Itchy hands

[notasausage]

Looking for some advice for mt DH. His hands get really itchy, especially between his fingers but also between the base of his thumb and the heel of his hand. They then come up in hard bumps the size of small peas. The itching lessens theen they dry, crack and callous before pealing off. He has had about 3 bouts of this since Christmas and using emollient plus a steroid cream seems to make no difference. He is sensitive to washing up liquid but is careful about always using gloves.

Has anyone had anything similar or have suggestions for likely causes or treatment options. He has been to the GP who put it down to cold weather but it's been mild this week and it has flared up again.

I always take care to use a bar of soap, liquid stuff makes mine alot worse.
I've had this on/off over 10 years, with just a different cream/ointment everytime I go back to the doc. Finally got one that works.. I'll just go look at it...

Eumovate Cream, clobestasone butyrate. (gsk)

HTH

notasausage - I hate to say it, but it sounds as though it could be a bad case of scabies. Look up the symptoms on the Bupa site and see what you think.

I've been suffering from this too, every winter for the past few years (just between fingers though). The weather doesn't have to be very cold, but it seems to be when the heating's on.

Mine isn't scabies - I think it's a form of eczema and I use E45 with hydrocortisone which I buy over the counter in any chemist. It's the only cream I've used that gives me relief from the soreness and itching.

The lumps that come up, sounds as though he might be allergic to something? Have you tried antihistomean when it flares. Obviously the itching will make the hands dry. I had a great cream from the dr for dermatitis betnovate. Also I got itchy hands as a side effect of being on other medicine. All worth considering.

Had a look at scabies symptoms and although he does get more itchy at night surely I would also have symptoms or one or both of our DD?

Penguins - DH has Dermovate cream, clobetasol propionate. I'll tell him about yours.

Baby angels - he has tried antihistamine with no effect but I also think it looks like an allergic response

Have you made a mental note of the times it is bad? Has he been doing certain things? Like touching certain things then it happens or going to certain places? There's so many things it could be!

Was the steroid cream prescribed or just an over-the-counter best guess? If it's the latter, try stopping that and using an anti-fungal cream like Lamasil instead for a week or so. There's a condition called Dhobie Itch that affects the hands, usually if they get hot, and can be treated in the same way as athlete's foot. If you treat a fungal infection with a steroid, it can mutate and become trickier to treat successfully. Worth a try at least, if you're not finding that what you're doing works now.

Hi notasausage - I can only speak from my own experience. I was in hospital for a major operation a few years ago from which I recovered wonderfully, but couldn't understand why a few weeks later I had such a terrible itch between my fingers. I'd never even heard of scabies, and it wasn't until I saw on the news that one of the wards in the hospital had been closed because of an outbreak that I twigged. Fortunately, I was the only recipient, and my DH & DC remained scabies free.

The steroid cream was prescribed. He's going to try and get back to the doctors but there's a 10 day wait -you wouldn't want to be too ill!! I will mention the scabies suggestion

Hi. for your dh, I have had this for years and it is a complete pita. The docs/specialists I have seen all agree that it is a form of psoriasis. I use a very potent steroid and just blast it whenever it arises (almost always!).
I have been tested for allergies and reacted heavily to rubber (latex) which I now keep well away from NO rubber gloves - only vinyl/latex or I react badly. Same goes for plasters/Elastoplast.
The docs don't believe there are any food allergies that react with your skin in this way, but I am CONVINCED after all these years that tomatoes have something to do with it. Whenever I eat them, I tend to be up all night itching and scratching my hands.
I'm afraid that this is something that won't go away, but it does tend to get better/worse from time to time.

HTH - feel free to message me if you have any questions

Btw I doubt v much it is scabies if it is just on his hands.

It might be pompholyx eczema. www.pompholyx.co.uk

I used to suffer from it and it is incredibly itchy and sore. I used to use Eumovate and Dermovate. Also would cover my hands in vaseline and wear cotton gloves under rubber gloves when doing any washing up, cleaning etc.

Sorry link here.

He does also get itching in his groin area and a bit on his leg but no rash or lumps like on his hands and they flair up at different times. He's had itching in those places for 3 years off and on. I wondered if it was stress. Dr treats it as a sort of sweat rash. 3 week wait for an appointment here atm so he is getting desperate for some answers, some relief from the itching and some sleep.

Kermit - he uses nitrile gloves for DIY stuff but I wonder if the gloves we have for washing up could be a cause.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Hopefully it might help steer the GP towards a diagnosis rather than keep fobbing him off with creams. Those of you with similar problems, did you get referred to dermatology and how long did it take?

If it's rubber gloves they would make your hands sweat at very least (sweat rash) and if plastic/rubber allergy then that wouldn't be any good either. My dh has sweat rash and he uses canestan hydrocortisone cream.