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

Thanks. Just took first one so hopefully will work!

This is EXTREMELY gross but for any sporners, the blisters are so weird. You can see each little tiny spot underneath
Do not click if eating or don't like yucky things!!

I absolutely will not do it but it's so hard not to pop them 🤣

From the closeups, that looks exactly like pompholyx. I've got some on my palm right now. Some of your blisters have got infected.

It looks like Dyshidrotic eczema, which is something I get on my feet. I believe (and not a medical professional) that it can start from a reaction to something and be weather/ stress/ allergy related. It’s like hard lumps that are extremely itchy and they have puss in them.
Have you scratched them and they’ve got worse?

Sure your GP will sort it out x

You say you wore gloves, were they latex as this can cause an allergic reaction

I was going to say this. My dd had impetigo on her fingers when she was 9.

Yes.

I scratched the shit out of them wjen they appeared so I'm probably to blame for the infection 😮‍💨

It looks like the pompolyx/Dyshidrotic eczema that I have had on my hands and feet, I used to get it a lot when younger, 20-45, I'm in my 60s now and just get very small bits on my hands occasionally, not sure if it might be you get it more at certain ages. Its intensely itchy and I used to get a bit of relief if I scratched the blisters which of course you shouldn't do. Sometimes I used to get it on my feet in the summer if they got hot in shoes.

Hi, what stopped it happening? It’s driving me crazy currently! X

I don't know but I got it really bad in my 20s, 30s and 40s, on my hands and feet but I haven't had it much for about 20 years now, not sure if It's my age, sometimes things affect younger or older people more, or if it's that I'm more careful and get less stressed, I wear marigolds for doing most things. I still occasionally get very small bits of it on my hands but it quickly clears up without treatment.

Following

I want to cry

Woke up with more of the pompholyx spots on my palm.

They're so itchy 😫

I want to chop.my hand off now. This is ridiculous

And I've just tried to get an appointment at GP and they're full so how do I treat the pompholyx spots

Do you have any steroid cream other than the hydrocortisone at home? It looks like you can buy Eumovate at a pharmacy which is stronger.

Mine reduced significantly when I switched from liquid soap to Pears bar soap.

@PIPpityDoodah the treatment is usually a thin layer of steroid cream a couple of times a day. You can get hydrocortisone cream at the pharmacy, over the counter. You'll likely need a stronger steroid cream from the GP but it will help in the meantime. Mine clear up very quickly with the cream they give me.

Emollient creams and antihistamines will help, plus a strong steroid cream as PP have said too.

The bleach will have set it off, OP.

I have to use gloves when doing any housework, especially washing up and things using strong chemicals or my eczema really gets set off. The blisters are incredibly itchy, I know, but really try not to pop them. I often burst a couple on my fingers and they bloody sting for ages afterwards. I think you need to be careful you don't burst the new ones you have.

Try to use an emolient hand-wash instead of soap too. And use gloves washing up or doing any other chores using chemicals from now on!

Antihistamine.
moisturise everywhere you can to stop it spreading.
Use ice cubes when it itches.
use the cream around it as well as on it.
Cool showers.

Do not itch!
It really does settle quickly if you don’t itch.

Controversial- when the infection is better, we find piercing the bigger blisters stops the itching. They can be deep so you need to be careful afterwards.
We get it on our feet. For us it was a period of years then we beat it!

What steroid cream do you have in? As a pp said, you can buy Eumovate from a pharmacy, which is the strongest you can get without prescription. My ds was prescribed betnovate (with cetraben ointment as the emolient) for his pompholyx eczema (on hands). When he ran out he used Eumovate which did control it. So it might help until you can get to see the GP.

I have Eumovate. So I'll use that.

And get back on the antihistamines

I'm going to invest in a bulk box of gloves from amazon.
Never risking going through this again 😒

Or I have Trimovate from Doctor if that's better?

If there’s no GP appointments and you’re refusing to go to A and E, at least go to the pharmacist and take their advice.

I would want to see a doctor with that infection.

What do you think A&E would actually do? She said she doesn’t feel unwell. Not every infection is an emergency.

Trimovate contains the same steroid at the same concentration as Eumovate, but it has 2 additional ingredients (anti-bacterial and anti-fungal). I don’t know which would be better. Shiny’s advice - to see a pharmacist - is wise IMO. They should know whether plain steroid or the combination would be better.

If you’ve been on antibiotics since Thursday and it’s getting actively worse, I would want to speak to a doctor, nurse or pharmacist for advice.

I’d be up at the pharmacist first thing and do what they said.

I really think that you need some 'in person' medical attention, you seem to have quite a lot of antibiotics/creams etc and it's actively getting worse. Start with going in and showing it to a pharmacist and see what happens from there.