I have some sort of dermatitis thing going on.
I’ve had it for years but it was always limited to just a small 10p coin-sized area on my left knuckle.

In the last year or two it seems to have spread to an itchy feeling right across my knuckles, sometimes on both hands, occasionally rashing up, scabbing up or forming little broken skinned mounds that weep.

Trips to the doctors over time have seen me try hydrocortisone creams and also Eumavate cream.
The Eumavate initially seemed to help calm it down but it soon comes back.

I’ve tried to isolate the cause but with no real success. I’ve tried barrier cream which initially seemed to help a little, I’ve tried Aqueous cream which also seemed to help a little. I’ve tried using rubber gloves to wash up, both latex and vinyl, I’ve changed shower gel to Sanex low sensitivity stuff… all seem to have little effect.

I’ve noticed that it sometimes seems to settle down a bit when I go on extended holidays. This is what led me to think of washing up and using gloves. Also, as I work with wood, that’s what led me to try the barrier cream.

Nothing seems to work…

I know it’s a personal thing but wondered if anyone else suffered with dermatitis and had any good advice?

I’m damn near peeling me skin off! 😥

Sounds awful – my Mum suffers with a similar thing on her hands and my Sister has psoriasis so I know what it’s like……

Have you tried cotton liner gloves underneath rubber gloves when doing the washing up and stuff? Sweat seems to make my skin itch, so wearing rubber gloves (latex or nitrile etc.) can cause them to itch.

Could it be a sensitivity to a certain chemical/treatment in woodworking?
When I used to work in the digital print industry, some of the service engineers had really bad dermatitis from washing the ink of their hands with the solvent that was used to make it. Even stepping into a lab where the ink was being used was enough to set it off.

Hope you find a solution….

What about soaking them in an oatmeal bath??

Well I stuck at medical school long enough to finish dermatology. The reason your hands get better on holiday is the UV exposure which is anti inflammatory. Keep pestering your GP, eventually they’ll refer you to dermatology and they may try treatments including UV therapy.
If it’s the itching that’s bothering you you can buy anti-pruritic (anti-itch) creams over the counter, i believe E45 makes one.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001PMM1LI/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001EJOHUU&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=037DRV68PCCQ89771239

Also I have dermatitis and I notice it gets a lot better on holiday.

I’ve noticed that it sometimes seems to settle down a bit when I go on extended holidays.

Considered it could be the UV from sunshine? I had a friend with similar issues, who had tried many options such as yourself.

He then went on a course of UV treatment and within just a few treatments, all gone! (and he had it badly).

Edit: Oh right, what he ^ said 🙂

Stress related? Vitamin B and/or D, possibly worth investigating.

Don’t use aqueous cream. It is cheap rubbish which actually contains ingredients that can irritate broken skin. It’s been verboten for eczema sufferers for years, but loads of people still slap it on.

Alternative is a good emollient cream – ask for diprobase over the counter at a pharmacist. Still pretty cheap. Put it on every time you wash your hands to start with.

I’ve never found hydrocortisone much use for alleviating eczema – I get prescribed betnovate ointment, which works well.

Kayak, I can confidently say that your problems are over. I had exactly the same problem but it pretty much covered my whole right hand, no prescription creams helped long term. I was told that Udderly Smooth Chamoix Cream was originally used to lubricate udders (obviously) and that it was a pretty good moisturiser. Only expecting relief from the dry cracked skin I lathered it on thick three times a day. After about one month I was completely free of dermatitis and have remained so for about five years now.

It’s this stuff:

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/4693149336908112967?q=udderly+beautiful&hl=en-GB&gbv=2&prmd=ivns&prds=paur:ClkAsKraX4k33Cy_QZ79RwGbUB9JZAG9RyXCkvoz8fNFVQPQury4smazoCc0F8_eZsJpAKbgN1vjVMWlkq4jpj3RgeOuK_K70b_tMjTOGCYLpEkbde8GHUdxeRIZAFPVH73hjrpnavsHXtxYa6-U1dRPHK0DQg&sa=X&ei=S4O-VJCLJpL0aqKAgpgH&ved=0CDEQ8wIwAw

To everyone else, please wear gloves when working around oil and grease, the alternative is really not very amusing.

Go to an ethnic shop and get some shea butter to rub in. We had a dinner lady here who was suffering just like you and had tried everything. Just as an experiment I gave her some shea butter that an African customer had given me and two days later her hands were almost completely healed; it was like a miracle. Try it.

Hydro cortisone cream it’s awesome.

I have had good results with urea based creams in the past.

*watches thread*

I have exactly the same condition as you kayak. Mine flares with contact with petrol/diesel or wood/timber or pratting about in the workshop in general. But it will also become aggravated for no reason that I can tell. Ive tried all sorts of creams, current one is Dermalex. Doesnt seem any better of worse than any other.

Maybe I should try the udderly….

Buy shea butter here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unrefined-Certified-Penetrates-Moisturizes-Sensitive/dp/B00C118LQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421773696&sr=8-1&keywords=unrefined+organic+shea+butter

Wow, thanks all. Some interesting things to try there.

I thought the holiday thing may be because of less washing up, less contact with wood and associated chemicals and oils, but I guess it could be a UV thing…although it’s not like I go on beach holidays…
Good suggestion.

I’ll try that udder cream too. Maybe go and fondle a few cows while I’m waiting on my delivery.
Shea butter too…

Betnovate rings a bell too.

I always thought aqueous cream was an emolient and was recommended due to lack of added stuff, so was pretty pure..

I have the exact same problem and mine only flares up when I don’t have gloves to do the washing up. Get yourself to the body shop and get the hemp hand creme, it’s magical.

Sounds exactly like “pompholyx eczema”, which my son suffers from. He’s had it on and off for a couple of years and has been told by a specialist that he will grow out of it.

Can flare up really badly on occasion, and always clears up when we go abroad on holiday, due to the increased UV exposure.

He has worked his way through an armoury of creams, the ones keeping it in check when it does flare up being:
Fucidin
Betnovate / Betamethasone

That in combination with regular moisturising seems to do the job.
It’s an unpleasant thing to suffer with, so I wish you the best in keeping yours in check!

Strange question, but do you have a water softener at home? If I go down to my dad’s house I get itchy hands after about 2 days, and I think it may be linked to the water softener down there, as the water is naturally quite hard but ends up very soft after the treatment …

I had something similar and tried all sorts of stuff and paid loads in prescriptions that didn’t work. In the end I figured out that taking an antihistamine would stop it occurring, I found Cetrizine to work best (available from all pharmacies).

I always thought aqueous cream was an emolient and was recommended due to lack of added stuff, so was pretty pure..

Nope. Don’t touch it with a bargepole.

http://www.eczema.org/aqeous

Assuming that as you are on a biking forum you clean your bikes…….I used to use muck off but it would set off my dermatitis immediately peeling the skin off the palms of my hands….certain chain lubes have the same effect. Without a daily cetirizine antihistamine my hands and face itch like a bloody itchy thing anyway.
Since I had been diagnosed as Vit D deficient and been on prescribed D3 many various symptoms that I had of a range of ailments and my diabetes has improved.
I also found that Duck Smart cleaners for the bikes as they’re Ph neutral have meant no more peeling dermatitis hands.
My suggestion is go to the docs and ask for an extensive blood test to see if there is another underlying vitamin or hormone reason for your dermatitis.
And use a Duck Smart products 😆

Also, as I work with wood, that’s what led me to try the barrier cream.

I’ve noticed that it sometimes seems to settle down a bit when I go on extended holidays.

It could even be allergy to wood dust from inhalation, which manifests itself in skin complaints. This might explain why it takes a while to settle down when you stop working – the dust needs to clear from your lungs. Do you work much with hardwood or ply/chipt-type stuff? Do you use a proper mask when sawing and sanding?

As a life long all-over eczema sufferer I can sympathise.

You should also consider food allergy. I found I was allergic to cows milk protein at 21, after all those years of horrible eczema, strong steroid creams, a skin infection so bad I couldn’t bear wearing clothes and that nearly put me in hospital.

I’ve been so much better since (now 36). I use Diprobase daily and a moderate steroid cream to control the odd flare up.

I still have a constant but background itch. I take antihistamine every day to help mute it. Stress, sweat, cats are all triggers for me but the milk allergy is the main one.

See if your doctor can get you some blood tests for allergens. Good luck and stay strong. Oh and don’t scratch!

You have my thoughts too OP. I’m currently finding the Body Shop Intensive Hemp Hand Butter to be remarkably effective at soothing my current Psoriasis flare up.

That and pure Aloe Vera gel, which really helps stop the itching.

Thanks all for your previous words and thoughts, watching with interest.

I used to get something like that across my knuckles, starting with tiny pus-topped pimples that would break open, then the skin would start to flake and peel across the back of my hand. The thing is, it would start around March, and would continue through until around the end of October, which always lead me to believe it was a photo-reactive thing.
Tried all sorts of creams and lotions, including an Aloe Vera/Shea butter based one, from Body Shop, but nothing seemed to clear it up, then it just cleared up on its own.
One thing that still does cause me problems is liquid ‘soap’, the supposedly anti-bacterial stuff in pump dispensers; I’ve had problems with the skin on the underside of my fingers drying and splitting open, causing much discomfort and bleeding, to the extent I’d be regularly going through rolls of surgical Micropore tape and bottles of superglue to try to protect and heal the splits.
I thought it was due to handling large amounts of paper on a regular basis, but I read a newspaper article which pointed out the skin problems associated with these ‘soaps’, so I stopped using them and went back to bar soap, and the problem has pretty much cleared up as well.
Not what would be called empirical evidence, but may help a bit.

I use traditional toilet soap and I don’t have any skin problems.

QED.

Using your own urine by soaking your hands in it can also help relieve and can also cure.

Anecdotal evidence available.

+1 for Diprobase but it has to be the emolient version (clear gel like stuff) not the cream. I usually buy a few tubes at a time so can keep one in the car, one at work, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom, etc, which means I’m more likely to remember to use it regularly.

Rub it in every hour at first as it doesn’t have an instantaneous effect. It’s definitely more of a preventative than a cure but with regular use it does seem to stop the itch and scaly skin coming back.

Betnovate ointment (not cream).

@chaos: That’s Diprobase ointment. It’s pretty much Vaseline (white soft paraffin), just a bit thinner. I found it very effective when my skin was very bad. I find the cream is better, much less greasy, once everything has calmed down and is under control.

We’ve found our daughter also reacts to cows milk (and soy) the way I do and our doctor said the paraffin based creams and ointments are falling out of favour with GPs. Apparently they now favour oat based creams like Aveeno. We’ve found my Diprobase works better, for her.

I had good success with Betnovate on a spot on my ankle. Did require loads of cream every night and morning (religiously, missing a dose would seem to let it take hold again) but eventually went

feel for you, very discomforting. 😥

I get itchy arms – bicep area – coupled with dry patches of pink skin. It’s ALWAYS stress related. Might explain why it sods off when you go on your holibobs?

Tea tree oil.

Try it.

😀

When I was at uni I had something similar.

Turned out to be scabies, and possibly living in a squat for a short period and banging bong-eyed-Jo the ginger hippy wasn’t the most sensible thing I had ever done.

I’ve found that adding sea salt to my bath water really helps, or just a some in a bowl to soak your hands in.. I noticed my skin clear up whilst on holiday too, mainly after going in the sea..

I sympathise, I had evil pompholyx for years. Stress made mine much worse, would flare up every time work got bad. Actually had some results by combining the cortisone with anti fungal treatment. An old witch doctor type (not really) suggested I could have low level fungal infection that takes hold when stressed and the body is over-reacting and that’s what causes the eczma.

kayak, I work with wood every day too – and my hands were getting wrecked – little bit itchy (but not too bad) – but cracked skin around knuckles, which would dry and then crack open, be really sore and then repeat every day. Around a year ago, I decided to go all H&S (for myself as well as looking like the responsible guy on site) so have extraction for all but my jigsaw now. This has improved things a bit. However the biggest difference has been wearing gloves – all day. I use these things:

They’re breathable/permeable (so won’t protect from oils/stains) but stop my hands getting covered in adhesive, and from getting generally filthy from contact with sub-floors all the time. Also, there’s no perspiration problem. They’re tight enough not to lose dexterity and you can feel stuff through them. After a few hours use, the fingertips are thin enough to be able to use a smartphone. 🙂 Hands are nice and clean at the end of the day too. I get through a few pairs a month.

All the creams in the world haven’t touched the difference that wearing gloves all day has made. Might be worth a try.

Thanks DD.
I’m not too sure I could get away with gloves as I do have to do a huge amount of fiddly stuff of all sorts (I teach furniture making in a college, and also am the technician in charge of looking after machinery etc)

I did hope that the barrier cream might be a revelation but as with most things I try, it seems to help initially and then the irritation and scaly shizzle returns across the back of both hands.

Our workshop is generally fairly good in terms of dust extraction but I guess it’s prolonged exposure. Yesterday I had to stop a student who decided to blow off his plywood sanded panels with compressed air in the corner of the workshop. Filled the place with a dust cloud! 😯

Hmmm, I thought that might be the case for you. There’s nothing like finger tips when it comes down to it. I’ve tried those fingertip-less carpenter’s gloves in the past but they’re a bit crap. Those ones I linked to have been the only ones I’ve been able to use all day, even when I’m doing fiddly-arsed stuff (like screwing in 2000 screws into a plywood sub-floor 😡 ). They’re even fine enough to feel when something is sanded smooth – but then again, I’m floors, you’re furniture. We probably have different ideas of smooth. 😆

I think the condition clearing up on holidays points to two things – it’s work related and possibly stress (but I have no idea how stressful work is for you). So, you need to change something about how you work.

Gunz – Member
Kayak, I can confidently say that your problems are over. I had exactly the same problem but it pretty much covered my whole right hand, no prescription creams helped long term. I was told that Udderly Smooth Chamoix Cream was originally used to lubricate udders (obviously) and that it was a pretty good moisturiser. Only expecting relief from the dry cracked skin I lathered it on thick three times a day. After about one month I was completely free of dermatitis and have remained so for about five years now.

Gunz, I’ve been using Udderly Smooth since your recommendation and so far the results are good.
My hands generally seem in much better condition, flare ups have reduced.
I’m still getting a persistent scaly and itchy patch but I’ll keep going with it and maybe use a bit of hydrocortisone etc to bring stuff under control.

Thanks for the tip 🙂

Check out coconut oil, it has a wide variety of therapeutic applications.