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Dyshidrotic Eczema on the Fingers and Hands

Hello Everyone,

I am a healthy, 47 year-old male, and I have had dyshidrotic eczema (atopic dermatitis) on my hands for the last year-and-a-half. It mainly consists of tiny, red fluid-filled blisters in between my fingers, on the sides of my fingers, on my palms, and at the wristline. Sometimes it is just one blister here and there; other times it is a cluster of blisters that eventually fuse into one larger, irregularly-shaped blister. Some of the blisters are itchy and/or painful, others have no itch or pain at all. Usually, they disappear in a matter of days, but there are always new ones appearing in other places so the condition never really seems to go away. Initially, the blisters only appeared during the hottest summer months, but now I have them at any time of the year. I use only baby soaps and mild shampoos, I do not expose my hands to excessive amounts of water, I use "sensitive" laundry detergents and fabric softeners, I am under mild stress but control it to the best of my ability, I do not have any major allergies (except perhaps dust mites), and my diet is generally healthy.

Is there anything I can do to treat the blisters and prevent recurrence? I could not find anything new on the Internet that has helped me and my doctor said he could prescribe topical steroids for quality of life improvement, but there is no cure and it may become chronic. The only thing I haven't tried is cutting out nickel-rich foods such as almonds, figs, pineapples, red wine, chocolate, whole grains, but these are considered "healty" or "beneficial" foods (in moderation) so I don't really feel like giving them up so quickly.
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Avatar universal
Hi.  Sorry.  I have the same thing, even mite allergy.

#1 Dairy is the biggest cause.  Fresh milk like ice cream and whip cream are the worst, nightmarish, making paronychia.  Heated milk products have been better (cheese), but still bad at times.

It almost practically stopped at points in time (15 years of it now, at least since 20 y o) and then returned explicitly when changing homes, multiple times.  For no apparent reason - neither food, soap, anything touching my hands outside or inside.

When it has gotten bad, I have always identified tomatoes and its sauces as the second etiology, after removing dairy from my diet.

And recently, I discovered almonds to be another cause - like clockwork - almond milk or almonds, but not cashews.

Other things like sugars have caused splits.  At no time has honey not made splits, but things like maple syrup do not cause the splits once the reaction has been solved after moving to a new house.

If/as it improves, I have been able to walk-backward into the foods, but found the limit at fresh dairy.  I love ice cream and whip cream, but it is like a slap fest with it.

I agree, it sounds stupid.
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There is also a direct effect from mango.  Mango is the allergenic fruit of fruits.  It makes sense that I would have it, though my wife also has it.  Hers is a violent allergy, and found it to cause a cascade of violent hypersensitivity to latex!  She stopped mango and the latex (including bra latex) allergy left with it!

The point being that this ostensible allergy to all food is most likely an "APB" allergy to hopefully one food.  So if you find the root activator and eliminate it, then all of the other "apparent" allergens/reactants will stop their reflexive involvement.  

It is that hypersensitivity scenario that is inspiring and explanative when depressed about the possibility that you are allergic to all food.
3041750 tn?1340105402
Hi..i have the same problem and searched a lil.I read an article about it and it was recommending to put ur hands/feet in a cool water and add some vinegar .I tried it twice and it worked for me..hope works for you guys too...And do not forget to wash ur hands with still water often and keep them dry.
Love from Turkey
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the general tips, but none of this is really relevant to my condition as I do not have dry or cracked skin. In fact, my skin is quite soft and supple, yet I still develop the small blisters on the sides of my fingers and in-between them, as well as on my palms and wrists. It is nearly impossible to identify all food triggers as processed foods contain so many individual ingredients. I do not want to use cortisone creams or drugs; I prefer a home remedy.
Thanks!
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello and hope you are doing well.

If you do not develop symptoms on consumption of the food mentioned, you can rule them out as triggering factors. Maintain a food dairy and note down your symptoms, this will help to narrow down the search. Besides avoiding the triggering factors, treatment for atopic dermatitis is with cortisone based creams and moisturizers. You should take a short bath or shower (no more than 10 minutes) only once in a 24 hour period. For adults, showers are generally better than baths. While longer baths or showers, especially in hot water, can be quite relaxing, they will also increase the loss of natural oils from the skin and worsen skin dryness. Always wear gloves for washing and while going outside, as cold increases drying. Don't wash your hands any more than necessary and use very mild soaps. Apply constantly plenty of good moisturizing creams and alternate with steroid creams. Use a humidifier in the rooms to avoid dryness.
The moisturizers need not be the expensive ones; even vegetable shortening is good enough, only it needs to be applied adequately and at frequent intervals.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.
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