Why is the skin peeling off my hands???

[spacemonkey]

I've got a weird skin condition on my hands - it started off about 2 weeks ago with itchy bumps which then turned into hardened peeling skin. It's not itchy any more but my hands look gross!

Any ideas?

It's your annual snake skin shedding sm, remember?

ha ha lou

have you seen your GP about it? i'd say use aqueous cream on them as often as you can until you get to see a doctor and always wear gloves when garening/washing etc. are they itchy at all?

sorry, just re-read and they're not any more. that's good.

don't know what it could be btw

have i been attacked by fungus?

they were itchy for the first couple of days - it was a bit like a heat rash sort of thing - then they went all dry and started peeling

prior to it happening, did you use any chemical products (even washing powder) without covering your hands? or some diy jobs you did?

not that I can remember! (v unlikely to catch me doing any diy jobs in any case )

it could just be an alergic reaction to a certain substance you came into contact with. also if taking soem medicines, thre might be side effects...

a new perfume or something like this, using any different moisturiser?

are they red at all?

go and see your GP or at least a practice nurse. good luck. i hope you'll get better soon.

thanks branster, maybe that's what it is then, I have had it before and always thought it was a stress thing

I think I'll go and wave my hands in front of the pharmacist as a first resort

being localized to your hands, i'm inclined to think it's more likely to be an alergic reaction of some sort. good idea about the pharmacist, but try the gp too if you say you had it before. good luck!

thanks

it hasn't spread to anywhere else so perhaps you're right, it never even crossed my mind that it could be an allergy!

You must be allergic to dp sm.

Sounds like a contact dermatitis to me - slap aqueous cream on like there's no tomorrow and see the Dr in the meantime - you may need some Hydrocortisone or similar perhaps?

Nelsons calendula cream always works for me when I get contact dermatitis sm.

Spacemonkey,

I have the same thing on my hands and arms.

I am going to the docs tomorrow about something else, so I will ask about this as well.

It happens to me all the time, and often results from stress or allergic reactions. I've been told that it's a weird kind of eczema. When it gets really bad, I used to get an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream and apply that. Another cream that seems to help me is something called (I think) eumobase. You can go here and get a free sample....

i spoke to a man today who has something on his hands which sounds very similar to you. he was told it was contact eczema but none of the treatments for this worked. eventually, many months later, he has`found out it is a form of eczema on the surface with a fungal infection underneath. it seems pretty hard to clear. he uses a steroid cream to get it under control and then manages it on a daily basis with tea-tree/aloe vera/vitamin e oil and wearing gloves as often as possible(the fungus seems to need oxygen to live).

Oh yes, I forgot! Tea tree oil helps a lot --- I get tea tree oil soap, and it's fab.

thank you thank you all!

I'll rub tea tree into it and i have some hydrocortisone cream left over from my recent insect bite mallarkey so i'll try that too

have ordered the free sample of stuff from that website thank you maomao

Where abouts on your hand is it? I suffered a really itchy condition a few months back and I mean really itchy it was between all my fingers but especially my thumb and index finger on my left hand it had lots of little tiny bumps and after a while the skin flaked off. I used to wake up scratching. The itching after a few weeks disappeared and then the skin recovered and that was that. Still don't know what it was/is mind.