Why Scratching Feels Good

The itch-scratch cycle

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Eczema thrives on a vicious cycle known as the “itch-scratch” cycle. That is, first your affected skin will feel itchy. So you scratch it. Which actually makes your skin more inflamed and irritated, and ultimately… more itchy! And so the cycle goes.

Why it feels so good

Scratching eczema releases endorphins, which are natural pain relievers produced by the body. These endorphins temporarily reduce itching and create a sensation of relief. Unfortunately, this relief is extremely short-lived, and you’ll go back to feeling itchy very quickly. Even worse though, scratching can also make the eczema worse by breaking the skin and leading to further irritation and infection.

Your skin is also covered in millions and millions of nerve endings. When your eczema is inflamed, these nerves become hyper-sensitized; when you scratch you stimulate those nerves and the result can be a pleasurable sensation.

Our brain uses a positive feedback loop to learn what feels good and what feels bad. When we’ve scratched in the past, we got some relief. That short but intense feeling of relief is stronger than the more prolonged feeling of discomfort and even pain that we might not realise was caused by us scratching. In that way, your brain will form a habit and try to encourage you to scratch again and again. The only way to break this habit is to stop cold turkey, so that you stop reinforcing the bad lessons that your brain has taken from the itch-scratch regime.

How you can break the cycle

The number 1 cause of your skin feeling itchy is when it’s dried out. So, instead of giving it “just one” scratch, as soon as you feel that itch coming on, the very first thing you should do is reach for your moisturiser.

You can also try to get some fresh air, apply a cool compress, or even take anti-itch medication. For more tips, check out our article on how to stop itching fast..

You should also keep your fingernails trimmed short, so that if you do try to scratch (or if you scratch in your sleep) you’ll do far less damage. Keeping your nails short has the added benefit that there will be fewer germs so it reduces the chances of any infection occurring.