Itchy Hands At Night: 13 Causes and Remedies

Do you have trouble sleeping at because of itchy hands at night? Itchy hands at night happen regularly and are severe enough to disrupt your sleeping patterns. It occurs daily to some people. Many victims of this itchy hands at night end up ignoring it as any kind of itch. If it happens regularly, it is no longer a simple itch.

Here are some of the facts about itchy hands at night that you might not know.

Temperature variations can cause it. Which usually gets intense at night and sometimes during the daytime.

There are so many theories developed in different cultures to explain causes of itchy hands at night.

Itchy hands at night have several causes.

Table of Contents

Causes of Itchy hands at night:

This condition has a wide number of causes. I have listed quite a good number below;

Allergies
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Primary biliary cirrhosis
Contact dermatitis
Palmar hyperhidrosis
Fungal infections
Trauma
Scabies
Eczema
Dry skin
Psoriasis
Pitted keratolysis
Athlete’s foot
Sweaty sock syndrome
Diabetes
Wounds

Before we look into every causative factor above, there are several superstitions known worldwide as causes of itchy hands at night. However, I will go into only two of the many.

The first one is that itchy palms at night, in some cultures is believed that the dead are trying to greet you. Some known dead ancestor could be trying to communicate a message of hope to you.

This superstition cannot be true as we all know that there are no means through which the death can physically contact a living person. In some religions, the above superstition is still held in higher esteem.

The second theory is associated with money in that, someone you owe wants their money back. Usually signified by an itch in the left hand. An itch in the right hand would mean that someone who owes you is going to pay their debt.

Scientifically the above are theories which have no logical proof.

We move to the scientifically explained causes of itchy hands at night.

Wounds on hands:

When the skin is wounded, it forms pus in the wound. This pus would cause a burning sensation in the areas of the wound, and since the body is active during the day, the pus formation itches more at night.

Allergies:

Our bodies are known to react negatively to some foods and substances in a process known as allergic reactions. For those who have allergies, the body may react by causing an itchy sensation on parts of the hands. This may be intense at night-itchy hands at night.

Systemic lupus erythematosus:

The human body is programmed such that it fights off diseases on its own. All these are mechanisms that the body uses to keep its health and nourishment. However, there are cases when the body fights within itself. These happen when somebody parts behave as foreign objects in the body.

Under such cases, the body enacts its defence and acts on the body defensively. There are many such autoimmune diseases. These diseases have been given a common term ‘lupus’. These are diseases that have relatively similar characteristics.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic disease characterized by phases with lengthened duration of the infection. These infection keeps getting more acute with phases.

A wide range of symptoms characterizes this disease; joint pain, swelling in the joints, headaches, anaemia and blood clotting problems.

Systemic lupus erythematosus leads to a condition known as, Raynaud’s phenomenon. This condition leads to whitening of fingers and tingling in a cold environment. This would initiate itchiness of the hands. This condition is common at night when the environment is cold-itchy hands at night.

Carpal tunnel syndrome:

Ever asked yourself the initial cause of itchy hands at night? The hands are controlled through nerves that facilitate it sensitivity and movements. The nerve known as the median nerve performs these functions. These nerves pass through the palm of your hand.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by swelling in the wrist. These would cause a compression within carpal tunnels. These are characterized by weakness at the wrists and the palms, dullness and itchiness on the palms.

Primary biliary cirrhosis:

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a disease associated with the liver and the bile. The liver manufactures bile that is transported into the gallbladder. This bile is transported into the gallbladder and small intestines through ducts in the liver known as bile ducts.

Sometimes due to many causes, there can be leakages in the ducts, and the bile can accumulate in the liver. This disease is characterized by; weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, and itchiness. This itchiness can be replicated in the hands.

Contact dermatitis:

The skin has layers that range from the outer layer-epidermis to the inner one. The dermis is one of the skin layers. The skin has repulsive mechanisms that respond to antigens.

The body can be allergic to many factors both in the environment and medications. Contact dermatitis is a skin condition caused by an allergic reaction of the body to substances that the body comes in contact with.

The skin part of the hand can be itchy when one touches or when one’s hand comes in contact with these allergens. Example to this allergen is the latex. Though not all people suffer this kind of allergy.

Palmar hyperhidrosis:

Palmar hyperhidrosis? Yes, this is a scientific term used to refer to sweaty hands. There are many well-known causes of sweaty hands. However, this condition is not hazardous but is known to cause discomforts.

There are several symptoms of this condition. Some of the major causes to palmar hyperhidrosis are sweating of hands and peeling of the skin parts.

Phases characterize this condition. There are phases under which the hands sweat profusely while there are those under which the hands sweat moderately in the form of drips.

These sweats cause tingles in the hands then itchiness.

Fungal infections:

Fungal infections that affect the hands can be a cause of itch in the hands. These are diseases that are caused by fungus. Many bacteria and fungus are living on our skin. Some are harmful while others are beneficial to us.

Beneficial bacteria and fungus on the skin are those that exhibit positive existence to the body. One of this positive existence in the body is those that function to regulate the number of fungus and bacteria.

Candidiasis is a fungal infection. This condition is caused by an excessive growth of the fungus candida on the skin. They are witnessed on skin folds.

Symptoms of this infection include red rashes on the skin and itchiness. When the area of infection is on the hands, it causes itchiness on the skin.

Scabies:

There are small microorganisms called itch mites; they are scientifically known as Sarcoptes scabei. These microorganisms can cause a highly contagious skin disease called scabies characterized by itchiness.

This condition is transmitted through direct skin contact with infected persons. Even though the disease has other means through which it can be transmitted, sexual intercourse is a common means with an infected sex partner.

Small red bumps, blisters and skin rashes are some of the common symptoms of this infection.

Persistent itchy hands at night is a common symptom of this infection. When the skin parts on the hands are infected, it causes a relentless itch.

Eczema:

Eczema is a skin condition that sums up all skin infections. Its cause has not been established however it is related to a wide range of causative factors that would exhibit infestation characteristics. Common symptoms of this infection are; redness and rashes on your skin.

This condition causes an itchy effect on the part of the infection. When the hand is the infected part of the skin, you may tend to experience itchy hands at night.

Dry skin:

When the skin is dehydrated, it is in a condition that is termed ‘dry’ and is then said to be dry skin. Dry skin’s effects can be whitening of the skin and itchiness in the skin. This leads to itchy hands at night.

Psoriasis:

Psoriasis is a skin disorder that leads to the scaling of the skin. It is a chronic disease that causes inflammation of the skin and itchy hands at night. Inherited genes cause it.

Diabetes:

What is diabetes? Diabetes is a condition that is associated with excess/low sugar level in the body. Other causes of diabetes can be hormonal imbalances, overweight and genetic inheritance within a family.

Diabetes is characterized by fatigue, weakness, body overweight, difficulty in breathing and itchy skin. Itchy hands at night being a characteristic of diabetes can also be suffered.

Remedies of Itchy hands at night:

Itchy hands at night it is caused by many factors will replicate the same to many causes. Several infections that cause itchy hands at night and Itchy feet at night have different treatments. However, most of these diseases are cured medicinally, and others have home remedies.

Diabetes, for example, is cured through medicinal drugs and by regulating the amounts of fats we ingest.