A counterirritant is a substance which creates inflammation in one location with the goal of lessening the inflammation in another location.^[1] They can be used as antipruritics. This strategy falls into the more general category of counterstimulation.

Capsaicin is an example of a counterirritant.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ WordNet Search - 3.0
2. ^ Prasad BC, Kumar V, Gururaj HB, Parimalan R, Giridhar P, Ravishankar GA (2006). "Characterization of capsaicin synthase and identification of its gene (csy1) for pungency factor capsaicin in pepper (Capsicum sp.)". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (36): 13315–20. doi:10.1073/pnas.0605805103. PMID 16938870. 

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