The woman who scratched through to her brain

M was 39 when she had a bout of shingles that left a portion of her forehead numb to pain. A relentless itch on that same spot led to her scratching through her skull. How and why did this happen? Feat. Paramore, shivers and dashed hopes.

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References

Dr Oaklander's 2002 paper (M's original case study)

Atul Gawande's New Yorker article - 'The Itch'

Gawande answering further questions about the article

Other papers from Dr Oaklander-

Laurent Misery's paper

The visual perception 90% / 10% theory from Richard Gregory

[vlogbrothers]

Itched a lot during this video. Brains are so weird. -John

[HistoryNerd]

We complain about pain but this is the sort of story that shows why it's such an important piece of biology.

[Corporis]

Woah! That’s a way bigger chunk of skull missing on the CT than I expected

[diarya]

This was deeply unnerving (pun intended).

[heyandy]

Me reaching to itch my foot during this video: ... 👀 nope

[JanLegris]

The subject of this video is flat out terrifying. I've struggled with eczema most of my life, which means I've had to cope with some pretty persitent and strong itches. Nothing like M in this account. But I still remember being told to just stop scratching when I went to see my GP with blood and skin caked under my finger nails after a night's sleep (a pretty regular occurence at one time). As I've gotten older my eczema got worse, not less (sometimes happens) and I've found various methods to help me get through life and am mostly in good health. But this topic really resonated with me. Thank you for making the subject so approachable Soph... even if it's given me the shivers.

[juststeve]

Shared carotid artery shiver! That sounds horrendous - and incredibly messy (sorry, visual imagination)!
Amazing that even cutting the nerve initially worked, but the brain then seemed to remember that there used to be a frequent itch in that location which it decides was the norm so it has better "fake" its own trigger. I guess there are some primitive fail-safes coming into play.
And now I must get back to scratching my beard - not sure if it's due to the video or the cobweb I walked through in the greenhouse 5 minutes ago...

[anse]

6:44
- And sure enough the itch disappeared...
(Please say 'forever', please!)
- ... For a few weeks
*F*

[boblowes]

I have psoriasis. Skin used to itch constantly, which I would scratch until it bled. But scratching away your skull 🤯

[corngreaterthanwheat]

As a student nurse, this video ruled. Please make more.

[meghanmorgan]

This is a terrifying story. Thanks (??) for sharing, Sophie!

[yesteryear]

Great video to watch just before going to bed....

[caryrodda]

Hah! I'm glad you put that bit in at the end because I was wondering if it was weird that I was getting itchy hearing this story. :D

[maryhegerty]

This is amazing and seriously just answered so many questions for me. I've had a very similar situation, although not near extreme, that has to do with a very deep scar.

[Shaun.Stephens]

Thanks Soph. I put off watching this video for a day or two because of the title / subject but couldn't wait any longer to see one of your videos. Unfortunately I now have a very itchy head... Hopefully it'll stop, I've been told (and I realise) that I'm very suggestible...

[wkswks]

please don't stop making videos! I'm really entertained and educated by them and would like to see more. I'm sure lots of more people would agree with me. Love you, take care.

[nunotorres]

And here i was thinking my itch was bad!

[mczuqtu]

Super interesting AND super uncomfortable, but learning more about it certainly makes one less squeamish. Thank you for another great video!

[jessicasettle]

Amazing video yet again! So glad I found your channel- top quality sciencing ❤

[frankieorsomething]

I got so itchy watching this. I get bad eczema, now whenever I have a flare up of itchiness now I will think of this and be glad