Q: What is itchy skin? Why is itch so unpleasant and even more unpleasant than pain when it is severe? A: Itch is an unpleasant sensation that causes the desire to scratch the skin. In severe cases, it can affect normal work and life and even make it difficult to sleep, and its prevalence is high, so some people may find it more unpleasant than pain. Q: Why does dry skin cause itchy skin? A: The skin has a barrier function, and there is a protective lipid film on its surface. The sebaceous glands and sweat glands of the skin have a secretion function, and their secretions are sebum and sweat respectively, both of which have a moisturizing effect on the skin. When the secretion of sebaceous glands and sweat glands is reduced, the skin will be relatively dry, and dry skin for external stimuli can not be effective defense, so dry skin is more likely to cause itchy skin. Q: Can I scratch hard when the skin itches? A: You can’t scratch your skin when itchy, because scratching your skin will destroy the barrier function of your skin and reduce the immune function, which may lead to eczema-like skin changes and even bacterial infections or cause pus and ulcers. Q: Is it necessary to bathe regularly when itchy skin and what do I need to pay attention to when bathing? A: First of all, the number of bathing should vary from person to person, according to the individual’s skin quality to determine the number of bathing, bathing too often will make the skin more dry, it will be easier to feel itchy skin, and if the number of bathing is too little, it will cause the accumulation of skin metabolites, these products will also be used as external stimuli to stimulate our skin, causing itching. Therefore, the number of baths should be appropriate; secondly, the bath should pay attention to the water temperature to moderate, the water temperature is too high easy to burn the skin, and too hot may also cause some pruritic diseases, such as cholinergic urticaria, of course, too low water temperature may also frostbite our skin, cold water cleaning function is also worse than warm water, may not be effective in removing our skin metabolites, and cause itchy skin, so the bath water temperature to moderate. Again, it is best to use less alkaline soap and soap when bathing, you can use the body wash with cleaning and emolliency; finally, according to personal skin quality, the appropriate amount of rubbing with moisturizing effect of moisturizing cream. Q: Can I use ice when my skin is itchy? A: Ice can be used to temporarily relieve itchiness, but it is too limited in scope and inconvenient, so it is not routinely recommended. Q: What should I pay attention to when treating itchy skin with topical medication? A: When using topical drugs, you should pay attention not to use them blindly. Hormonal drugs are not suitable for long-term use because they have many side effects, such as hirsutism, capillary dilation, skin atrophy and thinning, pigmentation, etc.. Long-term use may cause diseases such as hormone dependent dermatitis, especially the face should avoid long-term use of hormone-containing drugs, but of course this is not absolute, some pruritic diseases such as neurodermatitis can also be short-term use of hormone-based topical drugs with few side effects, and their therapeutic effects are generally more obvious and have relatively few side effects. Q: When suffering from pruritic diseases, is it impossible to eat what is commonly known as “hair products”? A: This view is not scientific, because for the so-called “hair” allergy is only a few people, and some people itchy skin is not caused by eating these so-called hair products such as fish and shrimp, if you avoid eating or picky food, it will cause malnutrition, which is more likely to cause itchy skin, so this view is not scientific. Q: Is itchy skin a sign of an unhealthy internal system? A: Some people have itchy skin simply because of allergies, mental factors, dry skin, etc., while some people have itchy skin related to internal system diseases, such as diabetes, liver and gallbladder diseases, kidney diseases, malignant tumors, etc. Q: Are there any suggestions for itchy skin? A: There are several suggestions for itchy skin: first, pay attention to skin cleaning and moisturizing; second, avoid alcohol and spices; third, it is best to choose cotton, sweat-absorbing and breathable clothing; fourth, the main thing to do when treating itchy skin is to find the cause, and then treat the symptoms, if you need to do the examination, it should be targeted, do not be too blind, the elderly need regular medical checkups to exclude intrinsic system diseases.