Annie Lowrey

The amount that you might itch and the place that you might itch has to do with the network of nerves inside your body and the messages that those nerves are receiving from chemical irritants from outside your body or the chemical messengers within your body.

And my understanding, and I'll just note that I am not a scientist, I am not a doctor, I am a layperson who knows a lot about this, unfortunately, from experience, is that when you have a lot of basically itchy receptors, nerve fibers that accept itch, and you have a lot of

And my understanding, and I'll just note that I am not a scientist, I am not a doctor, I am a layperson who knows a lot about this, unfortunately, from experience, is that when you have a lot of basically itchy receptors, nerve fibers that accept itch, and you have a lot of

And my understanding, and I'll just note that I am not a scientist, I am not a doctor, I am a layperson who knows a lot about this, unfortunately, from experience, is that when you have a lot of basically itchy receptors, nerve fibers that accept itch, and you have a lot of

chemicals that engender itch like histamine and others in those sites you'll feel itchy and one thing that happens to me and I know happens to other people with chronic illness who get itching is that it actually you'll feel itchy on the inside of your body like you know in your guts right like part of your body that has you know you're not itchy on your skin and you can't get to it so there's no way to scratch it and I remember talking with a number of dermatologists who are like well you don't really have the nerves for itching on the inside of your body and

chemicals that engender itch like histamine and others in those sites you'll feel itchy and one thing that happens to me and I know happens to other people with chronic illness who get itching is that it actually you'll feel itchy on the inside of your body like you know in your guts right like part of your body that has you know you're not itchy on your skin and you can't get to it so there's no way to scratch it and I remember talking with a number of dermatologists who are like well you don't really have the nerves for itching on the inside of your body and

chemicals that engender itch like histamine and others in those sites you'll feel itchy and one thing that happens to me and I know happens to other people with chronic illness who get itching is that it actually you'll feel itchy on the inside of your body like you know in your guts right like part of your body that has you know you're not itchy on your skin and you can't get to it so there's no way to scratch it and I remember talking with a number of dermatologists who are like well you don't really have the nerves for itching on the inside of your body and

And, you know, I would talk to other doctors or patients, people who itched and they'd be like, no, no, no. Like, and I felt this way, too. I was like, no, I swear that I feel it. And I finally found this one neuroscientist who was like, oh, no, no. Some of those fibers exist inside your body. So, yeah, anywhere where you have those, there's probably a little bit of itching possible.

And, you know, I would talk to other doctors or patients, people who itched and they'd be like, no, no, no. Like, and I felt this way, too. I was like, no, I swear that I feel it. And I finally found this one neuroscientist who was like, oh, no, no. Some of those fibers exist inside your body. So, yeah, anywhere where you have those, there's probably a little bit of itching possible.

And, you know, I would talk to other doctors or patients, people who itched and they'd be like, no, no, no. Like, and I felt this way, too. I was like, no, I swear that I feel it. And I finally found this one neuroscientist who was like, oh, no, no. Some of those fibers exist inside your body. So, yeah, anywhere where you have those, there's probably a little bit of itching possible.

And I felt very, very good knowing that. But yeah, so I think that your hands, your hands are just enormously sensitive, right? Like so many of these touch receptors and receptors for hot and cool are on your hands. I think your feet and your scalp are also places that are just really, really sensitive in your body.

And I felt very, very good knowing that. But yeah, so I think that your hands, your hands are just enormously sensitive, right? Like so many of these touch receptors and receptors for hot and cool are on your hands. I think your feet and your scalp are also places that are just really, really sensitive in your body.

And I felt very, very good knowing that. But yeah, so I think that your hands, your hands are just enormously sensitive, right? Like so many of these touch receptors and receptors for hot and cool are on your hands. I think your feet and your scalp are also places that are just really, really sensitive in your body.

Whereas, you know, like, you know, the small of your back or something might be less, less innervated in that way.

Whereas, you know, like, you know, the small of your back or something might be less, less innervated in that way.

Whereas, you know, like, you know, the small of your back or something might be less, less innervated in that way.

Absolutely. I've tried to come up with a lot of metaphors for itching, and I feel like we have a lot of metaphors for pain, right? Unfortunately, all of us in human bodies experience pain and often really severe pain. And itching is basically a universal phenomenon also. But itching feels kind of qualitatively different to pain, at least to me in some ways. It can be really hard to tune out.

Absolutely. I've tried to come up with a lot of metaphors for itching, and I feel like we have a lot of metaphors for pain, right? Unfortunately, all of us in human bodies experience pain and often really severe pain. And itching is basically a universal phenomenon also. But itching feels kind of qualitatively different to pain, at least to me in some ways. It can be really hard to tune out.

Absolutely. I've tried to come up with a lot of metaphors for itching, and I feel like we have a lot of metaphors for pain, right? Unfortunately, all of us in human bodies experience pain and often really severe pain. And itching is basically a universal phenomenon also. But itching feels kind of qualitatively different to pain, at least to me in some ways. It can be really hard to tune out.

I always describe it as being like a car alarm, right? Like you can't stop thinking about it. It interrupts you somehow. It feels like being trapped inside your own body. And, you know, maybe pain has these qualities for other people. Sometimes I describe it as like a feeling of drowning. It creates in me a sense of fight or flight, but there's nothing to flee from and nothing to fight.