Why do healing wounds itch?

[Suezoled]

If you scrape your hand and it bleeds, it scabs over. And it itches. WHY? Why damnit? Itchiness means that scabs can be scratched at while you're asleep, and they peel off, exposing the raw flesh, causing more bleeding, increasing the possibity of infection, and encouraging the growth of collagen with could well result in scar tissue. So why do these dang things ITCH?

Sorry.

 

[Iconoclast]

So why do these dang things ITCH?

Because God thinks he's f*cking funny.

 

[Kopji]

what mom said

I think its due to the role of histamine in healing. Mom always said that when it itched that was good cause it meant it was almost done healing and to NOT SCRATCH IT.

Then she'd put either some vitamin e or antibiotic ointment on it. .

Good ol mom.
(why I don't post over here more)

 

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

Short answer: there is a large overlap between the mediators of inflammation in wound healing and the specific process of pruritus/itch.

As with much of the inflammatory process it is a two-edged sword. We'd like healing without pain etc.

The tricky part comes in trying to define 'purpose' in these processes. Are some of the negative features merely accidents of the way the process has evolved, or do they have a function.

This link;

Why do we itch?

gives a neat rationalisation for the existence of itch as an entity distinct from other nociceptive responses.

 

[kedo1981]

Oh; thats what mom says about everything; don't itch