If scabs are intended to protect an open wound from infection, then why do they send a “signal” to the brain that it’s itchy? Why would our body create a situation where it’s likely to get an infection if we scratch it?

Question

If scabs are intended to protect an open wound from infection, then why do they send a “signal” to the brain that it’s itchy? Why would our body create a situation where it’s likely to get an infection if we scratch it?

In:

Answer 1

It’s not the scab that is itching actually, it’s the skin underneath it; The scab is there originally more to keep you from bleeding, the itching is your skin (which has nerve endings) breaking down so it can repair itself. This process uses digestive enzymes, that piss off the nerve endings, making you itchy.

It’s not that the itching is intentional, it’s just that it has to happen if the scab can ever go away.