Occasional Itching

The occasional itch isn’t a big deal, but constant, unrelenting itching can become quite a nuisance and even a serious health concern. What Causes the Itch? How Liver Disease and Itching Go Hand in Hand. You’ll rarely notice itching in any alcohol-related liver disease or fatty liver diseases. Itching can be a common problem. Itches can be localized or generalized. There are many causes of itching to include: infection (jock itch, vaginal itch), disease (hyperthyroidism, liver or kidney), reactions to drugs, and skin infestations (pubic or body lice). Treatment for itching varies depending on the cause of the itch. Constant or Occasional Itching On July 31, 2018, Posted by CSS Survivor, In Uncategorized, People with high phosphorus levels in their diet can experience a great deal of itching. Psoriasis: It makes your body overproduce skin cells, which pile up in itchy, inflamed patches on the skin’s surface. Pregnancy: More than one in 10 pregnant women say itching is a problem.

Written by: Jim Folk.
Medically reviewed by: Marilyn Folk, BScN.
Last updated: December 12, 2020

Itching, tingly, crawly, pins and needles, prickly feelings inside the body symptoms description:

You feel:

  • An itchy, itching feeling or sensation anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body, including the hands, feet, fingers, toes, head, face, arms, chest, neck, throat, back, groin, mouth, stomach, abdomen, etc.
  • A tingly, tingling feeling or sensation anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body, including the hands, feet, fingers, toes, head, face, arms, chest, neck, throat, back, groin, mouth, stomach, abdomen, etc.
  • A crawly, crawling feeling or sensation anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body, including the hands, feet, fingers, toes, head, face, arms, chest, neck, throat, back, groin, mouth, stomach, abdomen, etc.
  • A pins and needles, prickly feeling or sensation anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body, including the hands, feet, fingers, toes, head, face, arms, chest, neck, throat, back, groin, mouth, stomach, abdomen, etc.
  • A paresthesia feeling anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body.
  • An odd or unusual feeling or sensation anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body.

You might experience one, many, or all of the above feelings and sensations.

These itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and odd or unusual feelings or sensations can persistently affect one area of the body only, can shift and affect another area or areas, and can migrate all over and affect many areas of the body over and over again.

These itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings or sensations can come and go rarely, occur frequently, or persist indefinitely. For example, you may have one, many, or all of these feelings and sensations once in a while and not that often, feel them off and on, or feel them all the time.

These itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings or sensations may precede, accompany, or follow an escalation of other anxiety sensations and symptoms, or occur by themselves.

These itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings and sensations can precede, accompany, or follow an episode of nervousness, anxiety, fear, and elevated stress, or occur ‘out of the blue’ and for no apparent reason.

These itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings and sensations can range in intensity from slight, to moderate, to severe. They can also come in waves, where they are strong one moment and ease off the next.

These itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings and sensations can change from day to day, and/or from moment to moment.

All of the above combinations and variations are common.

These itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings and sensations can seem like they intensify when undistracted or when trying to relax, rest, or go to sleep.

What causes the itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and any other odd or unusual feelings and sensations under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body anxiety symptoms?

Occasional body itching

These types of anxiety symptoms can be caused by a number of factors including:

  • Remaining in the same position (seated or standing) for a long period of time.
  • Injury or pressure on a nerve (for example, a back injury can cause these feelings and sensations in the legs or feet, and a neck injury can cause them in the arms and hands).
  • Pressure on the spinal nerves (for example, due to a herniated disk).
  • Lack of blood supply to an area (for example, restricted blood flow–we often refer to it as “falling asleep,” or for medical reason such as, plaque buildup from atherosclerosis–this can cause these feelings and sensations).
  • Side effects from certain medications.
  • A lack of vitamin B12 or other vitamins.
  • Toxic action on the nerves, such as from alcohol, tobacco, or lead.
  • Abnormal levels of calcium, potassium, or sodium in the body.
Itching

Itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and any other odd or unusual feelings and sensations anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body can also be caused by other medical conditions.

When these under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body sensations and symptom are caused by anxiety, there can be many factors that cause them. Here are seven common factors:

1. Being anxious has activated an active stress response

Being stressed and anxious (worried, apprehensive, fretful, fearful) causes the body to produce the stress response. The stress response secretes stress hormones into the bloodstream where they travel to targeted spots to bring about specific physiological, psychological, and emotional changes that enhance the body’s ability to deal with a threat—to either fight with or flee from it—which is the reason the stress response is often referred to as the fight or flight response.

Because the stress response can cause a wide range of physiological changes, some of these changes can cause itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and any other odd or unusual feelings and sensations in various parts of the body when a stress response has been activated.

2. Stress-response hyperstimulation

When stress responses occur infrequently, the body can recover relatively quickly from the physiological, psychological, and emotional changes the stress response brings about. But when stress responses occur too frequently and/or dramatically the body has a more difficult time recovering, which can result in the body remaining in a semi hyperstimulated state, since stress hormones are stimulants.

A body that becomes hyperstimulated can behave oddly and erratically, which can cause a wide range of unusual sensations and symptoms, including feeling an itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and any other odd or unusual feelings and sensations under the skin and/or anywhere inside or deep inside the body.

3. Hyper- or hypoventilation

Hyper- or hypoventilation is another cause of feeling a tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, and/or prickly feelings and sensations. When we breathe too shallowly and don’t take in enough oxygen (hypoventilation), this causes the CO2 levels in the blood to drop, which can cause a tingling, tingly, pins and needles sensation anywhere on or in the body. Some people describe this feeling as an effervescence, prickly, or crawly sensation.

If, on the other hand, you are breathing too aggressively and take in too much oxygen, this can also change the CO2 levels in the blood causing hyperventilation, which can also cause a tingling, tingly, pins and needles sensation anywhere on or in the body.

Even though these tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles feelings and sensations can seem odd and even unsettling, they are harmless and needn’t be a cause for concern. They will subside when you reverse the above hyper or hypoventilation causes.

4. Vitamin B deficiency

Occasional Itching

Stress taxes the body’s resources harder than normal, which can affect the body’s nutrients, including vitamins. Stress commonly causes a reduction in the body’s vitamin B. Vitamin B deficiency can also cause these types of feelings and sensations.

5. Reaction to medication

The adverse effects of medications, including anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications, can cause a wide range of feelings and sensations, including itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings and sensations anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body.

For more reasons why anxiety can cause an itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and other odd or unusual feelings and sensations anywhere under the skin and/or inside or deep inside the body, Recovery Support members can read about this symptom in Chapter 9.


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How to get rid of the itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, prickly, and any other odd or unusual feelings and sensations under the skin and/or anywhere inside or deep inside the body anxiety symptoms?

When the itchy, itching, tingly, tingling, crawly, crawling, pins and needles, and prickly feelings and sensations are caused by apprehensive behavior and the accompanying stress response changes, calming yourself down will bring an end to the stress response and its changes. As your body recovers from the active stress response, these anxiety-related symptoms should subside.

Keep in mind that it can take up to 20 minutes or more for the body to recover from a major stress response. But this is normal and shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

When these types of anxiety symptoms are caused by persistent stress, such as from stress-response hyperstimulation, it may take a lot more time for the body to calm down and recover, and to the point where these types of anxiety symptoms subside.

Nevertheless, when the body has fully recovered from the stress of being anxious, these types of anxiety symptoms will completely disappear. Therefore, these symptoms needn’t be a cause for concern.

You can speed up the recovery process by reducing your stress, practicing relaxed breathing, increasing your rest and relaxation, and not worrying about these feelings. Sure, they can be bothersome, but again, when your body has recovered from the stress response and/or sustained stress, these sensations will completely disappear.

If you are having difficulty containing your worry, you may want to connect with one of our anxiety disorder therapists, coaches, or counselors. Working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist, coach, or counselor is the most effective way to overcome what seems like unmanageable worry.

For a more detailed explanation about anxiety symptoms, why anxiety symptoms can persist long after the stress response has ended, common barriers to recovery and symptom elimination, and more recovery strategies and tips, we have many chapters that address this information in the Recovery Support area of our website.

The combination of good self-help information and working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist is the most effective way to address anxiety disorder and its many symptoms. Until the core causes of anxiety are addressed - the underlying factors that motivate apprehensive behavior - a struggle with anxiety disorder can return again and again. Identifying and successfully addressing anxiety's underlying factors is the best way to overcome problematic anxiety.


Additional Resources:

Occasional itching all over body
  • For a comprehensive list of Anxiety Disorders Symptoms Signs, Types, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.
  • Anxiety and panic attacks symptoms can be powerful experiences. Find out what they are and how to stop them.
  • Free online anxiety tests to screen for anxiety. Two minute tests with instant results. Such as:
  • Anxiety 101 is a summarized description of anxiety, anxiety disorder, and how to overcome it.

Return to Anxiety Disorders Signs and Symptoms section.

anxietycentre.com: Information, support, and therapy for anxiety disorder and its symptoms, including the anxiety symptom itchy, tingling, crawling, pins and needles, prickly feelings under the skin and/or anywhere inside or deep inside the body anxiety symptoms.


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