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Itchy, peeling, burning skin on fingers, started with little bumps

I noticed little bumps on my pinky and ring finger on my left hand about a week ago.  Now my two fingers are swollen, itchy, burning, peeling, flaky and red.  I am not sure what it is and I don't have anything like this anywhere else.  The little bumps started peeling and now both fingers look really gross and are painful.
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Avatar universal
Hi I've had the same symptoms for years now. It starts with the little bumps that are full of liquid and they itch, when you pop them clear liquid comes out. It spreads all over my hands up my fingers and in between it even got on my cuticles and now they don't grow back. It itches and get red and flakes and makes my joints hurt and swell. I went to a dermatologist and they did all these test and could not figure it out. Then a friend of mine told me that she thought it was athletes foot on my hands i looked it up and the symptoms match. So I got some Lamisil AT and started using it, I used it for 14 days and low and behold my rash is gone and has not come back for a whole year now. I did not even know you could get athletes foot on your hands but that's what it was. So for all you who are going through this its worth a try and it cant make it any worse than it already is.
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
Interesting,  I may well try that!
Avatar universal
I have the exact same thing! It started out today with small white dots on my hand. I itched it and now it is shiny with liquid and burns when I touch it. I tried rinsing it with water, but it burned! Please help!
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
WOW this is amazing ! Finally I have a moment of relief and can see that other people have this problem. I'm 14 and this is embarrassing it started as dry skin Inbetween my fingers and became itchy so as you do I itched it then it became swollen and red after 4 months it has now creeped up to my knuckle I have used sudocrem but it heals them come back please help I don't want it to surround my whole hand
Avatar universal
I have it flare up on my ring finger,now wrist and palm.what works for me is apple cider.it stops the itch and gives me relief for a few days. It then starts to dry ,then little bumps appear,then i itch it and they burst.but apple cider seems to cook it because of its acidity
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Avatar universal
I think I might have it. Just want to people to know I improved my diet (less meat, fat and sugar) and started to go to bed 1 hour earlier every night and it almost completely disappeared.
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Avatar universal
i have the same thing you describe. it started two months ago between the knuckles of pinky and ring on my left hand.  then in the same place but on the right.  now i have it on the crease of my left eyelid.  i haven't put anything on it until last night.  i bought tripple anti-biotic ointment, but for what i am hearng, is not going to cut it. it doesn't hurt, but it itches from time to time and the skin there is coarse and dark
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Avatar universal
i've had the same problem for over six years now. it started on my right middle finger and then spread to all the other fingers. i tried fungi treatment, steroids and so many other things but nothing worked.  just about three months ago, i noticed my left hand, toes, and even my lips were were getting unusually dry and twisted. i became very desperate especially because my lips were involved. one fateful day, i used a rob to  massage my mums back.its called "Quin liang yu - essential balm". after that i noticed that my fingers wich were normally dry and flaky felt smooth and soft. i decided to continue applying it on my fingers and the result is amazing.right now after using it for about two months my right fingers are almost completely healed. the little blisters are all gone. i had lost my finger prints but they are all back. and the best part is that i no longer have to use gloves when working with water. as for my left hand toes and lips, they are back to normal. i strongly advise anyone who hasn't found a solution yet to try it. it has worked for me and i hope it works for you too.  
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Avatar universal
First it has been a couple years and hopefully you have resolved your issue.  I have the current same issue going on.  I tried the Lysol wipes idea out of desperation and it helped the swelling go down, the redness and itchiness go away along with vaseline at night till I saw a dermatologist.  He mentioned to me that it was hand excema.  There is no cure for it but some things can be done to help.  Perhaps you should ask your dermatologist about it or look it up.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I too have these small bumps between my fingers that are extremely itchy. Started with my middle finger on the right hand and likely due to the scratching has spread to the other fingers. I originally thought this came from my old motorcycle gloves but this has started after painting a car and washing my hands with the solvents to remove the paint. All my fingers are swollen and the skin is tight. Going to try some of the remedies listed above.
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Avatar universal
I have the same condition it's very itchy but I pick the skin it can worsen or just be on my index finger on both hands the worsen.  By reading all the post I think stop using linx shower gel. With me too my ecsma can flare up from heat. Try and keep the skin as cool as possible like a cool shower. I think summer is gonna be worse too.
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Avatar universal
Your not going to believe this but I had this happen to me (back of my neck, inner elbow and yes the outer  lips of my vulva). Had it since 2003. After seeing multiple doctors, treatment after treatment and biopsies, nothing worked. Even after 17 yrs in military they tried to medicaly retire me because of this condition. A week ago I was in so much pain I started looking for "down home back woods souther remedies". Found bleach...yes bleach. I didn't have any on hand so I took some Lysol wipes and cleaned ALL the affected areas...CRAZY I KNOW BUT INSTANT RELIEF...Contined this treatment for about five days and my skin is healing and back to normal. Not sure how long it will last but I'm enjoying the RELIEF
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Avatar universal
Omg I have the same problem to on my Pinter finger and thumb on the left hand and my middle pointer and thumb on the right hand all on the tops of the fingers each one has a half circle in shape red peeling burning ruff dry patch it doesn't itch but burns instead I don't know what it could be I've never had dry skin problems even in the coldest weather this has never happen to me should I see a doctor I mean is this normal when people have dry hands from winter or could this be something else entirely????? If anyone has any info or advise they can share I'd really appreciate it thanx guys!!!!!
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Avatar universal
I had this horror flick for years and years until I stopped ingesting cheese, ice cream, and tomato.  now i have skin again, all of it back.  no more pustules.  no more leaking.  no more skin itching off.  no more leaking, random bleeding cracks, deep splitting, hammer of paronychia.  no more giant inflamed hand infections.  no more living hell using soap.  no more multi-packs of cloth gloves to absorb the icor horror.  no more endless oil-free lotion and hands wrapped in tape.  

any laughable residual - a little dry, teeney splits - is from sugar: honey, syrup, frosting, etc.

ENJOY THE CURE!!  i am!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi guys,
So I have had this exact problem for about 9 months now and have finally FIXED IT!

I tried absolutely everything I could find and eventually went to the doctors about it last week. The summary of what he said was this:
It's contact dermatitis and basically there are 3 different levels of treatment.
1. See if you can find an irritant that may cause it and stop using that (I had already done this)
2. Use a moisturiser such as E45 cream, sudocrem etc (I had also already done this)
3. Use a steroid cream of which there are 4 levels of strength (he looked at the steroid cream I was using and told me I was using the strongest one already)

In the end he said what had probably happened is an infection with the dermatitis, as a result he gave me something called FUCIBENT CREAM! It is essentially a steroid cream with antibiotics as well that I had to apply to the area every morning and night.

I kid you not, I was seeing results within 24 hours and within 3 days it was basically completely gone!!
I had been suffering badly with this for so long and it was so irritating and painful and embarrassing to be honest, but now I feel normal again... I can actually wash my hands without writhing in pain!

I would suggest going to your doctors and telling him about this stuff because it. works!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
the condition that most of you are describing is actually pompholyx eczema or dyshidrotic eczema.  It is not known what causes it but it does tend to be related to periods of stress/tension.
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Avatar universal
When I worked at Wendy's, I was a sandwich maker and had to wear gloves the every shift. After a month I then developed little bumps that itched and when scratched, would ooze clear fluid. Then skin would start peeling and flaking. At the peeling stage my fingers and back of my hand were so dry they would itch like crazy. It got so bad at night laying there with my hands itching, I would get up and scratch them with a hair brush.

I took a week vacation, and I noticed the rash calmed down and started to heal. I linked the rash to wearing the powered gloves Wendy's provided for 8 hours 5 days a week. I then tried a dozen different kinds of gloves, thin clear gloves, powder-less gloves, even hospital examination gloves and no matter what they were made of, I always developed the same rash. After almost a year of the miserable itching and peeling hands and fingers I just could not take it anymore and I quit the damn job. After a month of not wearing gloves ever, they completely healed. My hands were back to normal. I was broke and jobless but my hands were healed.

About a month ago my mom and I were going through things in her shed, filled with spiders and creepy crawling bugs. Without thinking anything of it, I wore blue gloves she gets from work at a hospital. The next day I noticed those same little bumps that leak clear fluid when aggravated. Now my middle and ring finger are back to the way they were when I worked at Wendy's. Also they are worse then before. They are cracking while exposing the dermis and small blood vessels (layer underneath the epidermis). While still leaking the clear fluid, now the fluid is drying and hardening. When putting Aquaphor healing ointment on the dried hardened puss turns into like a sandpaper when applying it across my fingers. Ive been applying it liberally every few hours to keep it moist to promote the healing. Its been like this for weeks. Usually it would heal by now but still the peeling and itching is occurring in a vicious cycle. With no health insurance or any friends that are dermatologist, Im completely baffled. I know exactly what it it, its contact dermatitis. But why isnt it healing?! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I had the same problem recently and put yogurt on the area a couple of times and didn't use soap to clean that part of my skin, it got much better! Highly recommend it!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had the same thing for about 8 years now and I will have it for the rest of my life.  It is part of the hurppies vires and lives in your nervous system.  It took a long time to get a diagnose.  I do take medication for  they also have a cream but most insurance won't cover it. The name for it is Herpetic whitlow—also called digital herpes simplex, finger herpes, or hand herpes—is a painful viral infection occurring on the fingers or around the fingernails. Herpetic whitlow is caused by infection with the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Hope this could help
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had the same thing for about 8 years now and I will have it for the rest of my life.  It is part of the hurppies vires and lives in your nervous system.  It took a long time to get a diagnose.  I do take medication for  they also have a cream but most insurance won't cover it. The name for it is Herpetic whitlow—also called digital herpes simplex, finger herpes, or hand herpes—is a painful viral infection occurring on the fingers or around the fingernails. Herpetic whitlow is caused by infection with the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Hope this could help
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had the same thing for about 8 years now and I will have it for the rest of my life.  It is part of the hurppies vires and lives in your nervous system.  It took a long time to get a diagnose.  I do take medication for  they also have a cream but most insurance won't cover it. The name for it is Herpetic whitlow—also called digital herpes simplex, finger herpes, or hand herpes—is a painful viral infection occurring on the fingers or around the fingernails. Herpetic whitlow is caused by infection with the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Hope this could help
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've had a similar problem for over a month now. It started off as dry skin and I think its because I wash my hands a lot, but it's weird because it's only on 1 finger... it hasn't spread to any of my other fingers either. So it started off as dry skin and was itchy so I kept scratching at it... slowly it started getting little cuts on it because of me scratching. Now it is all swollen, red, has little bumps all over it, it feels really dry and itchy. Sometimes a little puss or white clear liquid comes out of the bumps or cuts when I scratch it a lot. When it is extremely dry (like after washing my hands) I can't even make my finger straight. I started using neosporin for awhile because of all the little cuts and I didn't want it to get infected and it seemed to help it for a bit... now I am using aquafor so that it isn't extremely dry, and it seems to soothe it because of the itchiness. I have no idea what it is. I haven't had it checked yet because it was starting to get better for awhile but now it is worse again.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sounds like scabies. Highly contagious.  Good luck
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I had these same symptoms for a few years now. It started off on my left ring finger and after a long time of cutting out various things, I determined that I had an allergy to something in most hand soaps that would get stuck under my ring and be held against my finger. I ultimately determined it to be sodium lauryl sulfate. This is found in many hand soaps as well as shampoo. I read that companies use sodium lauryl sulfate for cheaper products but use sodium laureth sulfate for more expensive products. I switched to soaps and shampoos that only have sodium laureth sulfate and was fine...until I had my first child. I was at the hospital for 4 days and constantly washing my hands with their cheap soap. I thought that since I wasn't wearing a ring that it wouldn't matter, but when I got home both hands had completely broken out in these small, extremely itchy bumps filled with clear liquid. Nothing was working to get rid of the bumps. Finally after 6 weeks with them, I poured hydrogen peroxide on them. It burned at first, then was extremely itchy, but the next morning...NO BUMPS!! That was last night. I'm going to continue to use hydrogen peroxide on my hands for a few days to ensure they are gone, but so far so good! Hope this helps someone else!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello, I've had this problem for months, and I've noticed a cycle. It's on my index and middle finger (in between and bottom), and first of all the skin gets a little yellow/red and is like a large bump, and there are other smaller bumps around it (if I tried popping them fluids came out). Now I assume that skin is just dying because later on is becomes very painful and gets red, as well as dry. After a little long (since I can't resist) I pick the dried bumps off since they're now dead dry skin (sometimes I pick a little to far and it bleeds a lot, and becomes VERY painful). Later on it seems to heal but the skin is still rubbery? if that's a good word to use. It doesn't last long at all though till new bumps come along. If I itch it at all it becomes very irritated and produce more bumps. The cycles don't have a specific lasting time, though right now I've almost cycled through in a week I think. I do have some prescription stuff but it never really helped :/ just brought it to the end of the cycle faster.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Try milk of magnesia. Coat the rash and let dry.
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