The itching is more intense and the scratching more soothing on the ankle, according to new research.
Not all itching is the same, nor are all scratches equally enjoyable. From all parts of their body, people feel more strongly eating their ankle and it is at this point that scratching offers the greatest satisfaction, according to a new international scientific study, which is the first to make such a comparison evaluation.
The new study demystifies the widespread impression that the back is the "best" place for itching and scratching.
Researchers from Britain, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, led by Francis McGlown, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Liverpool University, Moore Moors, a member of the International Forum for the Study of The study in a British dermatological journal, according to the Telegraph, was submitted by a group of volunteers aged 22 to 59 years in the torment of itching, as they rubbed them with a plant that had tiny hairs, which easily irritate the skin.
The scientists focused the itching mainly on three sensitive areas, the arms, the ankles and the back. The volunteers were forbidden to scratch for five minutes, while at the same time they were asked to rate the intensity of the itching. The volunteers were then able to scratch everywhere with a similar laboratory brush, while again grading their degree of pleasure.
The experiment showed that the ankle caused the most itching, but also the most intense, as well as the longest, pleasure in scratching. On the contrary, the itching in the hands was the least, as in the same area the pleasure from scratching was less in intensity and duration.
The research confirmed that the greater the itching, the greater the satisfaction from scratching in general, while it was found that scratching the back is the most effective for reducing itching afterwards.
At present, dermatologists do not have an explanation why the ankle is so prone to itching. A possible evolutionary interpretation is that because this particular uncovered spot in our barefoot ancestors came into contact more easily with insects and germs, a particular hypersensitivity developed in that particular part of the human body, so that the dangerous foreign body could be removed by scratching.
Itching is a very strong feeling and scientists know of cases of people who have lost a leg, but they continue to feel fantastic itching in it and the invincible desire to scratch their non-existent limb.
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