2 year old itchy palms and soles of foot

My 2 year old daughter has severely itchy palms of her hands and soles of her feet, to the point her hands are swollen and bright red and the bottoms of her feet are bright red, her hands and feet also get very hot to the touch. During the day it doesn’t bother her as much but at night she can hardly sleep. This has been going on for 3 weeks and her Pediatrician and Dermatologist are not sure what her diagnosis is. We have tried Benadryl (both over the counter and prescription strength), Cortisone crème (both over the counter and prescription strength), Baking Soda baths, Lavender Oil, Chickweed, nothing seems to help with the itch. I am desperate for an answer the poor little girls hands itch so bad she bites them all night long. HELP!!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For such itchy hands, pompholyx needs to be ruled out. Pompholyx primarily involves the hands and fingers and then may involve the feet. The first stage is acute and presents as itchy blisters on the hands, fingers and toes. Then the chronic stage shows more peeling, cracking, or crusting. Then the skin heals up, or the blistering may start again. The exact cause is not known and excessive sweating can be one of the reasons.

Please discuss this possibility with your daughter’s dermatologist.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.