Your skin is the largest organ your body has and the most exposed to your surrounding environment. As a result, stimuli constantly bombard your skin from the inside and out, which can cause mild to serious itching to occur anywhere on the body. Itching occurs when your body comes in contact with something that activates certain cells to release histamine. Histamine reacts with nerves in the skin, which send a message to the brain that you need to itch.
Allergic Reactions and Irritations
Allergic reactions and skin irritants are some of the most common reasons your body may react with itching. When your body comes in contact with an allergen or irritant, the body automatically produces histamine to help defend the body against the substance causing the reaction. Side effects of this reaction may be a rash or hives accompanied by itching.
Bug Bites
Bug bites and stings can cause mild to severe problems with itching. When a bug bites or stings you, some of their saliva or other substances enter the skin at the entry site. Your body's immune system releases histamine in reaction to the foreign substance in the body, which results in swelling and itching. The severity of the swelling and itching depends on how sensitive your body is to the offending bug.
Skin Conditions
Certain skin conditions may cause problems with itching. For example, pityriasis rosea, dermatitis herpetiformis from gluten sensitivities, fungal ring worm infection, yeast infections, eczema and psoriasis are all skin conditions that count itching as a common symptom.
Disease
Itching can also come as a side effect to certain diseases. For example, itching can be associated with a variety of health problems including chicken pox, liver disease, anemia, syphilis and kidney failure. In rare and serious cases, itching may also come from some cancers such as lymphoma, melanoma and leukemia.
Drug Reaction
Itching may occur with drug reactions from prescription or some over-the-counter medications. Some of the largest offenders are narcotic medications for pain, antifungal medications and antibiotics, which can cause widespread skin reactions and rashes that itch, suggests MayoClinic.com.
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