Hand eczema, losing the will!

[Helpmyhands]

Ive suffered with hand eczema for 3 years now. I've tried copious steroids, creams, cotton gloves, had patch testing (I do have some allergies). I even wear disposable gloves to change my babies nappy so I don't have to wash them so frequently. I'm having a horrendous flare up and I'm in tears. I can't get on top of it, my hands are destroyed from steroid use.

I've spoken to doctors, multiple times. I've seen the community dermatologist and another dermatologist. No one's ever actually looked at my hands in person. Only photos. I'm now doubting if it's all eczema.

It goes through phases, sometimes the skin on my fingertips cracks and splits. Sometimes I have small blisters. Currently I have what feels and looks like a burn.

Don't really know why I'm posting this, anything I haven't tried? Any tips? Im so desperate to get on top of it and I can't. It nearly clears and then comes back worse.

Help me :(

I had a similar rash for over 18 months. It started after I used hand sanitiser in hospital and then frequent handwashing due to nappy changes. I have managed to keep it under control with double base handwash, steroid cream if it flares and cetraben ointment overnight

I get it on my hands too . It’s actually tiny blisters under the skin - it’s a type of eczema I forget its name . Once it flares the only thing that helps me is a course of antibiotics to clear up the underlying skin blisters. Tried everything else.
I empathise with you x

And a random picture off my camera roll 🙄 I suppose it could of been worse lol

I know Towneley Hall well, timeforanewnam

😉

Sorry about your eczema

Sounds like pompholyx I think.

I had that for years, brought on by using surgical gloves, particularly with powder, related to work. What kind of disposable gloves are you using? I used to react badly to hand sanitisers and hand wash as well. Alcohol and heat seemed to make it worse. I basically had to change jobs, use mild soaps and no hand sanitisers. Neat lavender oil and soaking my hands in green tea helped. Household gloves for washing up and any cleaning. It's been gone for about 10 years now. So sorry, I know how awful it is and how you can hardly even use your hands sometimes.

I have something similar , but not so bad, it flares up any time I use handwash, esp public loo ones.

I used this method -
apply steroid cream
put damp cotton gloves on with dry cotton gloves over the top.
sleep in them.

repeat until healed

it really is amazing how well it has worked on my son and I.

Also I find barrier hand creams with silicone good to prevent , like o Keefes working hands.

oh and shampoo flares me up. The brand Cantu (silicone free) does not.

For me, I have to avoid prepping certain foods. Potato, pepper, garlic, cheese. I feel your pain. Hope it improves xp

Eczema can be largely hormonal. I had it so badly when I was pregnant. Cleared up as soon as I gave birth. Have you had your hormones levels and endocrine system looked at? What is your diet like?

This might not not helpful to you at the moment but I my hands normally look exactly like yours. This year I have been religious with hand cream. I have tubes of normal hand cream. I slaver my hands in cream at night and wear cotton gloves. And so far - touch wood- it has been under control . It might be worth a try. I have used far less steroid cream this winter. Hope something works for you .

Mine flared up during pregnancy and got even worse after giving birth. I couldn't use hand sanitizer or our usual hand wash anymore. I cured mine by switching to sensitive oil based hand wash from pharmacy. My DD got bad eczema and I cured that with calendula cream.

I suffer with this and have done for years. It is the best it’s ever been now but still get flare ups. I had to use a very very strong steroid to get on top of it and then I use epdaderm ointment to seal it all in and act as a barrier. I apply epidermal cream about 50 times a day too to try and stop them getting dry.

Thank you all for the quick replies. I actually feel better just knowing I'm not alone. Ridiculous huh?

Sorry I'm not good at tagging posters names but to drip feed I moisturise religiously. I think my blood stream must be 64% cetraben by now.

I've not had my hormones checked since birth but I am a hormonal mess so could explain a lot.

I'll try the damp cotton gloves method a go too.

Lots of ideas to try here so I'll give them a go.

And I'm really sorry to everyone else who suffers. It's such a horrible thing to battle constantly, even though in the grand scheme of the world it appears small it has a huge impact on my day to day life. I've never bathed my babies because of it.

Hope it heals up soon OP. Once you clear it you can be free for years. 10 for me, and with care, I think it may never return. It makes you think about how much we use our hands and how debilitating it is when we can't.

I thought I had hand eczema but nothing the dermatologist or GP gave me worked. They eventually did a biopsy and cut out one of the blisters on my hand intact so they could look at it. Turned out I’ve got a completely different condition and I’m now on immunosuppressants. You need to be seen in person.

This was mine at its worst.

I'm not going to be much use because I think you've tried what worked for me (prescription steroids to get it under control and then copious moisturising with aqueous cream) but sending sympathy as my hands looked just like that and it was painful! Weirdly peeling potatoes was the worst thing.

Mine started at work with lots of glove wearing / hand washing and then really kicked in when I has a premature baby and had to keep washing my hands and using alcohol based sanitiser in SCBU. It's been much easier to keep under control as the kids got older and I moved to a desk based job - much less hand washing.

I always thought eczema was due to a dairy allergy, whey/ Casin.
I have psoriasis and my hands can crack and bleed, they are very painful when like this.
I know if I cut out Gluten, nightshades, sugar & sweeteners & alcohol, it starts healing quite quickly.
I try and follow clean eating, I swap white potato for sweet potato.

Look at the ingredients on the back of food packets.
Gluten is a big trigger for me.

Sorry to see so many other sufferers. I've had really bad problems with eczema on my hands in the past. Antibiotics made a massive difference (I must have suffered for 3 years with something I tried to treat with steroids and the eczema turned out to be infected). I now have occasional problems and stronger steroid cream for when required (and I wear gloves a lot in the kitchen). I'm allergic to a lot of soaps and, it turns out, to a lot of the moisturisers and aqueous creams given for eczema, so I avoid those.

My first flare-up was caused by major stress and the consultant said that was usual - my DF had the same thing. It might be useful to remember so you are extra careful in times of stress in future.
I was prescribed Dermovate, an extra strong steroid, when at its worst, and use Betnovate when a bit better. Like Strugglebus, I use Epaderm about 50 times a day when bad and use it as soap replacement for handwash and in the shower. Diprobase, Aveeno or nivea several times a day keep things under control when good. My skin is okay by creaming frequently and avoiding chemicals.

Ow @Splodgerbodgerbadger. That looks horrible. I had a really nasty rash in pregnancy which I think was immunological. Steroids and ABs didn't touch it.

Presumably you've cut out everything that you were allergic to? That's sorted my hand eczema but sometimes there's similar compounds that set off an allergic reaction. Have you checked for these? What are your allergies?

Alternatively my MIL cured her terrible hand eczema by switching to soft water. She moved to a soft water area which is how she worked it out. Now she's back in a hardwater area she insisted on a water softener.

This was the only thing that cured my flare ups (but they weren’t on my hands): https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/resources/bleach-baths-for-eczema/

have you tried a private dermatologist who will actually look at your hands?

Pompholyx, steroid from the GP got rid of it within a few days. What kept it away was not using anti bac liquid soap and switching to bar soap.

I had awful hand excema, extremely painful and sore, and it's luckily gone now. The only thing I can put it down to, after over a year of elimination things, was the fabric conditioner I was using. I was using quite a fragrant one on bedding etc, and once I switched to Fairy it completely cleared up after about a week. I tried everything, but that's the only thing I can pin it on.
Again, interesting about hormonal changes as it also cleared up a few months after I stopped taking the pill, but I'd never thought it was linked.
Some people suggest dairy is a trigger, but quite a few dermatologists reject that idea that I spoke to. I think it could make it worse, but it's not a cause as such.

Not sure if any of my advice will help, but I'm another who can add solidarity. I'm just coming out of a nasty flare that started just before Christmas. I've had two fingernails fall off this time, which is a new low-point.

So, these are what help me:
Ditch all creams and swap to ointments.
Use emollient a billion times a day.
Use steroids every day when bad, then every weekend when better.
Try to keep hands dry and put emollient on immediately after they've been wet.
Avoid soap as much as possible
Wear gloves for wet, dirty or soapy tasks (even for shampooing my hair). Avoid sweating inside rubber gloves by either limiting to short periods or wearing cotton gloves inside. Rubber gloves with cotton lining are not good enough.
Wet cotton gloves overnight over ointment as described by previous poster.
Wash cotton or winter gloves frequently, before they look dirty.
Chlorine soak -sometimes a full bath other times just my hands in a bowl of lukewarm water with a squirt of milton. It should be about as strong as a swimming pool. Previous poster has put a link in with more detail. This is very drying, so put even more emollient on afterwards.
Potassium permanganate soak. This is less drying than the chlorine and amazing if skin is weepy, but stains your skin and nails brown for a few days. I don't think it's available any more because it's pretty toxic in the environment, but I have a pot that will last me decades.

Hope you find something to help you op.