Sore red patches on hands

[Pizzaandsushi]

My ten month old sticks absolutely everything in his mouth, especially his hands.
I’m pretty sure he’s teething but having them constantly in his mouth is causing these red, dry patches and I don’t know how to help heal them. I’m worried the skin is going to break and that will make them more prone to infection.

Is this what eczema looks like or is it simply sore patches from being constantly chewed on?
I know I can’t get him to stop but is there something I can do to help minimise the redness and prevent them from being sore and cracked?

I think it's the chewing. Could you encourage a dummy instead? This would save his hands? It would also have the benefit of you being able to remove the dummy at a later stage.

@PritiPatelsMaker He does have a dummy yes and he has wanted it more lately (teething I guess). I’ve just been holding off on giving it too him all the time as I didn’t want him to want it all the time but actually you’re right, I’d rather the dummy become a bit of a habit that I can take away at a later stage, than something like fingers that can’t 😂.
I just hope he’s too busy and distracted at nursery to do the same thing during the week.

I'd definitely encourage the dummy then if he's used to having it.

One of my DNs was a thumb sucker and their Dentist asked them quite vehemently to encourage the dummy as the risk is that they'll keep sucking fingers and damage tooth and mouth development.

@PritiPatelsMaker that’s really helpful to know thanks.
I’ve been so focused on the fact he never seems to suck his thumb in that classic thumb sucking way, that I don’t think I quite realised any finger sucking is not good for teeth health either.

I don't know if this is something you'd consider, but you can buy a liquid (similar looking to nail varnish) that can be applied to children's fingernails and fingers to discourage sucking & biting. It has a nasty bitter taste but isn't harmful in any way. It helped my DC stop

@harktheherold I would certainly consider it if it continues as often as it has. Do you happen to remember the name of the one you used and is it suitable for babies as young as ten months? Thanks.
I guess I can always keep it as a backup if there’s a minimum age.

This is the one we used:

www.mavala.com/en/903-mavala-stop

But I see it's only suitable for children 3+