I'm going to cut my hand off!!!?

[123456thu]

My hand is itchy, burning, sore! And I'm about to cut it off! I've had it once before and was given steroid cream, didn't say what it actually was but it's back it's worse and I want to scream! Any ideas of what it is??

If it's on your feet as well it's unlikely to be contact dermatitis unless you're reacting to a particular shower gel or laundry liquid. It could be fungal in which case canisten would help.

If it is a reaction, then in addition to the steroid cream and antihistamines, a perfume free cleansing bar in the shower might help (gallinee does a lovely one). Unfragranced gentle laundry liquid. Repeated moisturising with something like e45 - keep some next to you on the sofa in the evening and reapply when it absorbs. Sudocrem if you need a barrier.

I agree could be pompholyx. I’ve had it on my foot - itchiest thing ever and can relate to the sentiment of wanting to chop it off!

I tried various things but what got rid of it in the end was a really strong steroid cream called betnovate used alongside an anti- fungal cream. Had to use both together to get it to go completely. And keep using them for a while even after it seems to be better. Otherwise it just comes back!

With a pen draw around the inflamed area to check whether it's tracking.
Could be an insect bite which has become infected.

Scabies? Often starts on hands

It could be scabies. Are there tiny fluid-filled blisters? It's been around more than usually lately and it is agonisingly itchy and very communicable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabies. Talk to a pharmacist of your GP. If that is what it is you need to treat it before it spreads further.

More info from the NHS www.nhs.uk/conditions/scabies/

I had something similar once and it was a tiny cut that got badly infected. I didn't even notice I had a small cut on my finger. I had to take antibiotics.

@DeanElderberry @sixnearlyseven pretty sure it's not scabies, I've had a Google and it doesn't really look like it.. thankfully.

Another vote for pompholyx, aka dyshydrotic eczema. It comes up as insanely itchy red patches with rings of tiny blisters under the surface. When the blisters go down, the skin peels which can be sore, but the itching is mostly better at that stage. Affects hands and feet. In my experience, stress is a trigger.

Eurax cream to help with itching
Also try anthisan cream to help with allergic reaction

I've taken antihistamine, iced it and put aloe Vera gel on, and something has made it more bearable! So I no longer want to cut my hand off but it still feels like it's on fire lol

Contact dermatitis? Mine is usually caused by skincare or cosmetic ingredients. Last bout was after a tiny change in formula (without declaring it) in moisturiser I’ve used for years & it was terrible on both hands & face - I now check ingredients on every re-order. Steroid cream makes it worse for me so usually use antihistamines, ice packs (so it doesn’t actually get wet) and something plain like Nursem fragrance free hand cream. Be aware that every time you’re exposed to something you’ve developed an allergy to the reaction gets much worse. Mine is with salicylic acid, citric acid, AHA’s etc. Good luck getting it sorted & ask your nail bods if they used something different & see if there’s a connection to the last flare up so you can pinpoint what to avoid.
Edited to add - cold cucumber is also brilliant when the itching is unbearable, cools as well as having a skin healing compound in it!

This. It looks like chilblains.

If it’s pompholix excema there will be lots of little blisters- I suffered from this (I’m not using the word suffering lightly) and the little blisters went crazy over a weekend and became huge- by the time I got to the GP on the Tuesday afternoon the GP was clearly horrified. I was prescribed a steroid & Epaderm cream. I can’t tell from the photo if there are lots of little blisters though. And I’m not a GP.

A Dermo recommends this skin site to me there is a skin checker you can go through to check options of what it could be

dermnetnz.org/dermdiag

I’d also say dyshydrotic eczema. As far as I know it only affects hands and feet. It’s horrible; really itchy and the liquid in the little blisters burns. Thankfully I don’t think I’ve had it since I stopped work.

My hand started like this when I had impetigo as a child. After about 3 days it blistered and spread.

AHH I've clearly misheard discoid eczema in the past and it was dyshidrotic eczema. And yes rings of small blisters and then the skin peels

Have you been to a pharmacist?
any chance it’s herpes?

I get this too!!

Gosh that takes me back. Decades ago I burnt my hand on the iron. It wasnt even that big a burn but it KILLED for weeks. Kept me up at night. Would throb and throb, i really wanted to cut my hand off.
No help but wanted to say I feel your pain.

@LynetteScavo its not clusters of blisters, it started kind of like a spot/bite and then just got bigger and swollen like one big blister/swollen mess. Then I have 1 random big spot looking thing on 1 finger and then littler one on other parts of my hand. Now I think it's coming on my feet.

Is it bumpy? I suffer from contact dermatitis which looks a lot like that. I get it on my hands and feet and it comes on randomly but it's sooo itchy when it does.

I rarely post, but the mention of steroid creams has made me log in to say, be careful with them – I was prescribed betnovate over 40 years ago, not told how to use it (very sparingly & I initially used it like a hand cream as the rash I had was intensely itchy) the cream stung, eventually made my hands crack open, but the main damage was it causes permanent thinning of the skin - & my hands are a red sore looking mess 40+ years later and will remain so. I went to Nelsons pharmacy in central London, no idea if they are still there now, and the pharmacist advised calendula cream – slightly antiseptic very mild and no issues (as far as I know). Nelsons version is available in Boots (might have to ask for it as its difficult to find) & on Amazon, its not expensive and is in a sealed tube. It won’t cure the rash nor the itching, its just something to put on that will cause no harm. I was told not to use vasaline (I was desperate at the time to put something on) as it would prevent the skin from healing. I also took piriton which helped a lot with the itching. You have to find out the cause, lots of suggestions, I also thought it might be a spider bite, can get bitten while sleeping. if it doesn’t get better fast I’d go and see the pharmacist and then a Doctor, the problem is doctors immediately try and prescribe steroid creams. I know they work for some people, did not for me, albeit using it like a hand cream didn’t help. My rash was caused by getting scratched by a sick cat with septacemia (well that is what the vet said) Sorry not that much help, but feel for you.

@NoNotTodayThanks no it's quite smooth, when I feel it, it does feel like a big blister, the smaller bits on other parts of my hand are just like a bite/spot kind of thing.

Steroid cream might help itching but will not stop the reaction. You need to start with oral antihistamines. You can take Benadryl and something like Fexnofenadine together. If it doesn’t improve you might also need oral steroids. I just had a massive case of hives and that’s what was prescribed.