Causes of itching of the head

You can not ignore any uncomfortable sensations from the skin, and including - itching of the head. In some cases, discomfort can indicate only poor quality of personal hygiene. However, in many people this becomes a sign of various, sometimes rather serious diseases. Especially it is necessary to be alerted, if a person not only scratches his head, but hair falls out, inflamed pimples appear, general condition worsens, etc. But more about this later. Now try to understand why it itchs?

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Cause

The provoking factors can be many conditions and diseases, and it is sometimes difficult to determine it - you may need the help of a qualified doctor. A similar problem, depending on the root cause of its appearance, is engaged in such specialists as dermatologist, trichologist, allergist, endocrinologist, neurologist, cosmetologist, etc.

The reasons for itching the head, can be divided into a couple of categories: itching, not associated with diseases, and pathological itching.

Let's list the most probable grounds for the appearance of itching sensations, not related to diseases:

• Stress states.

Psychoemotional disruptions and deep conflict situations are accompanied by an intensive release of adrenaline into the bloodstream. In certain situations - for example, with physical exertion, the adrenaline is disposed of. But in a state of rest, the hormone begins to accumulate, which causes muscle overstrain and skin itching. Thus, if the head is healed after the experienced stress, then they speak of the nervous causes of this phenomenon.

• Hypervoltage of muscles.

A person long staying in one position, often faces the problem of prolonged muscle tension. For example, when sitting for a long time at the computer, the musculature of the neck, occiput and shoulder girdle strains, which causes a violation of blood flow in this area. Such processes can also cause temporary unpleasant sensations on the scalp.

• Dryness of the skin.

Dryness begins to bother with frequent changes in temperature in the hair area: for example, if the hair is systematically dried with hot air from a hair dryer, or use a curling iron or smoothing iron. Additional provoking factors may include: frequent use of shampoo, wearing an incorrectly selected headgear (or lack thereof in the cold season).

• Presence of irritating factors, allergic processes.

A huge variety of cosmetic and hygienic products sometimes leads to the fact that we try to try everything on ourselves and in large quantities. Shampoos, styling products, rinses, masks, hair dyes. Nevertheless, it is known that frequent changes of such remedies, too frequent or incorrect use of them, can cause hair and skin to overdry, dandruff, allergy. Allergic processes are most often provoked by coloring substances that contain ammonia and perhydrol.

• Incorrect nutrition, overly strict diets, fasting.

If the body receives insufficient amounts of vitamins and mineral components, then the whole body suffers, including the skin. Itching of the head accompanies many conditions of vitamin-mineral deficiency.

Separately it is necessary to allocate pathologies which are accompanied by an itch of a head:

• Seborrheic dermatitis is a disease that affects the face and scalp. The disease develops with the mass presence of a specific fungus, called Malassezia furfur. This fungus prefers to live in places where sebaceous discharge periodically accumulates - for example, on the head, on the nose, above the eyebrows, etc. Even if the head does not itch, Malassezia fungus is always present on our skin - but it does not always cause disease. For the development of pathology, the coincidence of certain circumstances is necessary, therefore this causative agent belongs to the category of conditionally pathogenic ones.
• Seborrhea is a relatively common disease affecting the area of the head. Hyperfunction of the sebaceous glands, inflammation, dandruff, crusts and severe itching of the head are the main signs of this pathology. If on the skin in the hair area there are specific scales and the head is itchy, seborrhea is the first thing that comes to the mind of a specialist who examines the patient.
• Lice, or pediculosis - is a defeat of the head lice, which fall on the scalp when using other people's combs or hats, or in other circumstances. At a pediculosis the head is strongly scratched: bites of insects are especially felt in rest and during night rest. The itching is exhausting, a person may have irritability, sleep is disturbed.
• Among the reasons for which it itches the head, psoriasis occupies one of the leading places. This disease is often mistaken for oily seborrhoea, so treatment does not give the expected results. Psoriasis is a chronic pathology, and it takes a lot of effort and time to solve this problem.
• Itching of the head in diabetes is associated with impaired metabolism, with excessive accumulation of toxins and weak immunity. The skin of diabetics is more often dry, prone to irritation and peeling, it often develops an infection.
• When scabies itches the head because of the bites of the pathogen - itch mite, or zudna. Against the background of itchy discomfort, papulo-vesicular rashes are found on the head, sometimes with the attachment of a secondary pustular infection. Infect scabies can be with direct contact with a sick person. If your head itches, the mite is in an active state - most often this happens at night, because in the daytime the insect calms down.

There are other, more rare causes of itching discomfort in the head. For example, sometimes patients consult a doctor with the following complaints:

• At the child a chicken pox, the head itches, it is normal?

With chickenpox, up to five hundred itchy elements can appear on the body. They can be found almost everywhere, including on the head. In some patients, it is the head that itches at first, and then the rash spreads all over the body. Such a development of the disease refers to the variant of the norm, it is not worth worrying about.

• Why does headache after a burdock oil?

Usually, on the contrary, they use burdock oil from the itch of the head. If the discomfort appeared after the application of the remedy, then you can consider several options for the appearance of the problem: either you have intolerance to burdock oil, or you got a poor-quality oil (or product with unacceptable additives), or you used the product incorrectly (for example, applied to dry hair, or the product was mixed with other unsuitable ingredients). Try to analyze and find the cause of discomfort.

• After the hairdresser's scalp itchs, what could be the reason?

Most often, adults "pick up" a barbarian fungal infection. This happens if the hairdresser does not handle the necessary tools - combs, scissors, razors. Fungal itching can be accompanied by dry skin, hair loss, the appearance of a rash. Other causes of this phenomenon are often allergic processes. For example, after dyeing hair, the itching of the scalp arises quite often, if the paint is of poor quality, or contains an allergenic component. This component in most cases becomes ammonia, which is present in many colors. With increased sensitivity to ammonia, you should carefully choose the dyes. No less often it happens that the head itches after keratin straightening. It should be noted immediately that this procedure is quite dangerous, because most of the hair straightening agents contain formaldehyde, or substances that turn into it (formalin, methylene glycol). But even if a quality product is used without formaldehyde, the problem can still arise - for example, if after applying keratin hair is dried with a hot hair dryer, or if keratin gets on the skin, or with frequent repetition of the procedure.

If you carry out such a procedure as hair extensions, the head is healed because of a mistake by the master. This is sometimes the case with beginners who "put" capsules in the immediate vicinity of the skin. In order not to experience any discomfort in the future, it is necessary to control that the capsules are located at a distance no less than 10-15 mm from the roots. Also, this happens when the capsules are not formed correctly. To avoid the above effects, try to do any procedures with hair in the proven salons of experienced craftsmen.

• Why is the head scratched from the minoxidil?

Minoxidil refers to hair growth stimulants. The composition of the product includes several skin irritating components - primarily alcohol and propylene glycol, which can cause burning sensations, itching, redness, dryness in the application area. Especially often, these side effects occur after prolonged use of the drug. To fix the problem, Minoxidil is temporarily replaced with other drugs, because it is abolished altogether.

• To restore hair began to use a tool such as nicotinic acid: it itchs the head now, what to do?

Nicotinic acid is not intended for rubbing into the skin, but this procedure is often practiced to improve hair growth. Further itching of the head is a banal allergic reaction to a vitamin remedy, which means one thing: this procedure does not suit you.

• Why does my head itch for a cold?

The head for colds still hurts more often. But in some patients, the skin can be itchy - it is associated with inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx, with the possible development of sinusitis, with a general intoxication of the body. Discomfort passes with recovery. And in order to alleviate the condition with colds, it is necessary to drink plenty of liquid and regularly clean the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract - for example, rinse with saline.

• There was a problem - pediculosis. Now it itchy head after removing lice, why?

A possible cause is an allergic reaction to a remedy that was used to get rid of insects. After the end of treatment, the situation should stabilize. In addition, you should take a course of treatment with antihistamines.

• The head after the bath is scratched, although I use the same detergents as at home. Why?

The causes of discomfort may be overheating of the head, excessive drying of the skin under the influence of dry hot air, and even dehydration. Advice: for a bath choose a shampoo with moisturizing properties, be sure to wear a special cap in the bath, drink enough water (beer and spirits will only aggravate the problem). Itching of the scalp after washing in the bath can be eliminated if you drink tea, brewed on the basis of plants such as clover, calendula, mother-and-stepmother.

• Have appeared on a skin rashes, as a urticaria, the head is scratched - what is it?

Urticaria is one of the manifestations of an allergic reaction, so you need to look for what could cause this process. Perhaps the allergen is in a detergent, or in food. After eliminating the cause, painful itchy sensations will disappear.

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Pathogenesis

Itching is a condition in which a person instinctively wants to scratch. Most people feel itching for unpleasant things.

The pathogenesis of this sensation has not been fully disclosed to date. In all probability, it is transmitted along nerve fibers ending in spinal structures. On the same fibers impulses are transmitted to the thalamus, the hypothalamus and the cortex of the brain. Presumably, cold thermoreceptors (A delta fibers) also take part in the transmission mechanism.

The pathogenetic characteristics of itching and painful sensations are similar in many respects. Some experts even include itching for the mildest form of pain. At the same time, according to the results of some studies, these two sensations belong to different sensory modalities.

The most studied substance that takes part in the formation of skin discomfort is histamine - the so-called "itchy mediator". But there are many such mediators, and their study is only in the initial stage. These are amines, proteases, neuropeptides, individual growth factors and cytokines.

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