Facial Itching – Common Causes

Facial Itching and Common Causes:

Facial itching – how does an itch actually come from under up to the surface of the face? Nobody knows. It is the most puzzling sensation of all, because its intensity, frequency, malignancy and causes have a very wide possible range. When it is felt, it could be feeble that goes away with a little rub, or could be very intense that requires heavy scratching. It could be a sudden sensation in the face a person feels while watching TV, or a persistent annoyance that could last for weeks. A facial itching could be as harmless as a little insect on the skin, or as lethal as leprosy. What is even puzzling of all is that an itch in the face could be a symptom of many things, and nobody really understands how it is related to various causes.

Facts about Facial Itching:

An itch is an unpleasant sensation. By scientific definition, just as pain causes a person to withdraw from the source, an itch prompts one to scratch the itching part of the skin. And just like the pain, facial itching could arise from the mechanisms in the outer layer of the skin & along the pathways of the nerves (peripheral nervous system) and in the brain itself (central nervous system).

Common Causes of Facial Itching:

Of course, the most common cause of facial itching, or any other kind of itching, is the kind that comes from the outer layer of the skin itself. The sensation could be triggered various reasons. It could be as harmless as an insect bite or a chemical irritant; in this case, one would only need to remove the itch trigger. An itch could also be the result of some common dermatological disorder, such as an open or healing wound, a developing pimple or mole and a dry skin. Skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, sunburn, etc. also result to itching in some parts of the face and skin. Infections and infestations could also trigger itching.

What to do with Facial Itching:

For these kinds of itching, a lot of topical treatments are readily available over-the-counter. They could be in the form of sprays and creams, and in some way or another would contain the following ingredients: menthol, camphor, mint oil (as counter-irritants), diphenhydramine (as anti-histamine), hydrocortisone (as corticosteroids), benzocaine (as local anesthetics) and crotamiton (a anti-pruritic used to treat scabies). By applying these ingredients on the skin, the facial itching sensation would at least be lessened. It is more important however to address the underlying cause of such itching.

However, facial itching, or any other kind of itching, could also be caused by factors other than dermatological problems. The sensory experience could be the result of some psychiatric disorder (e.g. obsessive-compulsive disorder, hallucination, etc.); in this case, the itching is only an imagined sensation. It could also be the result of some damage in the peripheral and central nervous system (nerve irritation, multiple sclerosis, brain tumor, etc.), because the system is responsible for all the senses a person feels. Though the itching in this case is real, one has to cure the damage in the nerves.