![]() If your nighttime itching lasts longer than two weeks and home remedies don’t help, talk to your doctor. If you can’t keep yourself from scratching, trim your fingernails and consider wearing cotton gloves to bed. Scratching can make itching worse, but the urge to scratch can be hard to resist. If you think stress might be contributing to your itching, try yoga, meditation, stretching, deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation before bed.Wear loose pajamas made of a soft material such as cotton or silk.Keep your bedroom cool (below 70☏), and use a humidifier if the air is too dry. Consider running a fan in your bedroom to distract you from the itch.Before bedtime, taking a lukewarm shower or bath (try adding colloidal oatmeal) or applying cool compresses to your skin can be helpful.Apply a fragrance-free, alcohol-free moisturizing lotion such as Cetaphil, Eucerin or CeraVe during the day and after bathing.If you use a scented soap or deodorant soap, switch to a gentle, fragrance-free moisturizing soap or non-soap cleanser.Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evening, since they widen blood vessels, which sends more blood to the skin.Oftentimes, simple home remedies can ease the itching. Opioids, used to treat serious pain, can also cause itching. It can also stem from nerve problems, such as diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage from diabetes), multiple sclerosis or shingles. In some cases, itching, including nighttime itching, can be a sign of a serious condition such as liver or kidney disease, HIV or certain cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. A team that includes an allergist, an immunologist and a dermatologist can work together and order lab tests, such as blood tests and even chest X-rays, to identify possible underlying triggers. This condition, whose name means chronic itching with no known cause, can be especially challenging because it can significantly worsen a person’s quality of life, and yet the best treatments remain unknown. Other symptoms include tiredness, pale skin, shortness of breath and fast heartbeat.Ĭhronic idiopathic pruritis. Some people with iron deficiency anemia have itchy skin. A food allergy could cause skin to itch at night. Pregnancy, menopause and hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid hormone) or hypothyroidism (too little thyroid hormone) can contribute to nighttime itching.Īllergies. Lice and scabies mites are also more active at night. Bed bugs, lice and scabies all cause itching, especially at night. Stress and anxiety can contribute to nighttime itching, as can depression and schizophrenia. Older people are more susceptible to nighttime itching in part because the skin tends to dry out with age. These include psoriasis, eczema and dry skin. Itching related to certain health conditions can be worse at night.Ĭommon skin conditions. It’s also possible that you simply notice itching more when you’re in bed trying to sleep than when you’re busy and distracted during the day. At the same time, the body’s production of corticosteroids, which tame inflammation, declines. This can cause itching or make itching worse. At night, the body releases more cytokines, which are immune system proteins that create inflammation. That water loss is likely due to nighttime changes in the skin’s barrier function, which could also let in more irritants. ![]() In addition, skin loses water at night, resulting in dryness that can make you itchy. In the evening, the body releases more heat, and blood flow to the skin increases, which may contribute to nighttime itching. Circadian rhythms influence sleepiness and wakefulness, hormonal activity, hunger, digestion and body temperature, among other things. ![]() These are cycles that repeat every 24 hours, controlled by a “master clock” in the brain. ![]() ![]() You can blame nocturnal itching in part on your body’s circadian rhythms. The causes are not completely understood, but these factors play a role. Itchy skin at night, which doctors call nocturnal pruritus, is fairly common. How many times has this happened to you: You’re in bed, trying to wind down and drift into sleep, and suddenly your skin starts itching - maybe so much so that it’s hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. ![]()
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