What is happening to my hands?!

[Jobseeker19]

Posting for traffic but please help.

For 6 months I have had peeling, cracked skin on one of my hands. I couldn't remember how it happened except that it was on one finger and then spread to the others I thought maybe I burnt them or touched something.

I have tried ALL of the good intensive creams (Working hands, Neutrageana Swiss formula, Garnier intensive, Vaseline). And only Garnier seems to keep them from cracking and bleeding but not healing. I also have to apply all day long or they will bleed.

I've also said fuck it maybe its the creams and went cold turkey. Which caused them to crack all over. I've also worn gloves to bed with cream and tried using differnt soaps and even not using soap as often too.

Then today I felt a blister type pain on my other hand and saw a small red sore. And then I remembered how it began on my first hand.

Please help. The skin is very thin and I cannot open things with one hand. I'm scared for the other. Its very hard to get a GP appointment.

Have you anything else going on? It could be psoriasis and sometimes that can come along with other conditions.

I’d show it to the pharmacist or gp for definite. Good luck.

I've battled this for years op. You need to figure out what your trigger, mine is washing up liquid and hand sanitizer gel. Steroid creams can help to bring a big flare up down. I also find hydrocortisone can relieve the symptoms if you put it on sparingly when it's starting to flare.
I understand how hard it is, I was so down about mine. It hurts so much when it's dry and cracking too. It does get better with time & once you learn to manage it.

I have this, it’s a form of eczema. Mine is triggered by cleaning products! I have to use loads of moisturiser and steroid cream when it’s bad. I’ve had it for years and it’s not gone away unfortunately, just flares up if I do a rubbish job of keeping on top of moisturising

Looks like dermatitis, use aqueous cream liberally and wash hands minimally if possible to help it get better. It's the only stuff that's helped it.

Have you tried a low grade cortisone cream? Mild steroids would help. You can get 10% ones online

@Jobseeker19

Hi, I'm not on medication just multi vits. I'm a nursery worker and do you antibacterial sprays but have done for years.

You can become allergic to anything at anytime, regardless of how long you've already used it.

Do you use latex/rubber gloves at all? I have a friend who wore them for years whilst working in his garage. Then he began to show same symptoms as you. The fingers got so bad they were cracking wide open and bleeding so bad he had to bandage them up just to go to work. Nothing worked for him.

Then I suggested he stopped wearing the gloves - in his case, latex ones. Within 3 days his hands began to heal. Within a month they had calmed down completely.

Those look similar to chillblains, do you have Raynauds?

Someone else said pompholyx and that would be my first guess.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pompholyx/

I think probably looks like some kind of allergy/dermatitis but the photo of the other hand reminded me of achenbach syndrome which is a fragility of connective tissue and you get a lump/red patch that’s painful and then kind of ruptures. I get it really badly on my right thumb and then it spreads all along both the thumb and first finger and inbetween as a kind of bruise. It doesn’t spread for me along all the fingers but I suppose anything’s possible.

I was delighted when I was told it’s a condition that affects middle aged women…….

Hope your hands feel better soon and you get some answers

My 1st thought was also pompholyx as a pp said. I had this when I was pregnant with DS. It itched and burned so much that I wanted to rip my skin off.

I had this. It goes away after a while.

@Bouledeneige

I had this. It goes away after a while.

You had what though? You can't say that if none of us know what it actually is.

UPDATE
I went to the pharmacy and showed them my hands and discussed how it started and what it feels like.
They don't think it is fungal and asked me if I had tried emollient creams and told me to buy Cetraben.
I bought it, but I'm not really optimistic after so many cream failures but I will use.
If this doesn't work then I will have to book and wait for an GP appointment.