No stitch for an itch

Oh no! I am not talking about the seven-year itch which men experience when they want to change their lives even if it is by cheating on their wives. My focus here is the physical itch - quite a witch which can cause great discomfort (especially in public). There are many who can sleep through anything, (even while standing, despite a bunch of mosquitoes troubling them). The unlucky ones are those who end up scratching continuously, despite their vain bid to catch and crush that persistent, clever mosquito which is drawing their blood.

Itching can happen to anyone, at any time of the day or night, with or without provocation and in any part of the body, anywhere and at any time in one's life, by any insect or by other causes - and above all without rhyme or reason.

Many are the victims of almost lifelong suffering. Just imagine scratching in front of others when the need is urgent. If the urge to scratch is in places of the body which are unmentionable, the distress is greater. In a bus, you may have to shift and shuffle to reach the place where the itch is. One needs privacy all the time to give vent to the scratching especially in some parts of the body. Such people are sometimes mistaken for hiding things - which indeed may not be untrue, but people could follow the 'secretive' person for the wrong reason.

I read somewhere that with age, constant itching could complicate the lives of the ageing. One of my friends was bitten by the 'itch' bug during her menopause.

The back of her body called for constant attention. Not only was the itching annoying per se, it was also difficult to reach different parts of her back. It was unwieldy and not fashionable to carry a long shoe-horn (which they didn't have anyway, being a chappal-using family), nor a ladle from the kitchen which didn't reach far enough.

As a last resort, she went to the doctor. His easy answer was that this condition would have to be left to subside on its own - there was no medicine to cure it. He assured her that it would disappear in time, though he couldn't predict exactly when. But until then, she was told she would have to learn to ignore it. "Madam", he said,"what cannot be cured must be endured."

She realised that ignoring her "menopause itch" would be the biggest challenge in her life, as the temptation to scratch was very great, all the time. She did find a cure soon in a curious way.

She went shopping for a long 'back-scratcher' that was cheap yet sturdy and would reach all spots in the back comfortably. Now she was going to scratch to her heart's content.

But alas! The moment she came home with glee, she realised that the itch was gone, just as the doctor had told her. She was stunned and elated by the miracle! Just as she had hung up her boots after retirement from office, she hung the back-scratcher to be given to someone with a similar need in future.