I'm going to cut my hand off!!!?

This thread just shows how useless MN is for medical advice. Allergic reaction, arthritis, cellulitis, eczema, impetigo, herpes... everyone's trying to help but nobody really knows. Just go to your doctor, OP. Hope you feel better soon.

If you cut it off you may get phantom pain which is probably worse and longer lasting.

But the up side is that if it's the left hand I have spare prosthetics in various sizes.

OP can you make an appointment to see your GP and ask for a referral to rheumatology? I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis two years ago and this exactly how it started, and your photos look exactly the same as my fingers during a flare up. Your description of the combined itching and burning sensations are the same too.

I had to insist on a referral from my GP despite the fact that he didn’t know what the problem was, and eventually got a referral to a dermatologist, who took one look and referred me to rheumatology, who first suspected Lupus, but after blood tests and X rays eventually diagnosed the onset of RA.

i would urge you to do this sooner rather than later because the treatment of RA has changed a lot and if they catch it early enough the treatments are designed to make you more comfortable and also stop joint deterioration.

This is how my pomphylox always starts, it burns like a motherfucker!

'Pompholyx, also called dyshidrotic eczema, is a skin condition where you get itchy blisters on your hands and feet.

The main symptoms of pompholyx are itchy blisters on your palms, the sides of your fingers and sometimes the soles of your feet.

You can get treatments for pompholyx like emollients and antihistamines from a pharmacy. If these do not work, a GP may prescribe a steroid cream.

It's not clear what causes pompholyx, but things that may make it worse include some skin infections, certain metals and chemicals, and stress.'

💐

Looks like my pompholux eczema

Steroid cream might help itching but will not stop the reaction. You need to start with oral antihistamines. You can take Benadryl and something like Fexnofenadine together. If it doesn’t improve you might also need oral steroids. I just had a massive case of hives and that’s what was prescribed.

I rarely post, but the mention of steroid creams has made me log in to say, be careful with them – I was prescribed betnovate over 40 years ago, not told how to use it (very sparingly & I initially used it like a hand cream as the rash I had was intensely itchy) the cream stung, eventually made my hands crack open, but the main damage was it causes permanent thinning of the skin - & my hands are a red sore looking mess 40+ years later and will remain so. I went to Nelsons pharmacy in central London, no idea if they are still there now, and the pharmacist advised calendula cream – slightly antiseptic very mild and no issues (as far as I know). Nelsons version is available in Boots (might have to ask for it as its difficult to find) & on Amazon, its not expensive and is in a sealed tube. It won’t cure the rash nor the itching, its just something to put on that will cause no harm. I was told not to use vasaline (I was desperate at the time to put something on) as it would prevent the skin from healing. I also took piriton which helped a lot with the itching. You have to find out the cause, lots of suggestions, I also thought it might be a spider bite, can get bitten while sleeping. if it doesn’t get better fast I’d go and see the pharmacist and then a Doctor, the problem is doctors immediately try and prescribe steroid creams. I know they work for some people, did not for me, albeit using it like a hand cream didn’t help. My rash was caused by getting scratched by a sick cat with septacemia (well that is what the vet said) Sorry not that much help, but feel for you.

Is it bumpy? I suffer from contact dermatitis which looks a lot like that. I get it on my hands and feet and it comes on randomly but it's sooo itchy when it does.

Gosh that takes me back. Decades ago I burnt my hand on the iron. It wasnt even that big a burn but it KILLED for weeks. Kept me up at night. Would throb and throb, i really wanted to cut my hand off.
No help but wanted to say I feel your pain.

I get this too!!

Have you been to a pharmacist?
any chance it’s herpes?

AHH I've clearly misheard discoid eczema in the past and it was dyshidrotic eczema. And yes rings of small blisters and then the skin peels

My hand started like this when I had impetigo as a child. After about 3 days it blistered and spread.

I’d also say dyshydrotic eczema. As far as I know it only affects hands and feet. It’s horrible; really itchy and the liquid in the little blisters burns. Thankfully I don’t think I’ve had it since I stopped work.

A Dermo recommends this skin site to me there is a skin checker you can go through to check options of what it could be

dermnetnz.org/dermdiag

If it’s pompholix excema there will be lots of little blisters- I suffered from this (I’m not using the word suffering lightly) and the little blisters went crazy over a weekend and became huge- by the time I got to the GP on the Tuesday afternoon the GP was clearly horrified. I was prescribed a steroid & Epaderm cream. I can’t tell from the photo if there are lots of little blisters though. And I’m not a GP.

This. It looks like chilblains.

Contact dermatitis? Mine is usually caused by skincare or cosmetic ingredients. Last bout was after a tiny change in formula (without declaring it) in moisturiser I’ve used for years & it was terrible on both hands & face - I now check ingredients on every re-order. Steroid cream makes it worse for me so usually use antihistamines, ice packs (so it doesn’t actually get wet) and something plain like Nursem fragrance free hand cream. Be aware that every time you’re exposed to something you’ve developed an allergy to the reaction gets much worse. Mine is with salicylic acid, citric acid, AHA’s etc. Good luck getting it sorted & ask your nail bods if they used something different & see if there’s a connection to the last flare up so you can pinpoint what to avoid.
Edited to add - cold cucumber is also brilliant when the itching is unbearable, cools as well as having a skin healing compound in it!

Eurax cream to help with itching
Also try anthisan cream to help with allergic reaction

Another vote for pompholyx, aka dyshydrotic eczema. It comes up as insanely itchy red patches with rings of tiny blisters under the surface. When the blisters go down, the skin peels which can be sore, but the itching is mostly better at that stage. Affects hands and feet. In my experience, stress is a trigger.