peeling skin, brown bumps, raw finger-tips

so about a year ago and a half ago, the skin started to peel off on the end of my right index finger. i didnt pay much attention to it, but it didnt go away. im thinking at the time it was maybe brought on or exacerbated by the cold winter we had. anyway, about 6 months later it had spread to my right thumb, and a few months ago, it spread to my left index. (left index doesnt have it as bad...you can just barely tell).

all three fingers have tiny brown dots or bumps just under the skin. and all three fingerssort of go through cycles that are about a week or two long. like, he skin will peel off and be quite painful, and even bleed in some places if the skin cracks, for a couple days, then itll feel better, but the skin will still be off for a fw days, then some skin will come back, but it will still be noticeable from the rest of the finger and hand, then it will start all over again.

ive tried alot of different over the counter things, none really worked. as well as some prescription hydrocortisone cream for rashes. that stuff seems to work, but only as long as i use it, and it says to not use it more than a week or so. when it starts to hurt, i just put neosporin on it, which alleviates the pain, but, again, only as long as it is actually on the fingers, and, obviously, i cant walk around all day with that on there.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Your symptoms are suggestive of pompholyx. 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.

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.