Hand infected (Warning, gross photos)

[PIPpityDoodah]

I do have another thread on this but I've been on antibiotics since Thursday and it's just getting worse.

It's still hot and new puss filled blisters are appearing.

Shouldn't the antibiotics have kicked in by now?

It's so sore and embarrassing

I don't have a single sepsis symptom.

I'm not spending 8 hours in A&E when I'm in a virtual que to he seen by a Dr right now.

I've recieved a txt message to upload a photo, which I've done so the Doctor will have seen it and I'm going to ask to be seen in person

I don’t you need to go to ED. The initial pictures look like pomphylyx and it now looks like psoriasis or eczema.
It wants a GP review in the next 48 hours

Op, you start a thread saying that your hand is infected, that it is hot with pus filled blisters and that you are on antibiotics.
Quite rightly given your description and how it’s spread since the initial phone consultation, people have advised to go to a&e because of the sepsis risk.
Yet you don’t want to sit for 8 hours so why on earth did you post?

It looks like infected dermatitis? I would think it needs a steroid cream and different antibiotics. Keep it clean and dry, no savlon or similar.

Try the pharmacist - they can prescribe some medications

I wonder if its a fungal infection, more by the way its spread.

I have had pompolyx eczema that looks that bad in the past, it's probably severe dermatitis or pompolyx that has got infected.

I recently went to a walk-in clinic with a minor (in my view) thumb infection. It was taken really seriously and I was referred to A&E where it was also taken very seriously.

You can't wait for the symptoms of sepsis as it is then too late. Also, there is a really important tendon running from your thumb to your hand - they were obsessed with it and any possible damage.

If you are in London then the Royal Free has a specialist emergency department for this.

I am certainly not diagnosing you, but trying to explain that A&E may be the best option even if it is inconvenient.

I thought someone might know what it is or had a similar reaction from fabric softener!

Anyways the Dr has prescribed me some much stronger antibiotics and said if I start to feel unwell or get a temperature go to A&E but he said as I feel fine there's absolutely no reason to do that right now

So I'm off to collect the antibiotics and he said they should make an improvement pretty fast.

Also I can book in with my GP for a check in, in 48 hours if there's not a marked improvement.

You are prone to pompholyx and used bleach without gloves!

This is your skin telling you exactly what it thought of that decision. You should be only washing your hands with emollient and using gloves for any housework.

Pompholyx needs much stronger steroid than hydrocortisone. The comment about using a watering can to fight a forest fire is spot on.

The other big thing to look for is it tracking down your veins. They go a bit red when this happens.

It's probably the bleach that maybe splashed on your hand that caused it.

Google herpetic Whitlow. Looks similar with a similar progression to me

I’ve had neat bleach on my hands loads of times and have never sustained chemical burns from it. At most, a slightly dry patch of skin.

Ultimately nobody here actually has a clue what it is, and the OP has called 111 is waiting for advice, so it’s being dealt with.

You need antibiotic cream as well. I wouldn’t delay seeing a doctor.

It's not a chemical burn.

It's pompholyx ezcema gone nuts because of contact with bleach and then not being treated effectively afterwards - pompholyx laughs in the face of hydrocortisone.

It needs strong steroids and a shit load of emollient. OP has already got the antibiotics.

My god I get this! I've never met anyone else that does.

Hideous.

I saw a Harley St doctor many years ago and was put on oral anti virals I used to get it so bad!

Bleach without gloves would cause dermatitis which looks like that and then an infection on top. It would take 48 to 36 hrs of antibiotics to start seeing any worsening then it will start to reduce. DD had a skin infection recently.

Infected scabies?

It does look like infected pompholyx. Hope stronger antibiotics will sort it out. Blisters shouldn't really be popped because it increases the risk of infection. I find calendula zinc cream really helps (not when it's as infected as this obviously).

I agree it looks like pompholyx. I get it (having a flare-up at the moment) and it spreads into a large annular rash with raised borders. Soap, sweat or contact with cleaning chemicals sets mine off. The blisters can get infected which looks like what is happening here.

Herpetic whitlow tends to form on one finger, around the nail apparently, and affects at a rate of 2 in 100 000 in the US so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

I'd see your GP in the morning.

I hope you're ok Op as that looks really nasty.

Its not a burn I worked in a burns unit for years, its either dermatitis or psoriasis.

Could it be fungal ?

Only on Mumsnet is every symptom - and lack of symptom - sepsis. It can never just be an infection.

OP, you did the right thing using the 111 service and speaking with a doctor. I hope the new antibiotics work better.