Formication, itching feels like an insect crawling on the skin

Have you ever felt like something was moving in your leg? As if there is an itching or tingling feeling but when you see there is nothing in your feet. If so, you may be experiencing formication. Watch this article to know more clearly about formication.

What is formication?

Formication is the itching or tingling feeling caused by the feeling of an insect crawling on or inside your skin. The formication comes from a Latin wordFormica which means ant.

Formication is a tactile hallucination, which means that a person feels a physical sensation, but there is no physical cause for it. This sensation can cause itching, which may get worse at night and can be severe enough to affect your daily activities.

An itchy sensation on the skin in the absence of physical stimulation is a type of paresthesia which may also include burning, tingling, numbness, and coldness.

Formication characteristics

The main sign or symptom of formication is a taste like an insect is crawling on or under the skin. This feeling also causes itching. This will have you scratching the skin where you feel the sensation, even if there's no real cause for the itching.

Scratching to quench the itch can lead to skin breakdown and open sores. These open sores can become infected and lead to other conditions, such as skin ulcers or sores that get worse.

What are the causes of itching hallucinations?

Some of the conditions that can cause formication include:

Parkinson's disease
Shingles
Fibromyalgia
Anxiety
Perimenopause
Lyme disease
Diabetic neuropathy
Skin cancer
Schizophrenia

It is possible that lower levels of estrogen during perimenopause and menopause can also cause this condition.

Formication also sometimes occurs when a person is about to stop taking drugs, including opioids. Some drugs that can cause formication during withdrawal include ritalin, Lunesta, opioid pain medications (such as codeine or morphine), some antidepressants (such as SSRIs), tramadol, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

Formication caused by withdrawal symptoms is usually temporary and should be treated after recovering from drug addiction.

If the sensation persists or occurs very frequently, it could be due to drug psychosis. This can lead you to believe that there are insects that are not actually on the skin.

Care for formication

Treatment for formication will depend on the cause. Topical creams, such as hydrocortisone, can reduce itching for some people. You can also apply a moisturizer to the skin, to help keep the skin healthy and hydrated.

If the cause of the formication is Parkinson's disease, shingles, or fibromyalgia, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate medication and will create a long-term treatment plan.

If medication is the cause, the doctor can usually recommend alternatives. Sometimes, an antihistamine such as Zyrtec or Benadryl can help reduce the sensation of formication.

If the formication is related to drug use, stop and seek professional help to get off the medication so that symptoms can resolve.

Complications that may occur due to hallucinations are itching

People who experience this itchy hallucination will scratch their skin constantly. This can injure and destroy the skin, allowing bacteria to enter and cause infection.

In addition, this scratching injury may also cause several other complications such as gangrene, tetanus, fever, lack of a lot of blood, or sepsis.

Other complications include: