What do itching feet mean

Intense scratching can exacerbate certain conditions or lead to secondary bacterial infections that require treatment. Most people who experience mildly itchy feet do not require medical attention. If your itching is severe or persistent, you should discuss with a doctor to be screened for any underlying conditions that might be causing your discomfort.

To diagnose you, your doctor may examine your feet for any rashes or swelling. Sometimes a biopsy, culture, or skin scrape of any unusually colored or textured skin may be needed. You may also be asked to provide a blood sample for further screening. If you want to alleviate your irritated skin discomfort right away, there are plenty of home remedies for itchy feet.

Preventing itchy feet will largely depend on identifying and addressing the root cause of your discomfort. The best way to prevent itchy feet is to care for your feet, prevent fungal infections, and mitigate feelings of itchiness by:.

It is also important to avoid potential irritants. You know that old saying about having "itchy feet," meaning a desire to keep moving from one place to the next, or at least to keep changing from one situation to another? This comes from a superstition that having itchy feet is a sign of an upcoming journey. According to AuntyFlo.

That's perhaps not too much of a stretch, as far as predictions go, since back in the day, running out of common household staples meant an all-day or longer journey to town in the old wagon — at least, this is how it always seemed to go down in Little House on the Prairie.

But there's more to this superstition than just the hint of travel to come. Where exactly the itch is on your foot — and which foot — plays a role. Subscribe to Men's Health. Hearst Magazines amazon. Subscribe Now.

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Often the cause of peripheral neuropathy is never actually discovered. This is called idiopathic neuropathy. No matter the cause, the dying nerves of neuropathy are very tricky. They can deliver any type of sensation to the skin and often that sensation is itchiness!

Treatment for neuropathy can be very difficult because once the nerves start to deteriorate there is no way to reverse the process. There are some vitamins and supplement products that claim to reverse some of the effects of neuropathy, but the results are mixed at best.

Itchy feet are no laughing matter. Besides the discomfort and annoyance, itching of the feet is likely to represent some type of infection, inflammation, or even a systemic condition. Part 1 of 2. Scratching can make the problem even worse resulting in bleeding and secondary infections. Scratching infected skin can cause the infection to spread. Dermatitis While fungal infections are the most common cause of itchy feet at night there are other skin conditions that can also cause the feet to itch and sometimes quite severely.

These reactions can result from: allergies allergic dermatitis contact with chemicals or other irritants contact dermatitis changes in moisture level eczema or atopic dermatitis any other number of instigating factors Dermatitis can occur anywhere on the foot and is often mistaken for a fungal infection, especially when it occurs between the toes.