Pompholyx eczema

[Brigante9]

Some years ago, I had a very serious attack of eczema on my hands and feet. I posted pictures on here after it all healed. All the skin on my feet fell off, it was very raw. My hands bubbled up in blisters which was very itchy. I was admitted to A&E because it was so serious. I spent a lot of time getting dressings changed at the GP’s, soaking my feet in potassium permanganate. At the time, pp on here said I’d never have such a serious attack again.

I am very worried to see blisters (very few) on my hand and I’ve just seen some on one foot. I’ve put some of the cream the doctor gave me on my foot. For various reasons, I can only currently fit into one pair of shoes-Dr Martens-not ideal for getting air to it. I’m panicking, I’ve already had an emergency admittance to A&E, plus lots of unrelated treatment. What do I do?!

Pics of the last time.

I feel for you. My husband has pompholyx as bad as you, with his first flare occurring in childhood.

When he gets blisters cropping up (as they do every now and then, especially in the heat) he uses his steroid cream at night, and makes sure to go barefoot as much as he can the rest of the time. If it continues to worsen, he breaks out the salicylic acid cream instead. He's only had a few bad flares since his first one, and those usually only after his hands have come into contact with strongly chlorinated pool water on holiday. Hopefully this is only a mild reaction to the heat and will disappear soon.

Oh it’s horrible isn’t it. If you’ve just gone through unrelated medical issues as you said then maybe it’s the stress of that on your body that’s brought it on. In which case it will hopefully be a mild blip while your body recovers from the stress of going to A&E and so on. Order some open flip flops or go barefoot as much as possible while you’re waiting for it to pass. And try not to panic, it will pass.

Thanks, guys. I’m worried it’ll be as bad, it’s the heat, I think. I’m too old for this shit!

Ahh, pompholyx. The itchy gift that keeps on giving! Please don't panic, in my twenties I had a horrific bout of it, your mention of potassium permanganate makes go right back to soaking my hands in a bowl of the purple stuff and having to wear gloves in the summer as my hands were stained creosote brown. I still get the occasional small patch on my feet, less often on my hands, but it's never been anything like that first episode.

I use betnovate on it whenever a patch of blisters appear and make sure to emoliate with something like cetraben.

And ditch shower gel or hand wash-bar soap only !

@PragmaticWench everywhere is out of betnovate, I couldn’t get the prescription filled for love nor money. 😢I have Dermol to use instead of soap.

I was using the potassium permanganate for weeping ulcers on my leg (I have all the best stuff going on!) It stains everything a treat! I have gloves, a plastic bag to protect areas, the works!

I get this. It’s horrible. It’s probably the heat triggering it, or maybe stress like another poster suggested.

Ask for a different/stronger steroid. It needs to be kept in check, especially if you have other health issues and a history of it becoming really bad.

I recently had a pretty bad bout of it (not as bad as your photos, but it was extremely painful and was at risk of becoming seriously infected) and the GP took it pretty seriously. Prescribed a large tube of potent steroid immediately. You have to keep on top of the moisturising too, and be aware of triggers that can bring it on. Strong antihistamines help me too as the itching is unbearable.

So sorry you're dealing with this.

If you haven't already I'd recommend getting your vitamin levels checked. Niacin deficiency causes pellagra which manifests as the skin changes you're describing. Not saying eczema isn't a thing but after my own similar horrible experience (with similar pictures as yours) which turned out to be an iron, zinc, and niacin deficiency - I have a sneaking suspicion that us moms and often babies are nutritionally depleted and what the docs say is eczema is actually nutritional deficiencies.

On the bright side if it is a nutritional deficiency it is usually easily corrected with a few supplements.

Best of luck and hope you feel better soon!

Hi - I just wanted to post here in case this is of use. I've had Pompholyx on hand and feet (not as bad as your pictures) - but the latest outbreak (on my hand) was agony with my palm split in several places and bleeding. It's been ongoing since April. I tried the cream the doctor gave me but it didn't do much. I use aqueous cream which sooths but doesn't clear it up.
Last week, I suddenly decided to use the cream the doctor gave me to use over night (Betamethasone) and to wear a latex glove over the hand (the sort of gloves used by dentists etc).
The eczema has pretty much gone (in a week!) - even on the first day it had cleared up so much that I could hardly believe it. It's still a bit red but the cracks have gone and it doesnt hurt at all (and it nearly looks lke a normal human hand!).
Sorry if this is old news but I wanted to share it in case it helps anyone.

I don’t have pompholyx but have a skin condition that affects my palms and fingers which cause pustules. I’m now on long term antibiotics and immunosuppressants. Last time I saw the dermatologist they gave me some steroid plasters called Betesil. They have the equivalent of betnovate in them and I cut them to size. They are really useful for the splits, and definitely help,

I suffer from this. No steroid cream has ever helped, but a soak with one part apple cider vinegar and two parts warm water does wonders.