Before I begin: I know the right thing to do in these situations is “See your doctor”. I also know how to tell the difference between good advice and bad.
I think “Try spreading mustard on your body before bedtime” is probably bad advice.
So I think it’s ok to ask this non-life threatening medical question on an internet message board. And as it is non-life threatening I am probably going to keep putting off a visit to the doctor. So It’s either this or nothing. Here goes.
I quit drinking over a month ago. One of the reasons I drank was to knock me out at night so I could do a pale immitation of ‘sleep’. Or at least get from A to C without lying awake at B.
But now, during the first hour of B I tend to itch a lot. My bedsheets are clean. I keep clean myself (shower every day)
I don’t itch during the day. It begins at night when I’m relaxed.
It makes getting to sleep very difficult.
Would having a second daily shower (before bed) help?
Any other tips/ideas?
Could be dry skin. You might be showering too much, or using a soap that’s too strong, depleting your skin of oils and moisture. Try some moisturiser or body lotion, or change your soap to Dove or something like that.
First start with the obvious, change your brand of detergents. Allergies can actually come and go. Try different places of sleeping. Do you know anyone you can borrow a recliner from? Do you itch in someone else’s bed. What if you move your bed to another room.
Is there any kind of a rash? Do you itch everywhere? Or just in a few places?
I’ve been having nighttime itching too. No idea why. My DOG does it too - perfectly fine when she’s busy but when either of us are idle, we scratch.
I attribute mine to either a reaction to a medication or the weather (cold air outside + dry air inside = itchy).
Anyway, DON’T take another shower at night, unless you take a cold one. Hot showers actually dry you out. A nice moisturizing body wash may help, or something for after the shower. Stay away from stuff with fragrance and/or alcohol because alcohol will dry. Something with oatmeal or aloe will help.
Whenever this happens to me, I look back on my day and realize that I took in very little water. If I get 8 glasses or so each day, I usually have no problem at night.
I have the same problem, especially with my scalp. I have tried the exema medications from doctors and had some relief, but not much. But then I tried, believe it or not, organic apple cider vinegar and it works incredibly well for me.
It is important to get organic as opposed to non-organic but even that works really well. Try it and I think you will find the relief you’re looking for.
I’ll join the chorus asking “where”. Also, what does it look like, and how does it respond to scratching (stop that!), heat or cold? Do you launder your own sheets, and are they washed in the same detergent/softener as everything you wear? When you wash them, are you making sure not to overload the washer so that they rinse thoroughly? (Most washers have trouble with getting sheets well rinsed - honestly, a queen top and flat with a couple of pillowcases is a full load!)
For what it’s worth, the Basic Rules of Dermatology are:
I. If you don’t know what it is, don’t touch it.
II. If you know what it is, don’t touch it.
III. If it’s too moist, dry it. (use a dilute solution of alcohol)
IV. If it’s too dry, moisten it. (use lotions)
V. If the patient is on steroids, take him off them.
VI. If the patient isn’t on steroids, put him on them.
VII. Try an antihistamine creme.
VIII. Try an oral antihistamine.
I’m not a huge fan of VII and VIII, by the way - while it can offer relief, it often masks the underlying problem. Better to find the root of the histamine response and eliminate that, if you can.
Topically, I do very much like chamomile and lavender essential oils in a bit of carrier oil or very neutral (dye free, fragrance free, preservative free) lotion.
I had a similar problem awhile a go, and it lasted for several weeks. I did everything that I could find to recommend, washed the sheets daily, vacuumed several times daily, tried antihistamines, lotion, anything I could get my hands on.
I never found out what it was, but eventually about two months after it started it just stopped. My mom had the same issue around the same time I did, and she never found out what it was either.
The best guess I have is that it was mites. I never saw any welts large enough to be bed bugs or other type of bites, but I did have red, irritated skin (hard to tell if it was just from the itching or something else).
Edited to add: The reason I think it was mites or something similar is that it only happened when I would lay down to sleep, or when I was on my couch for longer than a minute or so. The couch and bed are perfect places for mites to infest. I have since moved and I live in a house with hardwood floors, and I have not had any recurrence.
For those who’ve asked where.
Pretty much anywhere. Thighs, shins, face, head, arms.
It isn’t concentrated in ‘crevises’ so if anything it will actually happen less in the groin area than other places.
I also get RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) but there seems to be no cure for that other than getting out of bed and stretching the legs.
I do keep the temperature in my room warmer than outside. I tend to keep my windows open until such time as the damn birds start their morning chorus. (but by this time my itching stopped ages ago)
I get a fairly good amount of water in hot drinks and diet fizzy drinks, though they contain Caffeine which I believe cancels out any benefit of the water intake.
I drink about a pint of semi-skimmed milk before bed. (Silly question: Does milk contain water?)
One thing that’s weird about it is I never used to have this problem as bad as this. Either that or I just don’t remember it.
There are no rashes or anything on my body.
I wanted to get those facts out of the way before I read all the replies more carefully.
I can relieve it with anti-histemines (sp?) but importantly: I don’t want to become reliant on them. I don’t want to mask the problem I want to solve it.
Quick note here: lavender oil is well recognized for causing allergic contact dermatitis. Specifically the culprit allergens may be any one or combination of geraniol, linalool, or linalylacetate contained in the oil. Lavender is not recommended for sensitive or allergic skin, but it has been used traditionally as an anti-inflammatory.
For what it’s worth, I tend to itch at bedtime if I’ve had caffeine. If I cut the caffeine off mid-afternoon, I don’t itch. Try caffeine-free diet fizzy drinks after about, oh, 4 p.m. and see if that makes a difference. Can’t hurt.
From what I can find, *Lavandin *oil is the more common skin irritant. Lavender is still considered fine as long as proper dilution is followed. Problem is, Lavandin is sometimes used in place of Lavender or is an adulterant in Lavender, because Lavandin is cheaper, easier to grow and produces more scent per bushel. Purchasing from a reputable dealer and asking for your essential oils by Latin name should minimize these risks.
However, yes, ANY essential oil can be irritating to the skin and lavender’s no exception. All essential oils should be properly diluted with a carrier oil or lotion before application, to make a 1-10% solution, depending on the specific oil. Most people can handle lavender neat (undiluted), but not everyone can. (Nor do you often need it that strong, it’s usually a waste of essential oil if you don’t dilute it.)