Table 2.
Itch in AD: exemplary patient quotes
| Description of itch | Exemplars of patient statements |
|---|---|
| Severity | “The scratching, the wanting to scratch, the itch. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to scratch my entire first dermal layer off my skin because I want to get the itch away. I know it won’t go away like that, but it’s just the sensation of wanting to scratch something but not being able to because you know it won’t do anything. It will just cause more problems.”—01-007 |
| “The itchiness is extreme and almost like it has to be scratched. And that's the only thing that makes it feel better is scratching it. I don't know how to describe it. It’s horrible. It's just an invasive itch. You know you shouldn't be scratching, but you can't help yourself because you just want some relief.”—02-001 | |
| Persistence and frequency | “We’re talking like an incessant itch that never goes away, so like you can itch it until it bleeds, and it will still be itching.”—01–005 |
| “It’s not a normal little itch, because it’s just an itch that it’s like continuously, like very, very itchy and it won't stop. So, it’s—you’ll be scratching yourself, but you’ll still be itching. It just doesn’t stop.”—01-021 | |
| Distraction | “It’s just annoying. Day-to-day it’s just annoying. I notice it. I can’t concentrate on something because I’ll just notice that I need to scratch a certain part of my body or something.”—01-004 |
| Interference with daily life | “Because I don't really have relief with creams or anything like that, I find myself at least once a day having to stop what I'm doing, take a shower or bath, lather myself with Aquaphor just to get through the day.”—02-001 |
| “Itching out of nowhere, disrupting events of my day, not—yeah, just not being able to do normal tasks without being disrupted with itching.”—002-005a | |
| “For example, my day-to-day routine—I do enjoy working out at the gym, but after, I want to say, like 15, 20 min, that’s when I start getting a little sweaty. That’s when I start getting itchy. That’s usually what triggers the itch. But usually in the middle of my workout, I would feel the need to itch, which I know I shouldn’t be doing, especially because—you know, touching gym equipment and all the bacteria and such. But sometimes it gets so, I guess, unbearable that I just need to scratch.”—01-027 |