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Dermatology  (Expert Forum)
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small clear dots on hands
Answered by
Alan Rockoff, MD - dermatology, Child Skin Problems
The Rockoff Dermatology Center Brookline - MA
This forum is for questions regarding Dermatology issues, such as: skin rashes, acne, birthmarks, skin infections, rosacea, and general skin care.
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MedHelp Member's Question

small clear dots on hands

by questionquestion, Jun 17, 2005 12:00AM
I have had a series of small clear dots appearing on my hands for over eight months now.  A young PA diagnosed them as flat warts and froze them in the office. After several visits they persisted and my insurance stopped paying for the visits.  I started freezing them off myself with Compound W freeze off.  The freezing gets rid of the frozen ones but they continue to pop up.  I have been looking at pictures of flat warts on the internet and they look nothing like what I have.  The dots are small the size of a pencil point or a bit bigger.  They are round and completely clear looking.  The lines of the skin do stop and go around the dot like they would with a wart.  They are not raised but if I press on them when I freeze them they do not compress as does the rest of the skin - looking like a little pebble before the skin regains color and raises back up.  Sometimes when the skin turns white with freezing the dot stays clear, sometimes it to turns white.  



I have stopped surfing because I was afraid the wax was hosting the virus and have become some what of a hypochondriac - spraying everything in my house daily with bleach or alcohol. A year before this I contracted molluscum contagium and that took a yearish to clear up.  Those bumps looked completely different -red and raised.  Is there a connection? If not was the PA right - flat warts?  What do I have?  



Please help I am slowly going mad - I am afraid to shave and wash my face because I have read that broken skin from shaving can increase the risk of spreading the virus.  I, also, am no longer touching door knobs, things I own, or shaking hands fearing spreading the virus as well.  with this and molluscum it has been three years of torture and embarrassment.  



Thank you for any help you can provide



    

Doctor's Answer

by Alan Rockoff, MD, Jun 19, 2005 12:00AM
It is possible these are warts, but even if they are, it's often best not to treat them, since they go away on their own.  The same is true of molluscum.  Also, neither flat warts nor molluscum usually behave contagiously--otherwise everyone who these common conditions would be covered with them just from showering, and that just doesn't happen.



I am concerned by your question, but not about your skin.  Three years of "torture," avoidance of doorknobs and surfing--these are extreme overreactions regardless of what you actually have, which may well be nothing at all.  I strongly urge you to get reliable dermatological help (spelling out your behavioral changes caused by the diagnosis), as well as psychologic/psychiatric counseling to get past your phobic behavior, whether it was triggered by dermatological diagnosis or not.  And please stop freezing your own lesions--this will just perpetuate your concerns, and will not provide the help you obviously need.



Best.



Dr. Rockoff



Member Comments (11)

by dobbo, Jul 03, 2005 12:00AM
I'm no doctor but I have had a similar problem off and on for years - in my case the little dots are filled with a clear fluid and occur on the hands and occasionally the feet.



If this rings any bells then examine any soaps and cleaning products you use because it is probably contact dermatitis. In my case I am allergic to some cleaning products and most soaps, particularly inexpensive liquid soaps. I did try steroid creams but found the best solution was simply to avoid the products that irritate my skin.

by ldygodyva, Jul 03, 2005 12:00AM
I also am not a doctor, however I have been having the same problem with my hands breaking out with small clear blisters.  If I poke them with a pin when they appear, a clear fluid oozes out of them.  If I just leave them alone then they tend to dry up and the skin turns brown.  In both cases the skin will peel away after it dries.  This problem seems to occur most in the summer months.  I do not believe they are warts but some other kind of condition.  Any ideas?  About all I can think of is hand cream clogging the pores.  I have tried many different types of hand creams as my hands are very dry.

Ldygodyva

by kniskern, Jul 05, 2005 12:00AM
ok, my hands do a similar thing during the summer months...  blisters on the fingers and knuckles of both hands...  They itch like CRAZY, and I tend to scratch them until they scab to keep the itching down...  nothing seems to clear them up...  just little puss filled bumps/blisters all over my knuckles...  Arrrrrgh!  If you come up with anything, post it so we know where to look!

by acanadian, Jul 25, 2005 12:00AM
I occassionally get an outbreak of small clear blisters on the sides and sometimes the tops of my fingers.  I find it really embarrassing, and I pick at it.  It became so annoying to me that it eventually became an obsessive compulsive disorder.  It has also led to my skin in that area being dry and sometimes peeling.  In turn, that has led to there sometimes being puss leaking out onto open skin, which is really gross and causes hard yellow **** on my skin sometimes.  That in turn makes my skin dry and peel more.  It's all terrible and I don't know how to make it go away.



I hope that if the blistering went away the whole problem would be solved, and I wouldn't have any problems.  I found out that alot of people have the same problem and don't know what it's called or what to do with it (both on the net and in real life).  Some doctors think it's irritant dermatitis.



My best understanding so far is that it's somewhat of an allergic reaction to something that your skin is coming in contact with.  Likely candidates often include soap (typically dish or laundry), perfumes, cologne, shaving cream, shampoo, skin mites (which everyone has, they eat dead skin) and airborn mold spores.  Other things that you come in frequent contact with could be doing it to.  Apparently it's hard to identify what is causing it, because it can take up to four days before a reaction.



If it tends to be worse in the summer, one tends to think it is either mold or skin mites.  I think this is what I'm suffering (but I'm not sure).



If it's skin mites, then you'll probably notice your skin blisters more in the summer and while you're asleep.     Skin mites like hot wet environments, and tend to hang around your bed and your dirty laundry.



So my strategy is to try sleeping in a clean place without fabric.  I'm taking a shower at least an hour before bed and making sure to scrub (but not too much) my skin and to dry off really well.  I'm also wiping my hands with a cloth often and trying not to irritate my hands any more than that.



If I see an improvement in the next three weeks, I'll share that.  I'll also keep reading.  Good luck.

by acanadian, Jul 25, 2005 12:00AM
Oh, while I was reading this, I just searched on google and found a really useful and informative article.



So here:



http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/contact-irritant.html

by acanadian, Jul 25, 2005 12:00AM
Oh, yet another useful resource:



This is rings as being precisely what I have.  I looked at the pictures for the other contact irritant dermatitis and that doesn't look right.  :p



http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/pompholyx.html



It's better to have lots of resources and have to read more, than to not have enough resources and have to keep trying new things to see what happens.  Now I can sleep in my comfy bed and not worry.  I will try to treat it as suggested therein.  Well, I'm done posting, that should be helpful.  Good luck.

by EAM, Jul 26, 2005 12:00AM
Thanks for posting the links for pompolyx. I also have these strange bumps and seeing these pictures has put my mind to some degree of ease.



I wonder if you have other outbreaks? I am experiencing outbreaks on my forearms, elbows, heals, palms, legs, and throughout the day I have noticed even more irritations.



This has become a reoccurring problem for me with my second outbreak beginning a couple weeks ago(First time happened with the use of fake nails). I recently finished a 10 day Keflex prescription and on the tenth day I broke out all over my face and hands.



An ER doctor diagnosed me with urticaria and an allergy to this antibiotic and prescribed a low dose steroid and several antihistamines (which did not help). I went a doctor two days later who did not think my reaction