Itchy eczema on my hand driving me out of my MIND!!!

[gcvmom]

Okay, I am getting desperate now. I've had this patch of eczema that started around my wedding ring a loooong time ago, like a year ago now, when I didn't get soap rinsed out all the way. It has spread to the next finger now and at the base of both those fingers on my palm. And it is maddeningly itchy right now because I just washed my hands again after doing some work outside. I stopped wearing my rings about two months ago so that NOTHING would get stuck under them and it would hopefully heal

I treat it with cortisone cream, and that helps the itch, and it starts to get better, but I inevitably HAVE to wash my hands and it starts all over again. I've got little blisters over the area combined with dry flakey red irritated skin.

WHAT kind of soap can I use that won't aggravate this so that it will finally heal??? I'm starting to think even shampoo affects it!!

Or should I just walk around with a latex glove on my hand all day?

This is really ridiculous.

 

[Hound dog]

Don't wear a latex glove! Next you'll probably start reacting to that. lol

I dunno. Brandon has it terrible. Nothing has worked. easy child has changed to all hypo allergenic products with him. She's tried the lotions the doctor has suggested. Hasn't helped. She is down to bathing him only once a week.....any more makes it worse.

I used to use Johnson's baby CREAM (came in a jar) on Travis and husband when they got it. And it did the job every time. I haven't been able to find the stuff in years. Only thing I ever found that worked for them. Unfortunately Brandon and Aubrey got grandpa's skin.

Could you be allergic to the metal in your ring? Both my girls have metal allergies.

 

[tiredmommy]

Try wearing light weight cotton gloves at night with-the cortisone cream. I would try some baby wash as a liquid soap.... make sure you gently blot your hands dry each time.

 

[gcvmom]

Lisa, I'm pretty sure this is a soap-related dermatitis, especially since the itching worsens and I see blisters after using just about any soap I have here in the house.

TM, I should probably try the cotton glove with the cream at night for a week and see if that helps. I've gone through a whole tube of cream in the past few months and it's not getting any better because I keep re-irritating it every time I wash. I may have to start carrying my own bottle of special soap (if I can find some) for when I'm out somewhere!

 

[GoingNorth]

Cetaphil makes a no-wash cleanser made specifically for reactive skin. What you have sounds like a severe contact dermatitis. I'd look at the ring as well. Jewelry, especially that with nickel in it, can cause severe dermatitis. For example; I'm allergic to nickel and cannot wear white gold due to white gold being alloyed with nickel.

In all honesty, if you can do it; I'd suggest going to see a dermatologist. My info is old and I'm no specialist. All I can speak for is my own experiences with a similar skin condition.

 

[TerryJ2]

I'd go to a dermatologist.
They have great products and prescriptions, and can offer ideas on whether it's soap- or ring-related. Or both.
Sounds awful, either way. So sorry.

 

[SRL]

I've had hand excema and cracked hands again recently and the only thing that works for me is getting prescription cortisone (Topicort) from the dermatologist. He told me to put it on every time I washed--that it was to be my "lotion" until it cleared and it took care of it quickly. Once it cleared up completely I now can get on it immediately so it doesn't flare up.

I messed with it for too long--I wished I'd have gone sooner.

I'm using Cetaphil for a hand cleanser and Aveeno with the blue lid for lotion now.

 

[muttmeister]

One thing that's good for exema is Vicks VapoRub. Sounds crazy but it sometimes works and it's cheap and if it doesn't work you're really not out much. It also is good for toenail fungus, jock itch, and a lot of other things. Kind of a super drug for those of us who can't afford doctors. It's not particularly fast acting though; for some things you have to use it for a couple of weeks to get results but it might be worth a try if nothing else has worked.

 

[GoingNorth]

The fragrance free Aveeno is a great lotion for dry and irritated skin. I live under a layer of the stuff in the winter because i've got horribly dry skin and the central heat really aggravates it.

Aveeno also makes a good bath oil, but you have to be very careful with it so you don't break your neck in the bathtub.

Not to be too much information, but in the winter I don't bathe every day. I bathe every other day, use the lotion. On the "off days", I just wash "the bits that need washing" so to speak.

Bathing too often isn't good for damaged skin.

I go with Cetaphil and Aveeno lotion and that seems to work very well for me. A dermatologist can provide RX treatments that can be very helpful. In fact, a GP can likely help you treat this. It is not an uncommon condition at all, especially in the winter.

 

[Star*]

https://health.google.com/health/ref/Contact+dermatitis

You have contact dermatitis.....and a secondary infection.

Get thee to a GP.

I'm not a doctor I just play one on the board (looking for judi to blast me)

 

[GoingNorth]

Star. I don't think it merits a "blasting". You are pointing out a possible diagnosis and pointing the "case" at a medical specialist

 

[Star*]

no no no.......I'm BEING a doctor....and DIAGNOSING her hand....

I said...."you HAVE contact dermatitis with a secondary skin infection." without looking at it. lol

I is playing doctor. (get it?) I love judi. This will make her nuts. I did not "suggest". I diagnosed it. See? I'm trying to be bad. (drat). Not bad huh?

Wait....A second attempt.

It's Infant-tango! That's that disease you get when you dance around with babies. - Thanks GN. Love ya!

 

[nvts]

Triple paste worked for us as well as udder cream. Both are really thick and protect the irritated skin by making a kind of barrier sealing in the moisture but keeping out the irritants.

When my sister went to her dermatologist, he had her soaking her hands in this tar bath that smelled to high heaven, but her hands stopped peeling AND the condition never came back.

Feel better, I'm dealing with "diabetes feet" right now and it's maddening!

Beth

 

[Hound dog]

Mutt.......Vicks? Seriously? I'm not doubting you. lol It cleared up my Mom's hemorroids in one shot. By accident. That's what happens when you're too lazy to turn on a light. lol

I remember when I was a kid my hands got really sore and chapped and sort of blistery. Grandma lathered me up in vasaline and covered my hands in clean white socks every night until it went away. It worked.

Mutt......wouldn't Vicks on jock itch HURT??? That stuff can burn! I'm wincing as I type this. lol

 

[GoingNorth]

I think there is a warning on Vicks not to apply it to broken/damaged skin. I sure can't imagine using it on jock itch or similar fungal stuff in the "regions"

I can remember my mother slathering my hands and feet with CRISCO and putting gloves/socks over the areas.

I had horrible contact dermatitis on both feet and hands for many, many years. For some reason it has eased off as I get older.

 

[Lothlorien]

What kind of cortisone cream are you using? Over the counter? May not be strong enough. I had terrible, terrible, horrible excema on my....er, um, well.....under my bra, on the sides. It lasted for two years. Cracked, open and miserable. Finally, after many different creams, it cleared up, but I have to wear a bra even at night. So, keeping your hand covered with a cotton glove might help, at least at night, so that sheets and things aren't irritating it and you are less likely to scratch it open while sleeping.

I don't wear my original wedding rings anymore, because they caused the same problem.

Doctor gave me a stronger, prescription strength cortisone cream with an anti-fungal medication. That cleared it up...but it moves around. Currently, I'm having an issue on my neck. I use Sarna most of the time. It's a lotion that has cortisone in it. You can pick it up at a drug store, but I'd go to the dermatologist or doctor and have them look at it first. You probably need stronger cortisone with an anti-fungal, but a doctor should diagnosis that.

Aveeno soap is good. They make bars and wash, so try that in the meantime.

Wear your ring around your neck on a necklace for now.

 

[muttmeister]

Yes, if you use it on jock itch or athlete's foot it does burn for a minute but after that there is no itch and it eventually cures it. In our daily newspaper we have a column by Dr. Gott (it is a national, syndicated column) and that was the first place I read about using Vicks to cure all kinds of fungus and eczema and toenail fungus and some other stuff. If you want to do a search for his columns, I'm sure you could find it someplace. I can tell you from experience, it does work.

 

[GoingNorth]

Hmmm...could be, I guess. I used to use a lotion made to use on horses' hooves on my hands.

Found out by accident when using it on my horse that it also helped my dermatitis. I can't remember the name of the stuff, but I remember hearing that it contained exactly the same ingredients as the (expensive) human hand and nail lotions.

I still use "bag balm" on really dry places like on my feet.

 

[muttmeister]

Using horse and cow stuff makes me laugh; my grandfather had race horses that he took all over the US and to Cuba and Mexico (that was before they cost milllions). My mother says that whenever they were little and they got sick they got dosed with Balsam of Myrrh, which was the horse medicine. I got it myself a few times when I was little. As I recall, it smelled awful but it usually worked. I guess that kind of stuff is what makes me so tough in my old age. My mother is 95 and still going strong and her sister is 93 and goes to the gym and works out and swims a bunch of laps everyday. Must be the horse medicine. LOL

 

[flutterby]

My doctor always warns not to use creams with steroids for more than 2 weeks because it thins the skin. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Talk to your own doctor to be sure.

I don't have any answers. Right now, I have it in my ears. Talk about driving you crazy.... And the skin is already thin there so I really don't want to do a steroid cream. It's been a few months now....I'm surprised I have ears left.

(And check my post on the News Forum about stress...skin changes, i.e., eczema, are common side effects of stress.)