[ noun ] a contagious skin infection caused by the itch mite; characterized by persistent itching and skin irritation <noun.state> he has a bad case of the itch
Scabies \Sca"bi*es\, n. (Med.) The itch.
Itch \Itch\, n. 1. (Med.) An eruption of small, isolated, acuminated vesicles, produced by the entrance of a parasitic mite (the {Sarcoptes scabei}), and attended with itching. It is transmissible by contact.
2. Any itching eruption.
3. A sensation in the skin occasioned (or resembling that occasioned) by the itch eruption; -- called also {scabies}, {psora}, etc.
4. A constant irritating desire.
An itch of being thought a divine king. --Dryden.
{Baker's itch}. See under {Baker}.
{Barber's itch}, sycosis.
{Bricklayer's itch}, an eczema of the hands attended with much itching, occurring among bricklayers.
{Grocer's itch}, an itching eruption, being a variety of eczema, produced by the sugar mite ({Tyrogluphus sacchari}).
{Itch insect} (Zo["o]l.), a small parasitic mite ({Sarcoptes scabei}) which burrows and breeds beneath the human skin, thus causing the disease known as the itch. See Illust. in Append.
{Itch mite}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Itch insect}, above. Also, other similar mites affecting the lower animals, as the horse and ox.
{Sugar baker's itch}, a variety of eczema, due to the action of sugar upon the skin.
{Washerwoman's itch}, eczema of the hands and arms, occurring among washerwomen.