Advice needed: How do you stop yourself from scratching at night when you have eczema (or any other similar extremely itchy skin ailment)

Wow that must be really difficult to deal with and you have my sympathies. Up until I read the last part of your post gloves were the first thing which popped into my mind.

However, this may sound a little off but I still wonder if there is a way to use gloves.

Have you tried using masking tape or possibly even duct tape to affix them to your wrists? It probably won’t be that comfortable but I imagine the discomfort from the results of scratching during sleep would be worse. I’m assuming that the intricacy of movement required to unwrap those layers of tape would be enough to wake you up sufficiently to prevent further damage. Just a thought.

E45 cream applied to the areas or Umguentum m cream also that well known bab cream sudocrem works well .

when i had eczema below my belly button i used decoderm tri. worked really well.
also i’d say if they prescribe you meds that don’t work, I’d say they misdiagnose you. It was that way with my eczema. went to a doctor, prescribed me meds, didn’t work. went to another doctor (my former family doctor), diagnosed something different, prescribed me different meds, worked.

My suggestion was going to be to put on the anti itch cream and then the gloves.

Be careful what kind of gloves you use, because if you have a latex sensitivity some elastics could be irritating and make the itch even worse.

Maybe use the wraps that boxers use for sparring… that would be harder to peel off while sleeping – just don’t wrap them super-tight.

If unguents sometimes work, I wonder if you have ever tried Bag Balm. It’s made for cow’s udders, but it’s not gross, it comes in a little tin, and it’s mostly lanolin. It’s not medicated.

I have psoriasis and dendritis and it’s a real bitch, lemme tell ya, so I empathize completely. When it flares up, it itches in a way that only people with this kind of skin condition can understand.. I definitely have drawn blood by scratching.

The things that work for me..

* Use a petroleum-based moisturizer, like Eucerin, within 3 minutes of getting out of the shower. This will help prevent drying/moisture loss.

* Avoid taking hot showers/baths and use dish gloves when washing dishes. The hot water will dry your skin out even more.

* Use a good antihistamine cream (think not dollar store). When it’s super bad, this doesn’t always help, but it does usually take the flare up down a notch or three, making it way less itchy.

* Use a corticosteroid on the really bad flare ups that don’t respond to the antihistamine cream. I’ve used Olux for years and it’s very effective for me. However, this sounds like it may not work for you, but I mention it because the term “steroid” is a bit vague (there are a bunch of different kinds) and in case your doc hasn’t tried Olux or another corticosteroid.

Good luck.. I hope it gets better!

Do you have a thyroid problem. My girlfriend who has eczema most of her life on and off, was having a really bad episode, when she went to the doctor to get some new cream, at the docs office they also checked her thryoid and it was normal, but TSH was towards the low side, so she cut back on her meds, and her eczema cleared. That doesn’t really answer your question directly, I can only imagine what you go through, I have ripped open every mosquito bit I have ever had in my entire life! About the thyroid. I get very dry eyes, dry falling out of my head hair, and dry skin when my TSH is still in normal, but below 1.8 more or less. Most docs think 1.8 is an excellent number.

I swear by the Green tin of Vermont’s Original Bag Balm. Buy yourself the thin cotton gloves sold in hobby stores and wrap your hands up after slathering before bed. This stuff has saved my tempermental/rash plagued dry skin and I live in Arizona.

I, too, sympathize, as I spent most of my childhood with eczema, and now have psoriasis. Most of my life I have woken up in the morning with blood on my sheets from my scratching and have sometimes ended up with nasty skin infections.

Do you know why you have eczema? Mine turned out to be related to allergies so a combination of many years of allergy shots plus Benedryl has pretty much cleared up the eczema and has reduced the psoriasis to only three spots. There is one exception: chlorine (and bromine) makes my eczema come back. I must stay out of swimming pools and, when it is really bad, used distilled water for washing.

I have also had some luck with Vitamin E oil for moisturizing, and I use Cetaphil or a generic equivalent instead of soap.

Good luck!

Aw, I’m so sorry! That sounds awful!

Have you tried slathering your hands with steroid or deep moisturizing creams right before you go to sleep, and then putting some gloves over that? What kind of gloves did you use, by the way?

Like @Darwin, I was also misdiagnosed repeatedly by “specialists”. First they told me I had ringworm, and later eczema/dermatitis. It turned out to be an allergy (that still hasn’t been properly diagnosed) but my best guess is that it’s to Sodium Laurel and Laureth Sulfates and Meryth Sulfates. (Probably other stuff too). You might try switching to a super-mild soap, (like using Dove sensitive skin body wash) to wash your hands, on the off-chance it might help. The fact that you said the steroid creams don’t help makes me think it’s something different.

I cna’t offer any help from personal experience – my itchy skin disease only lasted for a short time. But it was horrible, and I hope you find a way to cure your eczema. You might be interested in this article, about the itch sensation. One woman in the article couldn’t stop from itching her scalp while she was sleeping at night, even with gloves, and scratched through her skull to her brain.

What about those moisturizing gloves have you tried them ?

@sandystrachan Nope I haven’t tried moisturising gloves before but the concept sounds interesting..

Also, thanks all for the advice (it’s been really good advice) but… I was wondering whether there was actually a way to stop the itching without having to go out and buy medicines/creams. Moisturisers are still fine but I’m not sure about other stuff. However, I might just take up the tighter gloves piece of advice. My only worry is that I’ll end up suffocating the skin at night if it’s latex or any other non-porous material.

@wildpotato A very interesting article (both physiologically and philosophically speaking)... I might just try out mirror treatment myself. Haha.

@Saturated_Brain – It probably will not improve on its own, though you can try moisturizing, changing your diet, and experimenting with different soaps/detergents/cleaning chemicals. You’ll most likely just keep getting flare-ups until you treat it with something. Pick up a tube of antihistamine cream when you’re out grocery shopping or whatever, it’s not that hard or expensive. :)

How Can Eczema Flare-ups Be Prevented? (from here)

Eczema outbreaks can usually be avoided or the severity lessened by following these simple tips.

* Moisturize frequently
* Avoid sudden changes in temperature or humidity
* Avoid sweating or overheating
* Reduce stress
* Avoid scratchy materials, such as wool
* Avoid harsh soaps, detergents, and solvents
* Avoid environmental factors that trigger allergies (for example, pollen, mold, dust mites, and animal dander)

What Is the Treatment for Eczema?

The goal of treatment for eczema is to relieve and prevent itching, which can lead to infection. Since the disease makes skin dry and itchy, lotions and creams are recommended to keep the skin moist. These solutions are usually applied when the skin is damp, such as after bathing, to help the skin retain moisture. Cold compresses may also be used to relieve itching.

Over-the-counter products—such as hydrocortisone—or prescription creams and ointments containing stronger corticosteroids are often prescribed to reduce inflammation. For severe cases, your doctor may prescribe short courses of oral corticosteroids. In addition, if the affected area becomes infected, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to kill the infection-causing bacteria.

Other eczema treatments include antihistamines to reduce severe itching, tar treatments (chemicals designed to reduce itching), phototherapy (therapy using ultraviolet light applied to the skin), and the drug cyclosporine for people whose condition doesn’t respond to other treatments.

@Saturated_Brain – You can’t suffocate your skin, no matter what Ian Fleming claimed in Goldfinger. Human skin is air- and water-proof, which is what allows us to live on land.

As far as I know the only way to really stop itching permanently is to destroy the appropriate nerves, and you really don’t want to do that. Lidocaine and benzocaine be aware that some people are allergic to benzocaine are numbing agents that can stop itching but they will sting if the skin is already broken.

Your best bet is to find out what is causing the eczema and work on that. Have you ever had allergy testing? The old fashioned kind where they poke your back with a huge number of needles? That can tell you what things you are allergic to so you can avoid them. Many cases of eczema are the result of allergies, while others result from touching the wrong stuff, and still others are caused by immune system

My eczema was originally caused by eating certain foods which I now avoid, exposure to chlorine and bromine in swimming pools sadly I no longer swim anywhere but in natural lakes, which are few and far between where I live, and exposure to mice and mold I quit working in a place where live mice were raised to feed snakes and I stay out of the garage.

Then you might try these things

”-Try fragrance free detergent or double rinse clothes.

-Avoid fabric softeners, especially dryer sheets.

-Use moderate water temperatures in showers and baths.

-Keep cool and wear soft breathable fabrics.

-If you have to scratch, try rubbing or pressure instead.

-Avoid spreading infection and bacteria with your fingernails.

-Keep well hydrated with water, especially if taking medication for itching.”

And, if you don’t already know, you should find out what kind of eczema you have, so you can do a better job of avoiding triggers. A doctor can also prescribe medications that can clear up or lessen your current case so you have a chance of starting over.

Also, here are accounts of what other people have done to reduce problems with eczema.

Clarins makes a very good hand moisturizer special for nighttime.

@Darwin gives excellent advice. I wish my dermatologist had told me what she said. I had to figure it all out the hard way.

@Saturated_Brain: If you don’t mind me asking, what kind/brand of hand soap do you normally use?

@Darwin Just like @La_chica_gomela said, great advice. I’ll take a closer look at those in a while (kinda busy right now).

But just to clarify, when I said suffocate skin, I didn’t mean in the Goldfinger way (thinking of putting gold paint on my eczema is making me cringe). I meant that my hands would be a in stale environment (ie inside the gloves [especially thick gloves]) and there wouldn’t be much air circulation, causing sweat to collect on my hands. And if sweat really is that bad for eczema.. Well… I wouldn’t really want to find out what happens..

@La_chica_gomela I don’t really care anymore since it never seemed to make a difference. When I used to care about it, I tried to always use Dove. But now… Pretty much whatever soap is in the bathroom.

In my experience sweat makes eczema burn in a way that is exclusive to eczema. That was one of the reasons I really hated summer when I was a kid. I had it on the backs of my knees and in the crooks of my elbows and it would burn like fire.

And instead of soap try Cetaphil. It gets the dirt off fine but doesn’t dry out the skin at all.

@Darwin You can’t suffocate your skin, no matter what Ian Fleming claimed in Goldfinger. Human skin is air- and water-proof, which is what allows us to live on land. Hm, but I thought that part of the reason you die when they tar-and-feather you is because you slowly suffocate (in addition, of course, to the horrible burning). I mean, it’s not like we breathe like frogs, right, but isn’t there some measure of airflow happening?

@wildpotato: I’m pretty sure it’s just the horrible burning. You don’t suffocate when you go scuba diving, do you?

@wildpotato – Nope, absolutely no air goes through your skin. Death from tar and feathering happens when the tar is applied hot over bare skin, resulting in 3rd degree burns over any part of the body that it touches. Either shock, fluid loss, or ensuing infection is the actual agent of death. The feathers are really just decoration in this case.

Another cause of death by being tarred and feathered would be a mortal heart attack or stroke as a result of being accused, manhandled, and possibly being made to run, as in “being run out of town on a rail.”

However, being tarred and feathered is quite survivable depending on how it is done. If it is done “genteelly,” that is over the victim’s clothing, the resulting burns are perhaps only 1st or 2nd degree and much less in extent. Thus the person survives. However, it is really hard to get the tar off, and so whatever they did they would not do again. At least not on that town.

Interestingly enough, tar and feathering really began here in the United States as a way to shame those who worked with the British during the 18th century and to intimidate British tax collectors No taxation without representation! You can read more about it here.

Hmm.. Thanks guys. I’ll have to relook over the advice to see what I can implement and how I can implement it in my life. =)

@Darwin Yeah, that scene in Deadwood was painful to watch – though not as bad as the one in the John Adams miniseries. Oh, and I just remembered where I got the idea that the tar suffocates you – from the children’s book Sarah Bishop (see p. 35). Rereading it now I see how the gasping could be from suffering and dying, but it seemed to imply suffocation to my young mind, I guess. Can’t believe I can actually look at this page in this book, that I had completely forgotten about for at least 12 years, in less than one minute of thinking about doing so. Yay, internet.

Hmm.. Okay.. New update. I think I see a pattern with my night itchiness. It seems like whenever I get stressed I tend to scratch more. The past few nights I haven’t been scratching because I gave myself a goal and also because I was feeling quite up about life (I was also using some cream that the doctors gave me the last time). Then just last night because I had something really important on today I scratched quite hard in the night.

I suppose that I’ll try to be happier. Seems to help. =)

If you ever feel like trying something entirely new, buy a tube of ASAP silver gel and Silver Biotics Patented Silver liquid. Take 2 teaspoons of the liquid in the morning and two in the afternoon. Put the gel on your hands at bedtime. I feel really sorry for you. My daughter had to have treatments in the dr’s office in a tanning bed and her feet are ok now. They were peeling really badly for weeks. PM me if you want me to ask her any questions for you. She’s a nurse.