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Review
. 2005 Jul-Aug;18(4):288-91.
doi: 10.1111/j.1529-8019.2005.00040.x.

Itch and pruritus: what are they, and how should itches be classified?

Jeffrey D Bernhard  1
Affiliations
Review

Itch and pruritus: what are they, and how should itches be classified?

Jeffrey D Bernhard. Dermatol Ther. 2005 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Itch and pruritus are two terms for the same thing. In this essay I will argue that casting about for a distinction between them creates only confusion. Once that matter is settled, it is still necessary to come up with a clinical classification for itches of different types. No system yet proposed, including the one that will be suggested here, is perfect.

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