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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffItchy skin may occur in small areas, such as on an arm or leg. Or your whole body may feel itchy. Itchy skin can occur without any other noticeable changes on the skin. Or it may be associated with:
- Redness
- Bumps, spots or blisters
- Dry, cracked skin
- Leathery or scaly texture to the skin
Sometimes itchy skin lasts a long time and can become very intense. As you rub or scratch the area, it gets itchier. And the more it itches, the more you scratch. Breaking this itch-scratch cycle can be challenging.
When to see a doctor
See your doctor or consult a specialist in skin diseases (dermatologist) if the itching:
- Lasts more than two weeks and doesn't improve with self-care measures
- Is extremely severe and uncomfortable and distracts you from your daily routines or prevents you from sleeping
- Can't be easily explained
- Affects your whole body
- Is accompanied by other symptoms, such as extreme tiredness, weight loss, changes in bowel habits or urinary frequency, fever, or redness of the skin
- Fazio SB. Pruritus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 22, 2008.
- Moses S. Pruritus. American Family Physician. 2003;68:1135.
- Pruritus. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/common_pruritus.html. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
- Moses S. Pruritus. In: Rakel RE, et al. Conn's Current Therapy. 60th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/109109584-3/0/1621/21.html?tocnode=54633488&fromURL=21.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4435-2..50012-1_151. Accessed Nov. 3, 2008.
