Why do we itch? - Emma Bryce 

My whole body throughout this whole video: *guess I'll itch*

When you scratch yourself too hard and it feels nice but it kinda hurts at the same time😫😫😫😫

"You can't itch inside your body" The itch at the back of your throat and in that section between your eardrum and throat: "And I took that personally"

When I was 28 I was diagnosed cancer, Grey zone lymphoma, and my main symptom was the most intense full body itch you can possibly imagine. I could only sleep for 2 hours a night. My legs were full of bloody scars from all the itching. I went to the hospital and they told me I had cancer. 7 years later and by the grace of God im cured, but they still dont know why some forms of lymphoma cause the itching. Some people get the exact same cancer and have no itching at all.

Who hates when you have shoes on and your foot itches

“You don’t fell itching inside the body” -scratches back of throat

Doctors: Do NOT touch your face during this pandemic. My whole face: ITCHY TIME!!

My story as an eczema veteran: Eczema is such an annoying life long condition. My dad had eczema and his dad before him and I’ve spent most of my life scratching, I have permanent scars on my neck and the creases of my arms and legs and I think I’ve pretty much had a rash on every place on my body(yes even there). When I was young I didn’t know how to handle it, and I was pretty embarrassed and would wear long sleeves to hide my arms and people would always ask me if I got burned or beat up. I noticed it comes about with stress and weather changes, even sometimes when I travel. Anyways the point is it’s manageable, there’s been points in my life where I’ve gotten my body free of any rashes for years on end. It’s really a slippery slope both ways, the less rashes I had the less I felt like scratching which gave me less rashes. I have never taken any medications for my condition. I take Luke warm to cold baths, wear mostly cotton or skin undershirts, I use hypoallergenic soap/laundry detergent, and I only use ointment (aquaphor) once a day after a bath, slowly using less as rashes subside. Sometimes to make my skin less red in certain parts I’ll dab the area with a cool damp towel and follow up with light ointment. I make sure to keep affected areas out of intense sun, cold, wind, or humidity. It can be defeating when it clears up and then one sweaty uncomfortable night destroys all your progress but don’t stress, trust that you skin can heal and try to put your mind on something else. Stress can really hurt you skin and try to find other ways to take out your stress, gym, meditation, writing your thoughts down, talking with people. Sometimes I wear clothes to bed to prevent my unconscious self from sleep itching. The urge to itch is strong I know it can feel sometimes like even getting shot wouldn’t be enough to relieve it, but it’s possible to fight it, distract yourself and it will eventually subside or just try lightly rubbing the area, speaking of I always keep my fingernails filed and short. You don’t have to suffer, it’s possible to get rid of it just be proactive and allow your body to heal and eventually one day you’ll forget your have eczema. Finally be open about your condition, most people won’t judge you, some won’t even have noticed, and all will only offer to help you. If any of this helped even one person I’ll be happy, good luck!!

When your nose itches but you are in barber shop

Me: “itches hand“ “dosent help“ Me: BITES MY HAND anyone same?

My former boss’s wife had to have her arm amputated after a terrible car accident years ago. She said she could have full days experiencing phantom itching and that it is psychologically tormenting. She’s always been a genuine positive light but that is the one thing she says she truly struggles with.

0:29 I knew it! Belgium is the reason for itches!

I'm itching like crazy now, thanks Ted!

As I read the title I started itching

the itchy feeling is the worst yet the pleasure the comes from it is unbelievable

its crazy how a small thing has so much science behind it

“You’re itching right now aren’t you” Did this kinda scare anyone else with how accurate it was?

*When you have an itch but you've recently clipped your nails :(*

more information than the "It's okay to be smart" video in half the time, and you actually managed to answer the question better than they did.

LOLLLLLL 0:36 that slight tap is hilarious

now imagine, having a personal hell called eczema. having the itch but not being able to scratch it in fear of innfections and tearing your skin apart. i hate it so much :(

*wHo HeRE itChEd LIke cRAzY?*

Personal experience tells me that itch is a subset of pain. Of burning pain, specifically. When I was 12 I had an allergic reaction to milk that caused the skin of my hands to swell and itch. At first it was a slight itch, then it intensified, and then it gradually transitioned into burning pain as the reaction became worse. Though, I don't remember if the reverse (from burning pain to itch) was also true, when I was treated with antihistamines and the sensation subsided. I do remember, though, that a mild sunburn caused itch and a more severe sunburn caused burning pain. Also, a single mosquito bite causes itch, but one day, after a walk in the woods, I came home with dozens of mosquito bites on my back, and I felt burning pain. So, why would the same stimuli at different intensities cause different sensations? Because those sensations are actually one and the same.

ALWAYS wondered WHY we itch! Thanks for answering that question! Loved the drawings in this video! 👌🏼🏆

I swear every time he said "itch" I got an itch.

2:17 That’s actually really sad for the dinosaur, ngl.

havent even watched the full video but thank you for replacing the insides with leaves, i hate thinking about that kind of stuff so just thank you literally so much !!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! THANK YOU!

Anyone felt itches in a part of your body but when you try to scratch it the itch moves somewhere else???

Me: *gets into bed with blanket perfectly tucked and ready to sleep on a cold night * Body: Perfect time to itch/thirst/pee/poop.

I have eczema and it affects every aspect of my life and you know the worst part isn't itching or lack of sleep or ruining all your clothes with blood it's when someone tells me something about my own condition that I've heard a billion times like "don't scratch" or "try (insert random advice"

semi fix to itching is to numb the spot where it itches, if im in the shower i just switch it to the coldest possible setting and point the shower head to wear it itches (sometimes i just stick my whole body in). You could also put an ice cube on the spot that itches but it can be too cold. Hopes this helps someone as much as it helps me.

Who else hates when your bottom of your foot itches, and it doesn't stop!!!

do you ever just slap the spot when the itch just doesn’t go away?

that itching sound was legit some great ASMR.

ted ed's art style really is creative

Anyone ever felt like inside of your body is itching sometimes?

Haha I wasn't itching my head I was itching my leg. You lost

whenever you start itching without scratching but the itching actually feels good

i’m always itching myself, literally everywhere and i never really realised it until people started mentioning it. i always scratch when i’m stressed and i can’t figure out how to stop it

“That’s why we don’t experience itching inside our bodies” my throat: Ha u wish

*Narrator:* _"You're scratching your head now aren't you?"_ *Me:* _"Nope, I'm actually scratching my balls"_

"we dont feel itching inside of our bodies" I had an appendix surgery, and i am glad to tell you, i certainly feel itching inside my body right where i had my appendix removed, and i couldnt relieve it

Who hates when your at the barber and you experience itching

"You're scratching your head right now, aren't you?" No I was scratching my leg 😂

The whole comment section: *confused intense itching*

Everyone has 31 "senses" and don't even know it. It's 1 of our "senses" we have a "sense of itching. We have a sense when we're hurt, the sense to cry, the sense of pain. It's a feeling.

The strat I use is that I scratch until it bleeds, then it won't scratch anymore (meaning you can see red spots on where you are itching)

TED-ED Videos answering questions, I really didn't ask. Just wow, things exist 😂

*Me:* _Reads title_ **Immediately feels an itch on the shoulder**

If you haven’t done allergic reaction test, you don’t know what itchy feeling is.

The animation is awesome!

Have you ever a itch in your ear 👂🏻

*Everyone talking about how they itch* Me: *Laughs in eczema*

I been thinking about this question for a few days now, how convenient

Thank you Ted Ed this is very interesting

I hate it when I feel itchy, but didn't know which part of body felt the itch!!

Him: You're scratching your head right now, aren't you? Me: Close. I'm scratching my E V E R Y T H I N G.

Scratching an itch can someone be extremely satisfying and pleasurable..

These little animations are hilarious 😂

Who else here experienced the "Where the actual heck is the itchy part?!"

When I broke my arm, under my cast my arm was so itchy but I couldn't do anything about it. It made me so mad.

My eczema came back years later today and this video totally didn’t make me itch my hands throughout the whole video 😅

i love that this came up in my recommended when i was itching myself

Nothing is more uncomfortable than resisting the urge to scratch your head while you're getting a haircut

Who is itchy while watching this? Just me?

Ahh seems like this is channel is so underrated.

To me, Scratching n itching sometimes it's comfortable and soothing as stretching I don't wish it was not a thing I just wish it wasn't such an irritant at times. Loved this video thanks Creator

Who else had to itch themselves several times while watching this?

"We don't itch inside our bodies" Then why does the inside of my throat itch? The only way to scratch is through coughing or burping.

That does make sense now, that's why you can't feel pain and itchiness at the same time but quick change between the two.

What if we itch because the skin gets inflamed? Because my cat’s fur gets stuck to each other along with the skin underneath (he has a genetic condition). Well when that happens that area makes him itch profusely, so I kinda pull the hair and skin apart slowly, and thus curing the itch. So maybe it’s not that complicated and our skin just gets twisted up on a microscopic level and therefore it itches. That would also explain why it “moves” since we’re just moving that knot around instead of “untangling” it, and only when we fix that tangle does the itching go away.

when your leg itches but you're wearing skinny jeans😂

When he asked “you’re scratching your head right now aren’t you?” I was literally scratching my head

I saw that phantom limb mirror thing on Dr. House. Pretty impressive stuff!

For people who can’t stop scratching, use the hand that is not scratching to pull the one that is scratching away from the scratch site.

Really didn't need that mental image of insects crawling around my organs.

*"You're scratching your head right now, aren't you?"* Me mid scratching my head: 😦😮😮

1:32 I thought those sounds were coming from my mouth wth.

I was stung by a bark scorpion 7 times around the same spot on my left shoulder blade when I was asleep one time. That same spot gets particularly itchy sometimes, even 14 years later...

This made me feel itchy

This video made me feel so itchy

Him: “you scratching your head right now aren’t you” Me: 😳

Anxiety and insomnia make me itch all over my body. If I lie in bed restless with the intent to sleep, I'll itch in random spots, like 5 to 10 spots that I need to scratch, and it loops over and over like a pattern. When I need to go to work and leave the house, my legs itch so intensely that it's hard to walk. I sometimes need to wrap my legs tightly with a bath towel until it stops. This leg itching started after pre-school, early elementary, and never left me.

I have not scratched for the entire video!! unfortunally, after the video stopped I had a severe scratch-need...

Who else just wishes itching was never a thing

The animation is top tier

I cant believe i finally found this...im so glad

I hate when the bottom of my foot itches....... Ok just me

the animations is amazing

When u are getting a haircut then u start itching like crazy for no reason

I knew someone who would cut mosquito bites open. They claimed that if it bled it was draining a chemical the mosquitos injected when they bit.

I have really bad eczema and the urge to itch it is so overwhelming that I actually make myself bleed... And then keep itching. It's gotten so bad that sometimes I wake up and find that the sheets are covered in blood because I've been itching during my sleep... I've tried using ointment to get rid of my eczema but whoever it disappears in one area it just pops up somewhere else on my body. The most common time my eczema flares up is during sudden weather changes. I also think that the ventilation system in my home contributes to it. Unfortunately my parents don't think anything is wrong and just buy more ointment. I think if I use it too much ill just become resistant to it. The worst place I get eczema is on my face. It really affects my self esteem because I just have rash patches on my cheeks or forehead or on the corners of my mouth. The most annoying place I get it is on my hands because when the scabs crust over it really hurts to bend them because then it opens up the wounds again. It's really frustrating because I play trumpet... Okay rant over. Hopefully someone can relate to this 😅😅

When I saw this video notification I started to itch

This video came when I needed it most 😂

that awkward moment at a sleepover when u just cant stop itching

I itched exactly 33 times while watching this video.

[Bug lands on skin] Bug: *I'm boutta ruin this man's whole career*

Thank you. 🌹

Great timing: I scratched myself and right after a perfect timing, this video came.