Phantom itching

[Mom5131983]

My daughter is 9 yrs old and has horrible itching spells there is no sign of skin irritation but it bothers her so bad that she will cry and stip herself of her clothing&/or blankets.Do you have any help as to what might be an issue?

[mammo]

Also make sure it's not the laundry detergent, bath soap, shampoo etc.  They can cause itching with no rash.

[RockRose]

Mom, have you googled "phantom itching"?  I found a lot of very helpful stuff.  This article in the New Yorker is about a woman who's lead a very unhealthy lifestyle so it doesn't pertain to your daughter's case,  but within the article are paragraphs in general about phantom itching and the causes.

From the article:

Plenty of non-skin conditions can cause itching. Dr. Jeffrey Bernhard, a dermatologist with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, is among the few doctors to study itching systematically (he published the definitive textbook on the subject), and he told me of cases caused by hyperthyroidism, iron deficiency, liver disease, and cancers like Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Sometimes the syndrome is very specific. Persistent outer-arm itching that worsens in sunlight is known as brachioradial pruritus, and it’s caused by a crimped nerve in the neck. Aquagenic pruritus is recurrent, intense, diffuse itching upon getting out of a bath or shower, and although no one knows the mechanism, it’s a symptom of polycythemia vera, a rare condition in which the body produces too many red blood cells.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all#ixzz0y0ZGHAUY
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all