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Textbook of Aging Skin pp 1–12Cite as

Skin Itch in the Elderly

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Abstract

Itching is generally known as pruritus. It is a normal reflex and common in the elderly. Aside from causes such as insect stings and contact with certain marine animals, there are other common causes that can be dermatologic, neuropathic, systemic, and psychogenic. The itch reflex is a complex reflex involving separate receptors on sensory neurons that are similar but distinct from pain sensory fibers in the skin. The receptors can be triggered by histamine, G protein receptors, proteases, and toll-like receptors, through TRPV1, TRPV3, and TRPV4 vanilloid receptors on sensory nerves, gastrin, and serotonin, to mention just a few of the stimuli that can trigger itch. The most common of these is histamine. When the skin is inflamed, as histamine is released, it triggers the itch response. In the elderly, chronic itching can interfere with the quality of life. When caused by organ failure or necessary medications such as medications for pain, it offers a quandary – stop the pain medications and increase pain or suffer with chronic itch. This chapter describes the reflex, itching in the elderly, and therapeutic interventions to reduce itch in the elderly.

Keywords

  • Itch
  • Pruritus
  • Histamine
  • Itch reflex

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Allied Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA

    Jerrold Scott Petrofsky

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  1. Jerrold Scott Petrofsky
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Correspondence to Jerrold Scott Petrofsky .

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  1. Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Miranda A. Farage

  2. Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Kenneth W. Miller

  3. Department Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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Petrofsky, J.S. (2015). Skin Itch in the Elderly. In: Farage, M., Miller, K., Maibach, H. (eds) Textbook of Aging Skin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27814-3_126-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27814-3_126-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27814-3

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