intensely itchy skin coloured blisters/bumps on backs of hands and feet

[alabasterangel]

I've had a couple of these, sproadically, for years. I'll get one and only one, it'll go, and I might not get another for a year. But a couple of weeks ago I started to get several... and they seem to be popping up daily.

Intensely itchy, like a bite but not as big and no centre point, small (2mm?) skin coloured and not at all red or inflammed, and very very itchy. Eventually I'll (inadvertently) scratch the damn things enough that the top comes off. Clear liquid inside. They scab over with a normal red scab the size of a pinprick and are then far less itchy, within 24 hours it's gone, but another will have popped up elsewhere. I currently have 5 on my left hand and one on my right. Never on the palms, always on the backs of my hands or sides of my fingers. I've also within the last week had 2 on the top of my foot and one on the outside of my elbow.

Someone here at work said they are 'nerve' bumps, which kind of makes sense as we've had one hell of a year, moving house, job changes, money stuff, and now (today) my Mum is having a mastectomy for breast cancer, so it has been a shit time. I don't feel massively overloaded, but I guess i'm dealing with a lot going on. But I want to know what these damn itchy things are, and how to stop them recurring!

Anyone?

Sounds like pompohlyx eczema to me. Steroid cream clears it up. It's stress related too.

Thank you. Is that a GP job or would an over the counter hydrocortizone be enough?

Hmm not sure. I get mine off the GP, it's Betamethasone valerate 0.1% topical corticosteroid. It has dire warnings about skin thinning so maybe it is prescription only? I use it very sparingly, when they first come up.

I get this and use otc hydrocortisone on it.

Generally pompholyx needs stronger steroids than over the counter. It's a GP job.

Thanks all. Pharmacist gave me eurax with 0.25% hydrocortisone. Said to use it for max a week, and to chill out. Not easy when your DM has breast cancer, but I get the point... amazingly it has certainly made it less itchy, although I still have two new itch bumps today.

If it's still around after a week or comes back as soon as you stop it, go see your GP for you and your DM