Bedbugs, lice: why do we want to scratch when we think about them?

Lice and bed bugs don’t need to be there to make our lives hell. For some people, a simple mention or photo of these little creatures is enough to make it itch. Almost as if they had actually been bitten. But why?

While many factors can cause this unpleasant sensation, such as allergies, infections or eczema, the psychological cause should not be underestimated. In this case, itching, the medical name for “the urge to scratch,” would be a remnant of our innate fear of contamination.

Therefore, the mere mention of the problem evokes a risk for our genes. The instinctive reaction, that unpleasant feeling. A response is also seen in animals.

“It has been shown that these are the same areas of the brain that are activated as if the itch were induced by real parasites or a real skin disease,” Laurent Misery, head of the dermatology department at Brest University Hospital, explained to France Culture. . . .

“We can’t stop thinking”

The psychologist Vincent Joly proposes a similar hypothesis, a simple association mechanism. “Sensations are closely linked to our thoughts,” he says. He also reminds us that we are quite powerless over this little inconvenience:

“We can’t completely control our mind. We can’t stop thinking about something voluntarily, quite the opposite! If I tell you not to think about a pink elephant jumping rope, what are you going to think?”

It therefore evokes a comparison with a mosquito bite. Thinking about not scratching and focusing on the itch has the effect of reinforcing the sensation.

Vincent Joly still has two solutions: work on his anxiety and try not to consume information that confirms his fears on social networks or in the press. Otherwise, he beware of the risk of self-feeding stress.

ekbom syndrome

For most people, itching is a very temporary sensation. But, in an extreme minority of cases, the sensation may become more intense and persistent. Some people develop “Ekbom syndrome,” a debilitating illness in which victims are convinced they have been bitten or even that there are insects under the skin.

In March 2019, psychiatrists from Nice documented 4 cases and published their observations in the journal. Medical-Psychological Annals. Patients have sunk into a paranoia far greater than a minor itch.