Contact dermatitis on hands

[cakedup]

I've had this for years now, and although I use lots of prescribed handcream which I'm sure helps, my hands are still in a pretty bad state and I'm embarrassed to get them out!

Just wondering if anyone else has had this and tried something (whether it was a product or a lifestyle change) that really worked.

I've tried steroid handcream before but want to avoid this as it potentially makes it worse. I wear gloves when I wash up/clean the bath.

Admittedly, I rarely use the Dermol handcream the dr prescribed for me to use as a handwash because I just don't feel they clean enough! I feel I need to use antibacterial handwash for when I've been to the loo or scooped the cat litter for example.

Well if you don't use the Dermol handwash, it will carry on.

Antibac handwash is literally the worst possible thing you can be doing to your hands. You don't need it, you just need to wash your hands properly.

No cream in the world is going to be able to stand up to the damage you do each time you are handwashing with something that is is the problem.

Even in hospital, staff who have contact dermatitis get their own handwash to use instead of having to use the standard stuff. It is clean enough if you use proper handwashing techniques!

Definitely use the dermol, even if you only use it as a secondary wash.
I also use aveeno cream after every hand wash, through out the day and before bed.

Handwash is too strong. Wear disposable gloves to do dirty jobs and use nothing stronger than pure soap on your hands.

www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html

Put cotton gloves inside your rubber gloves and use for everything.

Definitely no antibacterial handwash.
Try not to get your hands wet unnecessarily.
Make sure they are completely dry afterwards.
Yes to aveeno hand cream, but don't spatter it on.

Put your gloves on before you leave the house too.

Always put your Dermol on wet hands to start with when washing.

If you wash your hands thoroughly, you have no need of anti-bac - there are posters like this everywhere in every NHS environment thanks to infection control. If it's good enough to prevent MRSA, it's good enough for when you are cleaning your cat litter tray (plus wear gloves to do that, anyway)

bhamcrosscityccg.nhs.uk/your-health-services/hand-hygiene

Ooops - then put your emollient on straightaway every time after washing.

Thanks for your replies - I agree, I do need to re-think my hand-washing. I'll get the Dermol lotion back out and actually, just found that it does have antiseptic properties which makes me feel a lot better.

So, for those of you who advocate Dermol as handwash - do you or would you feel comfortable using only that to wash your hands after a no.2??

For those recommending Aveeno hand cream - have you used Diprobase (which is what I get prescribed) and does the Aveeno have better results?

Mix turmeric with water and make a paste. Put it on the affected area. Leave like that over night and wash it off the next day. Repeat for few days. The dermatitis should go away soon.

None of the potions mentioned here have ever worked for me. I get infected palms that crack and weep.
My hands are now clear after speaking to a naturopathic pharmacist who recommended pure potions skin salvation (available from Holland and Barrett). He also recommended not using anything with antibacterial properties. I use original source hand wash and shower gel which works for me.
I also only wash my hands max 10 times per day.

Diprobase and Aveeno both make my hands look like acne.

I have tried every cream under the sun well it feels like it for the dermatitis on my hands and the only one that works is Averno. The relief when it did after years of having dreadfully cracked, bleeding and often infected hands for around 8 months of the year.
I use normal hand soap, just rinse and dry really well.

Aveeno

The key to handwashing after a No2 is to wash effectively - I've used Dermol as a shower gel and it definitely makes you clean, I wasn't smelly and I do get smelly if I don't wash. But the lack of lather is a bit weird to get used to initially - we are trained to think lather = clean. However it's the lather that strips your skin and it actually has nothing to do with cleaning it at all.

If you are handwashing using the guidelines on the NHS poster, then you are good to go. Most people don't wash their hands effectively not because the soap isn't good but because their technique is poor and because they are dirty feckers who don't do it at all

I'd go further than saying handwashing with Dermol you should be bodywashing with it too as using showergel will be affecting your hands while you wash. It's sodium laureth sulfate (often called SLS) that causes the sensitivity and is responsible for the foaming. If you pick SLS free shower gel and shampoo your hands will thank you as they will not have been exposed to the SLS while you are washing either.

You can use Dermol but there are less medicinal showergels available (Aveeno does one which is nice). Plus lots of SLS-free shampoos as it's now becoming popular for people who have curly hair or permanent hair straightening.

Diprobase is a much more heavy duty emollient than Aveeno - if your hands are really bad you need an ointment not a cream, and to reapply every time you wash your hands.

Also, I gave up baths Lush bath bombs were terrible for it.
Agree with pp about shampoo/conditioner etc. Every single thing that you put on your hands needs thought. Even if you are rinsing it off immediately.
Pledge furniture polish is my nemesis.

Lush bath bombs are the worst! They are packed with SLS and fragrance.

TidyBadger is spot on. You have to review every item you put on your hands or your hands touch and try to minimize the number of times you have to wash your hands.

All housework/cat litter tray stuff should be with rubber gloves on.

Fragrance is often a big trigger and don't think just because it says natural or essential oils it will be OK. I remember leaping bright red and itching out of the bath after I'd used an essential bath oil soak when my ezcema was bad, thinking that would be OK.

Diprobase used to make my hands flair up but aveeno is fine for me.

For me it's no liquid hand wash, no shower gel, just a bar of soap for all washing keeps my hands fine. As well of course as washing up gloves every time!
Ditch the hand wash, makes my hands crack if I just use it once or twice...

And sudocreme at bed time works wonders too

Pledge furniture polish is my nemesis.

Yep, I can have got myself to an almost fully healed set of hands and one spray of furniture polish having forgotten to put gloves on, and I'm back to where I started this may be why I don't clean my house unless we have visitors

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, I haven't tried all the ones suggested (as I presumed they wouldn't work any better than diprobase) so I will definitely be giving those a go. I think I'll start with Aveeno as so many have suggested it and actually it's the only brand that 'cured' ds' eczema (the bodywash).

Hulder you're right - I don't like the fact that the Dermal doesn't lather and in my head lather does equal clean. As you said, I guess we've been conditioned to believe this.

I've started washing my hands this afternoon with the Dermol using the NHS handwashing technique. I'm sure that's actually cleaner than what I normally do i.e wash quickly with the antibacterial handwash, thinking that the antibacterial will do the work.

TidyBadger re the Pledge furniture polish, thing is, you don't spray it on your hands, do you? Reason I mention this is that when I use disinfectant wipes I don't wear gloves because I reason that it's only really my fingertips that come in contact, not the back of my hand where I get the dermatitis.

Of course it gets on your hands if you’re exposing your hands to disinfectant wipes you can never hope to get rid of dermatitis. Suggest you read back through some of the advice offered and do a bit of online research. Hth

But your fingertips will touch the rest of your hands! And those wipes flop about, of course they touch the rest of your hand. A bit like Pledge - you might not spray it on your hands but your hands will be in the aerosol, it gets everywhere which is why you can smell it all round the room. If your nose can smell it, it's on your hands.

Plus then you will have to wash your hands after using the wipes in the anti-bac handwash of doom and that will touch the whole of your hands!

Gloves for touching wipes in future. Then you wouldn't have to wash your hands at all after.

Hulder I guess I underestimate how just even a little bit of the wrong chemical can cause a flare up. Ok, gloves from now on (latex free as wearing latex ones for too long set me off too).

I have been using the Dermol since yesterday afternoon - even after a no.2 and surprisingly didn't feel as grim as I thought - and already there is a slight improvement. Can't believe I might actually have normal looking hands one day!

I suffered from horrendous contact dermatitis for years which gave me dry, cracked, bleeding hands and sometimes itchy weeping blisters too. I tried every type of cream, including the steroid cream. The only thing that has eventually worked for me is to only wash with either Simple or Dove soaps and shower gels, and to go wheat free too. I still have the occasional sandwich/pizza, usually for convenience if out for lunch, but I start getting very dry areas and bleeding splits in my skin if I have wheat products daily for a few days.

Sedona123 never considered changing my diet - that's a good point. I've tried the Simple handwash but it made no difference to me.