Tiny, Clear Clusters Of Bubbles On Fingertip

[mmelodious]

I would post a picture, but my camera's resolution is not that great and you can't tell anything from the pictures I've taken.

I have a whole cluster of "bubbles" on my left pinky (0.5-2 mm in diameter, about 14 of them). They are shaped like a circle, with white outer lining, and it looks like there's fluids inside. They hurt when I touch them. And my skin peels off after I get out from a shower. (it seems that everytime I take a shower/everyday, there's more and more of these "bubbles".) Now I've got these on my left pinky, three on my thumb, two on my index finger, and two on my middle finger.

I tried putting Aloe Vera gel, and body lotion on it, and nothing seems to work.

Should I be worried?

thanks all!

[ND Chef]

I have had these before as well, they come and go.  At first I was told I had a allergic reaction to latex gloves, then I had my mother -in- law who is a RN look at them and she said they were water warts?  It seems that the liquid inside once broken will spread to other areas quite quickly, so I have learned to break them open and then hit the area with hydrogen peroxide immediately.  I don't use latex gloves anymore in my line of work(chef) I use vinyl instead, so I hope this helps you somewhat!  Good luck!  ND Chef

[chellybeans]

there is no such thing as water warts. sorry, there is alot of urban myth associated with warts.

this sounds to me like hand eczema possibly , unless there is a fungal infection on any of the fingers involved.

do you have nail discoloration?

putting peroxide on raw skin is a terrible idea. it is very drying and will just exacerbate the issue.

the third picture down probably looks familiar to you hunh?

if the website gets taken down check out
aad dot org and lookup hand eczema or just google images of hand eczema.

to ND Chef, your case does not sound like warts either, more like an allergic reaction that lead to contact dermatitis. everytime you put peroxide on the spots you inflame your skin more.

good luck guys :)

[evoen25]

I have them too.

They usually occur on my index & middle finger. For me, these tiny bubbles happen every year, when the weather is warmer and humid. I have them now, I too tried to take a picture but they are too small to be detected by my 5 megapixel Pentax camera.

It looks nothing like dermatitis nor hand eczema. They only appear on the fingers. They never turn red. They appear like tiny air bubbles, clustered together on the sides of my finger joints and sometime near my nails [nails are healthy]. When I show people, some find them too small to be noticeable.  I made an appointment to show a dermatologist, but by the time the appointment came, the tiny bubbles dried up and I was left with dry skin. I was however diagnosed with urticaria, which has nothing to do with the tiny bubbles on my fingers.

It's not contagious either. My left hand is more prone to these tiny clear bubbles, I constantly touch them with my right hand and nothing appeared on it.

I hope someone out there knows what this is. Moisturizer helps with the symptoms but the cause is still unknown.

[chellybeans]

i have them myself and have been diagnosed with hand eczema by three dermatologists. i know exactly what you are talking about. i would go to work with them and show the doctor on duty. everyone said hand eczema. it can look different. mine appeared in the form of tiny bubbles that looked like water bumps or something.

eczema is not contagious.

urticaria is hives.

and you need to try to reduce your time in water. that may help alot. use gloves when washing your dishes etc( anything that involves prolonged water contact) try using hand cream not lotion as it is more long lasting and heavier.

[evoen25]

Chellybeans is right. It is hand eczema.

It's been confirmed today by Dr. Beatrice Wang from Royal Victoria hospital in Montreal. I came in for a refill on a Reactine prescription for urticaria and I happened to show her one tiny clear bubble on my index finger. I asked her why it didn't look like the usual red itchy patches you see in documented photos of hand eczema and her response was,

"it's a hand eczema case at it's mildest form, common for people with highly sensitive skin".

They should rename it "finger eczema" or "first degree eczema" since the degree of severity is so far below "hand eczema". Pictures of full blown hand eczema just confused me into thinking I had something else. My condition lacks the following characteristics of hand eczema: redness, itchiness, pain & fissures.

I'm thankful I don't get the severity of hand eczema at its worst. I'm content with just have tiny little bubbles.

[chellybeans]

lol. good to know you finally have your answer.  it took me a while to believe it too. working in dermatology i saw people coming in with skin literally peeling off their hands, raw, open areas and much more. i felt like i had little warts or something.

low and behold...i too had to be told by someone i had confidence in.

now...be careful of too much water and avoid chemical exposure.