Dermatitis/Eczema on hands

[loosingmymind99]

Hi all
The last few weeks I've started getting little blisters on my fingers, seen the Gp twice on oral antibiotics and steroid cream. But the blisters have started spreading to both palms in my hands now .
Taking the tablets, applying steroid cream and moisturising regularly, I've been wearing cotton gloves to bed, and rubber gloves when cleaning etc.
They itch awful at night and are keeping me up. I've even started to take an antihistamine before bed with no success
Any idea what I could use to help or what it even is? Gp just giving creams but it's getting worse. Any advice would be greatly appreciated I just want a decent nights sleep and for it to stop spreading thank you

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert at all but didn't want to leave your post unanswered

@loosingmymind99 it looks similar to the pompholyx / dashidrotic eczema that I tend to get in the summer. If it is that type of eczema then I think it is limited to your hands and feet. And it is really itchy and uncomfortable. What steroid cream has your GP prescribed? You might need something stronger if it's not improving.

I find that now I have a tendency to get this type of eczema that it is not really triggered by substances but more heat or stress, although I'm sure triggered are different for others.

I get it on my hands and feet mildly and have been told it's excema. It's worse in the heat. Steroid creams work for me but I have it quite mildly. I had it on my torso more severely in my 20s and Chinese herbs from a Chinese herbalist in London worked well then. I had to boil them up and bathe in them.

I find heat and stress are my triggers too?

Argh errant question mark

I would agree with much of Bandol's post.

I used to get terrible eczema as a child which cleared up as I got older, but when I was in my 20s I had a summer where my hands were exactly as you describe. Since then (I am now 60) I only get eczema on my hands but it always starts as blisters and I now manage to control it with steroid ointment (which stays on better than the cream). I find that there are certain things both internal eg that I eat, such as raw tomatoes and strawberries, and external eg gardening with courgettes, hollyhocks or commercial compost, or washing my hands with liquid soap, that trigger an episode. (I have found that I can only use certain bar soaps, Roget & Gallet are good.) I also find that I have to wear the cotton gloves under rubber gloves for cleaning otherwise my hands get sweaty and that triggers more blisters and itching.

When the itching is really bad, I find holding my hands under almost unbearably hot water followed by cold water helps stop the itching (and can sometimes feel almost exquisitely painful, if that doesn't sound too bizarre!).

I also find that the blisters can sometimes start to get infected and it then helps to soak them in salted water, as hot as you can bear, for 5 minutes or so, repeated every 3 or 4 hours throughout the day.

You have all my sympathy losingmymind, I do hope you find something that works for you.

I had the same, feet as well. I used Epaderm or similar as an emollient many many times a day.

Also was very careful about any cleaning products, I found alternatives that didn’t upset my skin. Think about washing up liquid, washing powder, cleaning sprays, sun tan lotion, shower gels and shampoo etc, basically any chemical.

The most damaging for me was hand gel and medicated soap like Carex, if I have to use these I know my skin will flare. Difficult just now :(. I use bar soap instead of shower gel as I find it better for my skin. Bar shampoo and conditioner instead of bottles of liquid. I essentially avoid SLS as I have identified the trigger, your triggers will be different. Also avoid hot water as this can make it flare.
If really bad I have been known to smother hands in emollient and cover in plastic like cling film, essentially trying to force the moisture in. Helpful especially when I have gone mad scratching and have open wounds.....
If you have not been referred to dermatology yet, push for it.

I get this. I saw a doctor when my skin started splitting open, she told me off the record (as it can't be prescribed) to use Hemp cream alternating with the steroid cream. Started healing straight away.

I am careful which soap I use, I only use the Child's Farm hand soap as it doesn't cause this reaction when so many others do.

Good point Yddraigoldragon about hand gel and cleaning products. I never use hand gel and try to take my own soap with me when I know I will need to wash my hands.

Coconut oil helps mine a bit. I put it on wash my hands with soap, then put it on again. Mine is irritated by sweat so I wash them several times a day. Without the coconut oil the soap is too irritating. Works for me,

It's pompholyx eczema I have had this fir about 8-10 years. Recently duress from hands to one foot.

I don't find the steroid creams work. The most effective thing cream wise for me is a mix of Tropic tamanu balm plus a few drops of vitamin e oil. Cleared up my last very bad bout which also affected the bail on my left hand and made it go very weird and fungal looking. The steroid cream from the doctor did not work.

Vitamin c makes mine flare up so watch for that if you use any vitamin c serums etc.

I have recently had patch testing for another issue and found out that I have allergies to both Balsam of Peru and cobalt and they are both strongly linked to pompholyx eczema. Since I have been avoiding them and following. BoP free diet my hands have massively improved and are much less red and dry generally. They look almost normal and I've stopped applying the balm and oil every night. No one told me that pompholyx can be a type of allergic systemic dermatitis so worth considering requesting patch testing if you can access it or afford it.

I have this chronically and the only thing that helps is Germolene

I agree it's dyshidrotic eczema,I had this on hands and feet a few years ago. I saw a dermatologist who prescribed Dermovate which is a one of the strongest steroid ointments. and it cleared it up.

Thank you all so much for taking the time out to reply. I'm glad I'm not alone. I've never had issues with my skin and this is all new to me (in my forties!). I've been told a dermatology referral would be last port of call till all other avenues have been exhausted.
Currently on fucidin cream. Helping a little bit but not controlling or stopping the spread. I wake up every morning with new little blisters and don't know when it'll stop ☹️.
Has anyone any idea when the blisters will just stop growing and how long do flare up lasts? This started about 2 months ago with only 2/3 blisters on one finger.
Thanks for the suggestions to stop itching etc I will try them all.
I don't know what caused it, so a patch test could be a really good idea. It's been hard working in healthcare with the constant use of sanitiser and cleaning hands, which I thought may have triggered it but not sure now. Thanks again xx

The trouble with steroid creams is that they thin the skin - hope yours clears up asap OP

Oh & stress is a major factor in mine

I get excema on my hands too and find that only Betnovate works for me. It's a steroid cream/ointment and prescription only

I developed mine after having my first daughter. I believe it began because of exposure to baby wipes and constantly washing bottles and hands.

I know the itching is intense, but you cannot scratch it.
I don't actually get the blisters now as long as I use simple soaps and use Hemp cream.

I have this too, mine is pompholyx/dishydrotic eczema. I have mometasone furoate steroid ointment prescribed from my GP and it clears an outbreak up in a day or two. Mine is definitely affected by hormones and contact with certain allergens. I have found the 3in1 Nivea reair hand cream brilliant for keeping it moisturised but not setting it off again. It is so itchy when the blisters appear though! I hope you get sorted soon.

I have this - first started in 2005, sometimes it flares up and I find the key is to catch it before it takes hold.

The worst year I had it was that first year, was on oral steroids, had an infection in my ankle via my foot and I still have a weak spot there. Had a holiday booked to Florida that year - the flight was interesting! I threw so many pairs of socks away during those 2 weeks. But bizarrely my feet started to heal up in week 2 - daily dose of pool chlorine perhaps? No idea.

I don't get it on my hands any more, although my middle finger has a small patch starting. Which I will blitz with steroid cream before it takes hold.

It went away completely in 2009, then came back in 2010 when I was pregnant. I've had it ever since except this year it hasn't broken out on my feet. Yet.

The change of seasons seems to be the start for me - it will start in April and completely go by November.

I use dermovate (it's about the strongest cream but it's the only one that works - tried them all). I use doublebase as a moisturiser.

Good luck

My son had this and GP prescribed a few creams but they didn’t work so he was referred to dermatology and given eumovate which cleared it up. I think you can buy this over the counter in chemists.

Diprobase have an itch relief cream that helps me.

Don't be afraid to use the steroid creams. They're really effective and won't necessarily thin skin, it's just one of the possible side effects.

Thank you all so much for your replies. Going back to the GP today so will discuss the various cream recommended here and maybe a dermatology referral. Haven't slept for nights due to the itching and new blisters popping up every day :(. It sounds like something that perhaps will flare up regularly now. thanks again for all the advice x

I remember that itch, it was worse in the evening and at night, but I couldn't scratch it as it was too painful. I had it on both hands, and one foot. I used icepacks to help cool down the itch.

To add to what I said previously, I went to the GP two or three times with this, and he was hopeless. He claimed the issue on my foot and hands were different from each other (athlete's foot and contact dermatitis!) but on the third visit he agreed to write me a letter for a walk in dermatology clinic which happened to have a session the following day. The dermatologist immediately identified it as dishydrotic eczema and prescribed Dermovate ointment. It cleared it up within a week. I only ever got symptoms in summer, and I think I had it three summers in a row, but once I knew what it was I could short-circuit it by quick use of Dermovate so it was never as bad as the first year (my GP prescribed the Dermovate after the first time).

In terms of how long it lasts, IME it didn't stop until I got the right treatment. It just kept spreading!

By the way if you are using a steroid cream, don't stop using it suddenly when the eczema seems to be clearing up. You need to taper it off gradually or you risk getting 'rebound' symptoms where the problem flares up again. So, use less of it, and less often (e.g. every other day) for a week or so.

Good luck today.

Nail products allergy? Im allergic to various gels and polishes and not others. Break outs can happen on other body parts too non related to hands. Started about 10 years ago out of nowhere. One to consider. I can use Gel Bottle. CND but not Gelish or other popular brands x

The itch is horrendous I actually dread going to bed at night and haven't had a descents night sleep for nearly 2 months!! Took some ice packs to bed last night and they helped loads. Gp has now prescribed betnovate and more antibiotics. He said the steroid cream prescribed last week won't do anything for it and to use it if I want 🤷‍♀️. He said it's contact dermatitis but I'm not sure after reading all your posts. It does sound very much like the eczema described by pp. dermatology appointment could take 2 years for non urgent cases and I also suggested a patch test but he I couldn't organise one myself and didn't seem interested in me having one. So hope the creams given today help. If not back again next week.
I don't paint my my nails due to my job so at least I can rule out nail products. It could be anything Thanks all x