Or is it a bacterial/viral infection causing the itchiness to propagate?
In: Biology
I don’t think we know the answer to this. Itching is mysterious and lives between pain and pleasure. Many wounds never itch and some itchy things have nothing wrong with them. The fact that scratching seems to feel good or at least alleviate the itch is interesting and suggests this is the “goal” of the itch. It could be an evolutionary remnant, or something that imparts just enough of a survival / reproductive advantage to be preserved. One thing for sure is that pain is absolutely critical to survival as it serves as an early warning sign of infection. Pain Nerves in teeth (which are basically holes in your skull surrounded by massive amounts of bacteria) are notoriously easy to trigger responding to almost all stimuli as painful including heat, cold, pressure, vibration and chemical changes. That’s not itching but I think itching is sort of a compromise between pain and ignoring the sensation. Pain can make you favor the painful area, where as itching attracts your attention. Slivers for example sometimes don’t hurt but they can itch. If you are animal with fur, you can’t see the irritation and you can’t pull it out with your claws or hooves, but you can sure scratch at it.
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