Blister on palm, Drug reaction or infection?

The middle of July I started taking Champix. A week later I developed a rash and stopped taking the Champix. The rash settled down after a week and turned into peeling skin and small blisters. The beginning of August I developed a series of small blisters on the lower palm of my right hand. Over the course of a week they turned into a large blister that covered 75% of my palm and had a weird off-white 'bubble' underneath. I went to the hospital and was told it was hand-foot-mouth disease. The blister continued to grow and developed on all the fingers on my right hand. I looked up HFM online and by what I've read I would have contracted this the end of june, I had a sore throat and was feeling sick. Is it possible that I have had HFM for the last 2 months or could this still be after effects from the Champix? The skin has been peeling and cracking and when I get it wet it falls off. I now have a huge patch of new skin that hurts.

[Arti Sharma, M.D.]

Hi there!
In Hand, foot, and mouth disease painful sores usually develop in the mouth. The skin rah usually develops 1-2 days after the sore throat. This illness should not last for 2 months. It may be possible that you could be suffering from allergic reaction to Champix.Skin rash, itching are few of the side effects of this drug. A clinical examination and samples from the throat or stool to test for the virus may help in confirming whether it is hand foot mouth disease or not. The other differential diagnoses for such blisters are dyshidrotic eczema, oral herpes virus infection, chickenpox etc. It is best to have a frank discussion with your dermatologist and get yourself reevaluated.
Take care and best of luck!