How to stop itching

Hot water stops itching.
This is not well known, but here are some links:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/394710/how_to_stop_the_itch_of_poison_ivy.html
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2005/10/18/hot-water-for-itches/
Scratching really doesn’t work.  After a few minutes, you want to scratch again, but hot water really does work, for hours.
Evidently, itching is caused by release of histamines from the skin.  Hot water causes the skin to release the whole reservoir at once.  This causes a truly weird sensation for a few seconds, but after that, the area won’t itch for quite a while – hours – until the histamines build up again.
The water has to be rather hot – not full on hot (140 at my house) but hotter than feels comfortable.  Experiment.  You will be a happy and itch free person.
I use this technique with poison ivy or mosquito bites.

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