Why Your Shoulder Is Really Itching

The discomfort of a little itch can be scratched off without much fuss or indeed, absentmindedly. But when itching gets chronic, it becomes a source of discomfort and can cause a great deal of awkwardness and embarrassment as well, via GoodRx. It does not matter which part of your body is itching, the discomfort can be just as frustrating whether it is your fingers or your backside. But even though itches on the different parts of your body cause similar discomfort, the reasons for the itches usually vary and can mean a lot of different things. Some are serious, others not so much. For example, an itching scalp hardly ever has anything to do with a serious health problem, but when your feet itch, it could have something to do with liver or kidney disease or even cancer, per Healthline.

As for your shoulders, any itch there may be nothing to get yourself worried about. Any of the common causes of skin itchiness — contact dermatitis, insect bite, psoriasis, eczema, wound healing, etc — may be responsible for that, per California Skin Institute.

The name of the health issue that could be causing your shoulder to itch badly is Notalgia Paresthetica. It is caused by misaligned nerves in the spine. These out-of-order nerves then communicate irritation to the skin and of course, this triggers itching, per Prevention. One reason why this is something to be wary of is that half of the 50 million Americans who suffer severe itching actually suffer from this medical condition, most times without even knowing it, via California Skin Institute.

One way to know that your itching shoulder is actually Notalgia Paresthetica is the incessantness of the itching. No matter how hard you scratch, you'll likely not notice any reduction in the sensation. You'll scratch that itch so much that the skin on that part of your back, usually the left side, will redden or become a darker hue compared to the rest of your skin, per Medical News Today.

The cause of this problem is still being studied to understand it completely. However, a doctor would know what to do to help you if you ever see these symptoms. The options available to cure Notalgia Paresthetica can be anything from skin creams to surgery depending on the severity of each particular case, via Medical News Today.