Interaction between pruritus and stress or other psychosomatic factors

Abstract

Itch is a suffering as well as pain. Its impact on the quality of life and psychism can be considerable. Vice versa, stress and psychological factors can influence it. The impact of itch on the quality of life has been studied in numerous studies. Most of these studies are about chronic itch. Usually, itch is one of the factors of a specific disease (atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, urticaria) in these studies and there is no specific study about the impact of itch on the quality of life measured through a scale. Suffering from a chronic (or acute) itch can widely modify the life of patients with important effects on sleep, social life, sexual life and mental life. It represents a major stress, does strong damage to the quality of life and has impact on each moment of the day. © 2010 Springer-Verlag London.