Pruritus definition and natural treatment with dietary supplements, herbs and vitamins

Define pruritus - Pruritus is defined as itching. Pruritus is an itch or a sensation that makes a person want to scratch.

Pruritus and pain
Pruritus is one of the major complications of skin diseases. Although there are various substances that induce itch or pruritus, histamine is the best known endogenous agent that evokes pruritus. Even though histamine-induced pruritus has been studied for some time, the underlying mechanism of pruritusis just beginning to emerge. Although various downstream signaling pathways of histamine receptors have been revealed, more studies are required to determine the cause of histamine-induced pruritus. It appears that pruritusand pain involve different neuronal pathways. Pain generally inhibits pruritus, which indicates an inter-communication between the two.
   Many medical conditions cause pruritus, therefore pruritis itself is not a diagnosis.

Medical conditions that can cause pruritus
Many organ systems and diseases cause pruritus including dermatologic diseases, including xerotic eczema, atopic dermatitis, and allergic contact dermatitis.
   Causes of systemic pruritus include uremia, cholestasis, polycythemia vera, Hodgkin's lymphoma, hyperthyroidism, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Treatment of pruritus
Treatment of pruritus first has to be directed at finding the cause of the pruritus. Effective treatment of pruritus can prevent scratch-induced complications such as lichen simplex chronicus and impetigo. Patients, particularly elderly adults, with severe pruritus that does not respond to conservative therapy should be evaluated for an underlying systemic disease. Treatment of nonspecific pruritus is directed mostly at preventing xerosis.

Diagnosis of pruritus
Skin scraping, biopsy, or culture may be indicated if skin lesions are present. Diagnostic testing is directed by the clinical evaluation and may include a complete blood count and measurement of thyroid-stimulating hormone, serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen levels. Chest X-ray and testing for HIV infection may be indicated in some patients.

Pruritus ani anal pruritus
Anal itching is the irritation of the skin at the exit of the rectum, known as the anus, accompanied by the urge to scratch. The intensity of anal itching increases from moisture, pressure, and abrasion caused by clothing and sitting. At its most intense, anal itching causes intolerable discomfort that often is described as burning and soreness. Not cleaning oneself well with tissue after passing a stool, and sitting on the remains of small amounts of stool left around the anus can cause anal pruritus.

Pruritus vulvae
A common cause of pruritus vulvae or vulvar pruritus is purulent vaginal discharge.

Chronic renal failure and pruritus
Histamine may be one of the reason of pruritus in patients with chronic renal failure.

Pruritus questions
Does acne cause pruritus?
    Only infrequently unless the condition is severe.

uremic pruritus
aquagenic pruritus

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Pathogenesis and Treatment of Pruritus.
Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2010 Apr 29. Greaves MW. Cutaneous Allergy Clinic, St. John's Institute of Dermatology, St. Thomas' Hospital, London, SE1 7EH, United Kingdom.
Classification of itch into four categories-pruritoceptive, neurogenic, neuropathic, and psychogenic-has proven to be of utility to clinicians and investigators. Itch is recognized to be transmitted by dedicated afferent neurons, and a matrix of cerebral cortical loci involved in perception and the desire to scratch has been recognized. This highlights the multidimensional nature of the itch sensation. Some of the many mediators of itch, especially relevant in pruritogenic itch, are the result of cross-talk between dermal mast cells and adjacent cutaneous afferents. Keratinocytes of the epidermis express many neuropeptides, and their receptors are far from passive bystanders in the neurophysiology of itch. Mediators can also act centrally (eg, opioid peptides that act on micro receptors in the central nervous system). The pathophysiology of pruritus in neurogenic itch caused by common systemic diseases is gradually being elucidated, especially in the itch of cholestasis, although the molecular basis of itching in chronic renal failure remains elusive. Better understanding of the mediators of itch and their receptors has led to the imminent development of novel anti-itch compounds, including interleukin-31 inhibitors, histamine H4-receptor antagonists, and neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists.

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