Oct
Have you ever woken up with specks of blood on your pillowcase and skin under your fingernails, with no memory of scratching at all? Or peeped into your child’s room at 2am to find the gloves you put on them at bedtime lying at the foot of the bed?
Night scratching is extremely common, extremely hard to resist, and keeps our skin from healing fully. That’s why I get this question a lot: which should I buy, gloves, mittens or sleeves? While they look similar, they do quite different jobs.
So, today let’s sort out what each one does, and which one fits your situation.
Why You Scratch More at Night
During the day, you’re busy and distracted, so you can usually stop yourself. At night, scratching becomes a reflex. You aren’t choosing to do it, which is exactly why willpower doesn’t help.
The trouble is that scratching damages the skin barrier, and damaged skin itches more. One bad night can undo days of careful moisturising.
Gloves, mittens and sleeves don’t stop the itch. But what they do is put a soft layer between your nails and your skin, so the scratching does less damage. That gives the skin a chance to heal, and as it heals, the itch usually settles too.
Gloves, Mittens and Sleeves: What Each One Actually Does
Bamboo Eczema Gloves
These are the ones most people start with, and for good reason. They’re five-fingered, so you can still use your hands, but your nails are covered.
Our Adult Bamboo Eczema Gloves are 95% bamboo and 5% lycra, made by a Norwegian brand and recommended by the Norwegian Asthma and Allergy Association. Bamboo stays smooth and soft wash after wash, where cotton gloves tend to go rough, and it feels cooler on the skin in our humidity. They do two jobs at night: they keep your nails off your skin, and they keep your moisturiser on your hands instead of on your bedsheets.
They come in S to XL for adults, and there are Children Bamboo Eczema Gloves for ages 3 to 8.
The limit: they’re gloves, so they come off. A determined sleeper (or a determined four-year-old) can pull them off in the night.
Valerie, a physiotherapy student in our community, had hand eczema that made her hold back from touching her course mates during practice. She applied emu oil and wore bamboo gloves to bed, and by the next morning the dry, peeling skin on her fingers had visibly improved.
Organic Cotton Fingerless Gloves
These are for the daytime. The Allergy-Free Organic Cotton Fingerless Gloves cover your palms and wrists but leave your fingertips free, so you can type, use your phone and get on with your day. They’re 100% undyed organic cotton with no latex or elastane, approved by Allergy UK, and cut extra long to protect the wrist.
The limit: your fingertips are free, so these won’t stop scratching. They protect sore hands from friction and irritants during the day, and they keep cream in place.
Eczema Mittens and Mitten Sleeves (for Children)
Mittens have no separate fingers, which makes them much harder to scratch through. The problem with ordinary baby mittens is that toddlers pull them off. Mitten sleeves solve that by attaching the mitten to a sleeve, so there’s nothing loose to tug at.
The Eczema Mitten Sleeves by Bamboo Bubby are made from a bamboo, organic cotton and silk blend, with a smooth silk mitten that flips open or closed. During the day your child can flip them open to play, eat and go to the toilet. At night you close them. They come in sizes from 6 months to 6 years.
For older children, the Children Eczema Mitten Sleeves Tee by Cotton Comfort builds the mittens into a 100% organic cotton T-shirt, with a close-fitting neckline so it’s harder to scratch inside the collar. We chose the thinner fabric for Singapore’s heat. Sizes run from 7 to 14 years.
Saifuddin’s four-year-old daughter used to scratch the backs of her knees until they bled, and the family was bandaging her every night. The first few nights in mitten sleeves were hard; she cried and pulled at them. But within weeks, she was asking to wear them herself before bed, and after a month her skin had closed up.
Stay-On Scratch Mitts for Adults
Adults pull gloves off in their sleep too. ScratchSleeves are a cardigan-style top in loose, dye-free stretch cotton, with 100% silk mitts sewn onto the ends of the sleeves. Because the mitts are attached to the garment, they stay on all night. They’re made by a UK brand founded by parents of a child with severe eczema, and they’re endorsed by Allergy UK.
The limit: the mitts are sewn closed and can’t be opened, so this is a night-time (or rest-day) garment. You won’t be using your phone in them. Sizes run XS to L, and XS fits most children over 12.
Eczema Sleeves
Sleeves cover the arms or legs, not the hands. They’re for when the damage is happening on your inner elbows, forearms or behind the knees. They protect the skin from your nails, keep moisturiser in place, and act as a constant reminder not to scratch.
We stock silk DermaSilk Tubulars and 100% organic cotton Allergy-Free Arm Sleeves, both in adult and children’s sizes. I’ve covered the differences between them, plus fit, fabric and wet wrapping, in my post What You Need To Know About Eczema Sleeves, so I won’t repeat it all here.
The limit: sleeves leave the hands free, so if you scratch with your fingers, you’ll usually want gloves as well.
What about Gloves in a Bottle?
Gloves in a Bottle isn’t a glove at all. It’s a shielding lotion that bonds with the outer layer of your skin to form an invisible barrier, lasting around 4 to 6 hours. It’s for the times when fabric isn’t practical, like handwashing at work or wet work at home. It won’t stop scratching, but it protects hands from the irritants that start the itch. (My hand eczema guide explains how to use it.)
At a Glance
- Bamboo gloves: night scratching on the hands, keeping moisturiser on. Mostly night. Adults and children 3–8. S$25.90 a pair, or S$46.90 for two.
- Organic cotton fingerless gloves: protecting sore hands while you work. Day. Teens and adults. S$23.90.
- Mitten sleeves: babies and toddlers who pull gloves off. Night, flip open by day. 6 months to 6 years. S$47.90.
- Mitten sleeves tee: older children who scratch at night. Night, flip open by day. 7 to 14 years. S$54.90.
- ScratchSleeves stay-on mitts: adults who pull gloves off in their sleep. Night. Teens and adults. S$48.90.
- Arm and leg sleeves: inner elbows, forearms, behind the knees. Day or night. Adults and children. From S$30.90 for two.
- Gloves in a Bottle (lotion): wet work and handwashing. Day. All ages. From S$24.90.
Which One Do You Need? Start With Your Situation
You’re an adult, and you scratch your hands in your sleep. Start with bamboo gloves. Apply your moisturiser, then put the gloves on over it. Most people find this is enough.
You’re an adult, and you wake up with the gloves off. Move to ScratchSleeves. Attached mitts are the only reliable answer for people who strip off gloves without knowing it.
Your baby or toddler pulls gloves off. Go straight to mitten sleeves. Our children’s gloves start at age three anyway, and with the mitten attached to the sleeve, there’s nothing loose to tug.
Your child is older and still scratching at night. For ages 3 to 8, children’s bamboo gloves usually work if they’ll keep them on. If they won’t, the mitten sleeves tee covers 7 to 14.
The damage is on your arms or legs, not your hands. Use sleeves on the affected limb. If you’re still breaking the skin through the sleeve, add gloves at night so your nails are covered too.
You need your hands free during the day. Use fingerless cotton gloves for dry work like typing, and Gloves in a Bottle for wet work or frequent handwashing.
Your hands are cracked and dry, and you want them to heal overnight. Apply a few drops of Y-Not Natural Pure Emu Oil, then bamboo gloves on top. The gloves keep the oil on your skin for the whole night, which is when your skin does most of its repair.
Making Them Work in Singapore’s Heat
Choose breathable fabric. A glove that traps sweat will make you itch, which defeats the purpose. That’s why everything above is bamboo, cotton or silk, and nothing synthetic. Even so, if your hands get hot at night, keep the bedroom cool and use a thin layer of moisturiser rather than a thick one under the gloves.
Buy two. One pair on, one pair in the wash. If you only have one, you’ll end up skipping nights, and consistency is what lets the skin heal. (This is the honest reason we sell the bamboo gloves in pairs of two.)
Wash them often. Moisturiser and skin build up in the fabric. The bamboo gloves can be machine washed at up to 60°C, and ScratchSleeves at 40°C. Check each product’s care instructions, and use a fragrance-free detergent so you’re not putting new irritants back against your skin.
Housework. Bamboo gloves can go under rubber gloves when you’re washing up, which protects your hands from sweat and from latex if you react to it.
Give it a few nights. Children especially will protest at first. Saifuddin’s daughter cried the first few nights, and then asked for her mittens on her own. Stick with it.
What Gloves Can’t Do
Gloves, mittens and sleeves protect your skin from scratching. But they don’t treat eczema, and they don’t remove whatever is causing the itch.
They work best as part of a routine: gentle cleansing, keeping broken skin clean, moisturising, and working out your triggers. If you’re using a cream your doctor prescribed, keep using it as directed. A glove can go on over it.
And if you’re scratching hard enough to get through the fabric, that’s a sign the itch itself needs attention, not just a thicker glove.
When Should You See a Doctor?
Please see a doctor if:
- You or your child are scratching through gloves or mittens most nights, and the skin isn’t improving
- The skin is oozing yellow or greenish fluid, crusting, or feels hot and swollen
- There’s a fever alongside worsening skin
- The itch is costing you (or the whole household) sleep night after night
- Your child’s eczema is spreading or you’re not sure what’s causing it
Your GP or a polyclinic can refer you to a dermatologist at the National Skin Centre if you need further assessment.
Don’t Lose Another Night to Scratching
Night scratching wears everyone down: the person with eczema, and often everyone else in the house too. But it’s one of the more fixable parts of eczema. Pick the protection that matches your situation, use it every night, and give your skin a fortnight or so to show you the difference.
If you’re not sure which one is right for you or your child, feel free to reach out. Tell me where the scratching happens and who it’s for, and I’ll help you choose.
