Itching in your vaginal area is annoying at any time, but when it gets worse at night and affects your sleep it can really take a toll. 

You and your sleep don’t have to suffer, and you may not even have to worry. Let’s take a look at possible causes of nighttime vaginal itching, and you can decide if it’s time to call a doctor or if you might be safe treating the itching at home. 

Possible Causes of Vaginal Itching at Night

One initial point that may help ease your mind is that you may not actually be experiencing increased vaginal itching at night, but you may be noticing it more at night when you’re still, everything is quiet, and you have far fewer distractions. 

Regardless, vaginal itching during the day or night should be addressed. You can start by considering these common causes.

Infections that can cause vaginal itching

The following infections can cause vaginal itching, which may seem worse at night: 

• Yeast infection or other fungal infections
• Bacterial vaginosis
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Bacterial vaginosis and yeast infection cause itching and come with other symptoms like abnormal vaginal discharge and burning. Try the Monistat Symptom Checker to narrow down what the cause of your itching and other symptoms might be. Then talk to your doctor about treatment. The sooner you treat an infection, the better. 

If you’ve had a yeast infection before and are confident you have one again, you can get started with treatment at home. Choose from 1-day, 3-day and 7-day Monistat treatments or use our Product Selector to find the yeast infection treatment that is right for you.

Several STIs can cause vaginal itching too, including herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis (trich). It’s hard to know if your sexual partner has an STI because many don’t cause symptoms initially or don’t cause ones that would be obvious to you. There’s no shame in having an STI, so please call your doctor so you can get treatment or at least rule this out as a cause.

Bugs & parasites

Nobody likes to think about mites, bugs or parasites living on or in their skin, but these all can cause itching in your intimate area. They can be caused by close or skin-to-skin contact with infected individuals in a care setting, via sexual contact, or by using the same towels or bedding. The culprits include:

• Pubic lice (crabs)
• Scabies
• Pinworm

These bugs and parasites can transmit very easily to others, so getting care from your doctor quickly is important to stop the spread and to prevent complications.

Allergens & skin conditions

Did you recently change detergent or skin care products? Or did any of the product formulas change? Itching may be a sign of an allergy to certain chemicals, fragrances, or other ingredients that has yet to be diagnosed. 

Soaps, scented wipes, spermicides, lubricants, bubble baths and many other products contain common irritants that may cause itching. 

The good news is if you eliminate the product, you may also stop the itching. If you notice itching, redness or rashes in other areas too, you may want to visit your doctor to see if a skin condition, allergy or other immune response is causing your symptoms. 

Common health or skin conditions and autoimmune disorders that can cause itching include: 

• Eczema
• Psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis
• Lichen planus or lichen sclerosus
• Diabetes
• Thyroid disease
• Anemia
• Pregnancy

Of course, skin also loses water at night causing dryness that can lead to itching or make subtle itching feel worse. 

If you suspect an allergy, health issue, or skin condition may be causing your nighttime vaginal itching, keep track of when the itching occurs and what products you’ve used beforehand that might be triggering it. You can share this information with your doctor to help with diagnosis.

Menopause and vaginal itching

It’s important to note as you enter into menopause and beyond, your skin becomes thinner and drier and the lining of your vagina becomes thinner and drier too. This alone can cause vaginal itching that gets worse at night as well as discomfort. And it’s due to the lower levels of estrogen and declining collagen that occur as women age. 

Talk to your doctor or gynecologist as there are topical and systemic treatments that can help.