My hands are driving me insane with dry skin

[myhorriblehands]

Is it eczema? Nothing helps, nothing. Doctors have prescribed different steroid creams/antibiotic creams and nothing makes a difference. Using washing up gloves doesn’t make a difference. I get these horrible little cuts and they’re so painful! Always itchy and stingy. Any ideas ?!

Looks exactly like my hands, I think mine is contact irritation from foaming agents - hand soap at work and kids shampoo really set it off.
I've started taking a daily antihistamine and it has really helped. I've got steroid cream from the doctor when it gets really bad. It has died down a lot but the skin is still dry so moisturiser is a must.

Someone up thread mentioned nail varnish. A few years ago I had an outbreak of contact dermatitis on my face under my eyes. The skin specialist I saw told me to avoid nail varnish.

@BrambelI’ve got some Simple Bar soap in the cupboard so have started with that. So far so good

Thanks, good idea - I quite like Simple products for my face so I may try the soap too!

Try Dermol cream. It works really well on excema.

I had similar when I used carex handwash during covid time. Quickly stopped and changed back to my dove handwash and my hands became normal again.

As in my username, try 'Snowfire ointment' you'll get it in most chemists.

It's soap - I had the same problem all my life. I switched recently from hand soap to an E45 non foaming hand wash and the difference is amazing. Honestly, I saw a big difference within days - my hands feel soft for the first time in decades, no bleeding, no itching, no roughness. I am genuinely astounded what a huge difference it's made x

Stopping using most brands of liquid hand wash is what has really made the difference for me, I've been using a brand called Glow from Home Bargains instead of supermarket options and it's so much better. And yes Norwegian Formula is the only hand cream that works for me when they are bad (have to use the cheap liquid soap at work so they do still sometimes suffer), I plaster it on before bed and they're 90% better by morning.

My husband suffers badly with dermatitis giving him dry, cracked and peeling skin on his palms as a result of his time in the army and the oils they had to use to oil their weapons. It particularly flares up in the summer when the weather gets warmer.

We tried loads of creams. Some did nothing. Some seemed to help a bit but the improvement never lasted.

Eventually we gave this a try as I’d used their cicaplast baume in the past after a chemical face peel and it had worked well. This has been a miracle worker for him. He smothers his hands in it at night, cotton gloves over the top and sleeps in them and then a small amount each morning before leaving for work and his skin has never been better.

www.lookfantastic.com/p/la-roche-posay-lipikar-ap-max-triple-action-balm-for-ultra-dry-to-atopic-eczema-prone-skin-400ml/17597203/

Yes this! Also, moogoo do fantastic moisturisers that work really well. You need an emollient cream, every time you get your hands wet (washing up, washing hands etc) use the emollient cream after. Use O'Keefes A LOT. I have very dry hands that crack and bleed, this works every time.

La Roche Posay citablast

Just to answer what I have my nails are those gel nail wraps, first time I’ve put anything in my nails in years so I’m confident it isn’t that as this has been going on since I was about 20 and worked in a pub !

Anyways I have got faith in nature soap bar arriving and a simple one, so I will update !

I used to be similar OP all over my body. I had allergy testing at the dermatologist as I couldn’t pinpoint what was causing the reactions.

Turns out I am allergic to fragrance (as well as methacrylates and a preservative used in hygiene products) so most of the products I was using around the house were causing flare ups! Even the ‘natural/eco friendly’ ones I had switched to as they are often naturally perfumed.

Now I use non-perfumed and my skin is recovered.

Mine were like that , allergic to the rubber gloves. I wear cotton gloves under them now.

I get this a lot from washing my hands too much. I find putting Sudacrem on a morning after showering and last thing at night helps.

Mine gets incredibly itchy and they bleed sometimes.

Don't forget shampoo and conditioner could be a problem as well.

Just coming back on here to say that since switching to bar soap at home, my hands haven’t once been sore! @Brambelhave you been trying it too?

The weather has been good so I’m not completely claiming a cure! But the difference is really dramatic.

I will post another update in Winter if it’s still good then in case anyone interested!

wouldn’t it be nice if the solution was something so Simple ? (Slight pun there since I’ve been using Simple soap)

any progress @myhorriblehands?

My hands are also as smooth as a babies bottom since switching to bar soap, who knew?! Years of suffering gone ! Although the true test will be winter !

@myhorriblehandsoh I’m so pleased it’s worked for you too! Yes Winter will be the true test although I can’t remember them being this good for such an extended period before so fingers crossed x

Same here, it’s lovely not having to constantly be putting all sorts on my hands, and they look young again 😆

Is it itchy? If so, it looks like eczema from your photo.

Try an oat-based cream/lotion like Aveeno.

If you Google 'Hand eczema' that may give you some insight.

Do you know what strength steroid cream you were prescribed? How long did you use it for? Steroid cream can cause terrible skin withdrawal symptoms if it's been used over a prolonged period.

I had bonkers pompholyx eczema some years ago, gp reckoned stress, skin on hands and feet fell off then was raw. O'keeffes no longer works (was good for actual cracks) so I'm back to using Dermol. I was told to use it instead of soap too. 😭

I get the scaling and peeling from clothing stain remover of any brand. If that rubbish gets on my skin for even a few seconds and even despite washing off, a week later my hands are falling apart. It’s basically corrosive!