Itch in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: An unfolding scenario

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2, that broke out in December 2019. In just 4 months it has spread to almost every country in the world and up to April 18, 2020, the virus has infected more than two million people. Itch is the most common symptom in dermatology and a frequent one of systemic diseases. The association of itch and viral diseases has been widely documented; however, the actual prevalence of itch in the patients suffering from new the SARS-CoV-2 infection is still unknown. In this paper, we present a review of the available literature on the topic of itch in the affected population. Moreover, we have also analyzed different aspects of itch associated with COVID-19 pandemic, not directly related to the viral infection. Those included use of chemicals, hand sanitizers, common use of personal protective equipment and psychosocial stress.