Hand eczema and steroid use

[Twinkly5588]

Hi there
Hands have nose dived during Covid. How soon after a 5-day burst of strong steroid like mometasone can you use again? Thanks v much

If you're using a lot of liquid hand soap then try switching to a bar. The preservative in liquid hand soap, methylisothiazolinone, is one of the biggest triggers of eczema. My hands look unusually brilliant during lockdown as I'm using bar soap not the liquid hand soap at work!

dermnetnz.org/topics/methylisothiazolinone-allergy/

Try Dove soap bars - they seem not to have dried my skin out. Sorry I can't help with the steroid query

With regard to your steroid question it might be better to ring your Dr or consultant and ask them...
(Dermalex ,the irritated hands one,has transformed my hand situation but I'm only on Betnovate,nothing stronger.)

Echoing with what pp have already said, and also I know a few people who have had a similar issue - sounds really painful, hope you find some relief.

I had no idea about the liquid soap! I’ll have to try my bar soap.

I've seen (on television) that emollients are the answer, eg E45. Tesco has their own version. I don't have a problem with dry skin but with all the handwashing I've bought some - the Tesco stuff is definitely as good as the branded ones.

With a more periodic flaring-up kind of eczema, I manage OK with fragrance and colour-free supermarket soaps.

In a slight thread hijack, does anyone else have a difficult combination of Raynaud's and eczema?

I’ll answer your question. You are only meant to use the steroid cream for a week at a time and then only occasionally from about 2 weeks after that. Because I knew this I tried not to use it and went back to the doctor about 6 weeks later and he said I could just use the full week course again as I hadn’t used it in some time. However I would suggest instead of using steroids you buy or get a prescription for Dermol500. It’s fixed my hands up so well even during Covid and my hands were so bad they were bleeding before.

Depends on the strength of mometasone. Dd is on 1mg (I think) and we are advised by her consultant to use daily for as long as we need to bring the flare up back under control. This can take up to 3 weeks if it's bad (like now) so I would assume you would be OK to continue use.

What emollient do you use? Are you using gloves at night with the emollient? Dd has used virtually everything in the market and nothing helped. She's currently using doublebase gel every hour or so in the day and hydramol with gloves at night. She is also on methotrexate as hers has been so bad and elephant doses of antihistamines to help the itching.

My hand eczema was dreadful last year. So much so that I had to have time off work. I suggest washing hands with Dermol 500, covering them in zeroderm and wearing cotton gloves. Dermovate also worked, it’s a strong steroid that I was eventually prescribed by a private dermatologist. My NHS doctors were useless.

Thank you that’s very useful info :-)

Thank you @LouiseTrees very useful info much appreciated

Dermal is quite strongly fragranced - it irritates my hands terribly (I work in a hospital and it is the first line product recommended to us for scabby hands) but most people seem to love it. I was given an emollient sample pack by a dermatology nurse which I am working my way through. Epaderm seems to be OK so far but leaves a bit of a film which isn't ideal for work.
In terms of the steroid, I use Elocon whenever I need it, as not using just makes the flare worse. I saw a dermatologist a few years ago and now have tacrolimus ointment on repeat from GP - at the time it had to be recommended by consultant, not sure if that is still the case. It is not a steroid so has different side effects but using it means less use of momenta some for me.
Good luck!

You can use mometasone for at least two weeks at least if needed. Don’t need to stick to 5 days. I put some Elocon on frequently in the webbing when I know I have a break from hand washing coming up, and try and avoid the chlorhexidine type washes if possible, just nice normal soap. GPs are generally way too overcautious with their advice about steroids, there’s a lot of unfounded fear. Keep putting it on until your skin is healthy.

The only thing that helps my husbands really bad cement burn eczema is (and I hate to say it as its mlm) ... Forever Aloe Propolis cream

I was told by a dermatology nurse that o could use it 5 days on / 2 off for as long as it took to get it under control. Mine flared terribly while I was commuting / working in the office with all the extra hand washing. It's not so bad now I'm WFH.

Re dermol, I use the lotion not the cream it’s not fragranced. The lotion is the one with 500 in the title. The cream is just called dermol.

I use Childs farm moisturiser cream, for sensitive and eczema prone skin. It is the only thing I found that actually works.

Try Eucerin 10% urea lotion and def fragrance free bar of soap

Thanks for everyone’s replies. I had finally sorted my hands out after a dermatologist consultation, following several months of on and off 1% hydrocortisone and eumovate. She prescribed mometasone which sorted things after five days and I continued with eumovate for five days then tailed off with alternate days for week and for one weekend. Couldn’t believe it, they were totally healed but then got really broken down again by all the washing pre-lockdown. Did a 5 day spell of mometasone then 5 days eumo again the week before last but didn’t tail it off this time and came off cold turkey and so it was all bad again within less than a week. I gave it a full week of zero steroids and am now on my third day of mometasone. So I’m not sure really how many more days to safely do??? as I‘d only had a week off following the last day of eumovate (I’d had 12 days off since last mometasone, which is stronger than eumovate, which is OTC). I know you have to use emollients as well, and I love child’s farm too, it’s fabulous elsewhere On the body, but on my hands it just doesn’t seem rich enough, and all other emollients just irritate my hands with their chemicals. I’ve tried loads! But ointments are too rich for day time, I will go back to nighttime gloves again (did this Dec/jan) and slap it on!

The dermol cutaneous wash was a life saver for me, we're all also benefiting from a layer of epaderm at night. It's really thick like Vaseline so not great during the day, but using it every night really does help.

These are all pretty basic though so you may have tried.

Hi @LouiseTrees did the dermol500 sting initially and you persevered.... ? Did you wash and/or use as emollient?

Hey so I used it as a soap. Then started mixing it with antibacterial soap only when I’ve just cane in from outside or put away shopping or before eating etc, because well Covid but otherwise just on its own . It will sting until your hands heal over so it’s like a scratch rather than an open dry wound. I use a separate emollient a couple of times a day. I had bought diprobase initially but have now been prescribed Exocream. Hands actually really really good now.

I have horrendous hand eczema and definitely vote for bar soap. Has changed my life! Also the gloves overnight with hydromol

With hand exzema the key is LESS hand washing during the day. Do if you know you are gpoing to do something that would require you to wash you hands after ie going to the toilet then put on some gloves

The above idea of cream emoliant then cotton gloves is a good one, then if doing dirty stuff pop on some disposable/plastic gloves.

I used to wear disposable gloves at work (book supplier, suprisingly dusty/dirty) and just go about my business as usuall sort of treating the gloves as another layer of skin.

I did get some funny looks when washing my hands with gloves on at work (of course you could just chuck the gloves, but this saves on wastage)