Painful red sores on finger tips

[lwhite165]

For years now I have been getting painful red sores on my finger tips. They are under the skin and take awhile to go away. when I say painful I mean PAINFUL! It starts as just a white dot that hurts and the next day it turns dark red. One shows up then usually two more show up next to it. When the first one goes away another one appears. I can't figure out what it is and whenever I get a doctors appointment I either forget to tell them because they went away. Or I get there remembering and having nothing to show. They are so small that taking a picture is out of the question, I have tried.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
These painful red sores can be due to contact dermatitis, pompholyx or herpetic whitlow sores. Pompholyx is also called dyshidrotic eczema. It is characterized by a sudden onset of many deep-seated pruritic, clear vesicles which itch and then peel off. As a result the skin may also fissure.

Wash the areas several times with fresh water. Do not use any cosmetic products at the sites. You can apply some calamine lotion at the rash as it will help in soothing the skin. You can take some OTC oral antihistamine medications like Benadryl or Claritin and see if it helps.

For mild-moderate symptoms a weak steroid may be used (e.g. hydrocortisone as dermacort), whilst more severe cases require a higher-potency steroid (e.g. clobetasol propionate, fluocinonide).But they are available under prescription and should be taken only after consulting a 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 doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[tschock]

Sounds like it could be a  form of hives.

Did you touch anything, use anything, wear anything, eat anything new within a 2 day period before the spots began?
Perhaps you could start keeping a journal. Write down anything you remember eating, touching etc. the day or two before they pop up.
Take the journal with you when you see the doctor. This will certainly help him/her determine the cause.

They could also be from anxiety. Some people get these painful bumps from anxiety...this is called stress-induced dermatitis.

Dyshidrotic eczema is another possibility.
Try some calamine lotion, or some benadryl and see if either of these helps.