Probably you have heard that you should never scratch a wound, an allergic rash or bite in your body, or that it will worse. A study on the mice found that this advice was correct and why.
It scratching a place that itchy like an insect bite can at least give a temporary feeling of relaxation. This is an evolutionary protected behavioral response to skin irritation. So the idea that this may be harmful may seem strange. However, Daniel Kaplan, a professor of dermatology and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, and senior writer of the new study, said in a statement, “Kasim is often enjoyable, which shows that this behavior should provide some kind of benefit for evolving and added:“ Our study is at the same time bacterial. It helps to solve this paradox by providing evidence that it provides defense against skin infections. ”
Allergic contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction to allergens that irritate our skin. In addition to contact with rubber, cosmetics or adhesives, plants such as toxic ivy, sunflower, chrysanthemum and tulip, some metals such as nickel or cobalt and even antibiotics can come from various sources such as antibiotics. The symptoms of this condition may develop the development of itchy, bloating rashes. Continuous scratching these red spots will lead to more inflammation, causing more itching and prolongation of the healing time.
Kaplan and his colleagues used allergens that cause itching to produce eczema -like symptoms to investigate the cause of this vicious circle, and those who do not have itchy because they did not have “normal mice” and neurons that detect itching.
When normal mice were allowed to scratch themselves, their ears swelling and inflamed with immune cells called neutrophils. Mice that could not scratch their ears experienced lighter swelling and inflammation because they did not feel or blocked (you might think of the cone -shaped necklaces in dogs and cats). This showed that the itching was even more irritated by the skin.
Later, the researchers found that itching also caused the release of a compound called “P substance ın of pain -detecting neurons. This is a neuropeptitis that moves as neurotransmitter and neuromodulator. When the P substance is released, it activates mast cells, the basic coordinators of inflammation that leads itching and inflammation through the participation of neutrophils.
Kaplan says, “Mast cells are activated directly by allergens, causing small -scale inflammation and itching.” On the other hand, the release of the P substance activates the mast cells in a second way, causing more inflammation of the skin on the skin.
The article was published in Science magazine.
