. Just as yawning behavior is also contagious, itching will also naturally arise because each individual has their own empathy - even at different levels.
