Itching hands and feet only - anyone pic included

[granadagirl]

So roughly itchy hand started whilst out shopping in Sainsburys one afternoon, unusual as I have never had itching as intense as this on the inside of my hand

Since then it’s also gone to the soles of my feet.
At one point I had it continuously for about 3 days, I was on the ceiling. I couldn’t sleep because of intense itching on feet & hands.
I gad cold gel pack on going to bed, itchy cream. Nothing helped
Gp said I could take up to 4 antihistamines a day, which I was doing and getting a little bit of relief, then it would come back
Again onto gp who prescribed stronger antihistamine but they give me such a heavy head the next day.

It’s know not as intense everyday, but it’s there humming in the background waiting for a scratch 😢

This is what it looks like, when it’s itchy

Anyone any clues ???

Could it be covid related?
covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-skinrash

My first thought is to wonder why the GP is just prescribing antihistamines without actually getting to the bottom of what's causing this.

My second thought is to wonder whether it might be dishydrotic eczema - I can't quite see from the photos, but does it look like tiny little bumps/blisters? That tends to occur on hands and feet, and is intensely itchy. You'd prob need steroid cream to get it under control. I think you can get 1% hydrocortisone over the counter.

Have a Google, see if you think it tallies with that. If so, you might be better just chatting with a pharmacist and giving hydrocortisone cream a try....

Keep your hands and feet cold and dry as possible. It does look like dishydrotic eczema.www.nhs.uk/conditions/pompholyx/

Keeping the areas cold and dry seem to shorten the attack. I’ve not found anything to stop it in it’s tracks other than (whispers) popping the blisters. For me it’s a case of trying to avoid the triggers - stress and heat.

IAmOptimusPrime
God hope not

JeanMichelBisquiat
Forgot to mention, did show it pharmacist(guy) he said only thing they had was EURAX itching cream. I bought that £5
Didn’t do anything.
It’s not itchy everyday, but got to the point where I had it 3 days in a row. That when I contacted gp, who did ask if I had a rash
At the time I didn’t it was just so itchy and red obviously from itching it.
But now when I really have to itch, it’s tiny red spots but NO blisters or bumps or weeping.

I’ve got cold gel pack on feet at moment, tomorrow will get 1% hydrocortisone cream
tomorrow and try that first see if it does anything to help before gp again

Thanks for your time

I was just about to say pompholyx

My dd has it it since she was about 6. It flares up from time to time, we have no idea what causes the flares ups. Some times they are mild other times she has been unable to hold a pen or walk. The worst times are when the blisters burst and her skin cracks.

She was referred to a dermatologist who just advised the doctors to prescribe stronger than normal steroid cream, different ones for hands and feet. She also gets a neurogena cream prescribed.

It seems to be occurring less and less as she gets older. Hope yours improves quickly

Since I cant tell you what it is I'm afraid to recommend anything but if you get desperate, Moogoo are amazing for stopping itching while hydrating, but that's with eczema and psoriasis, so just in case you wanted to try for relief

Did you have gloves on in the supermarket when it started? All the chemicals they’re spraying the trolleys with and the hand gels might be a trigger for you.

I think you need to get back down to the GP and be referred to a Dermatologist.

I do feel for you OP, I have an autoimmune condition that causes intense itching on my palms and soles of feet and every topical ointment has failed to bring any relief! I do find putting cotton gloves on helps slightly.

Deffo pompholyx. I have it and it is awful. mine flares up at least once a year and the itching makes you feel like you're going mad. I've threatened to cut my hands off just to get a break from it. I occasionally used to drag my hands across the carpets to try and ease the itching and thrusting my hands into bags of ice.
If any of the red dots blister then don't pop it!

Ah, sorry, I can't say it's definitely something or other as I'm not a Dr. Apologies!

I have pompholyx and your rash does look rather like that. Only a strong steroid cream will shift it. If your GP won't prescribe it, while you wait for Dermatology, keep your hands creamed as much as possible and use emulsifier for bath/shower. I would ask your GP if he thinks this is what you have. It is quite rare and GPs don't necessarily know about this form of excema. Is there anyone else in the family with it? It tends to run in families, and also flare up under stress.

It was funny actually, I'd been back and forth to the drs for ages about it, then when I moved and changed drs, my new one noticed it straight away and knew exactly what it was and how to treat it. The creams do work and they work quickly

That's a good avenue to explore OP.

Thanks for all the comments ladies. I will call gp tomorrow as I’d like to see a dermatologist to see if it does have a name and get proper cream for it instead of wasting my money at chemist.

Hands and feet show NO signs of cracking
Sores, weeping or dry ☹️

I did use the gel at Sainsburys the day I went in ?

I feel I need to itch/scratch it so hard to get relief to get it over with after holding back from scratching it. That’s when the symptoms are well on form and intense

When it’s not intense, it’s still sometimes is humming in the background and if I wanted I could scratch it but then it would get bad again.

Thanks again

Itching hands + feet can be a sign of histamine release. My teen DD sometimes gets it when an allergic reaction is beginning or when she’s had a day where she’s been around lots of allergens.

I have eczema so some itch advice - stop using soap, get an over the counter emollient (dermol is great) to use instead. All soap is an irritant. Don't know if this applies to you though. National eczema society website might be useful. Hope doctor can help you quickly.

I have recently started to suffer with chronic urticaria and my hands sometimes look like this X