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red bumps on fingers

For the last 20 years I have gotten small red bumps on the sides of my fingers.  They don't blister.  They start out as one or two and then I might get a few more and they seem to cluster up on only the sides of my fingers.  They are not itchy but they are sore to the touch when you run your finger over them.  It feels like you have a splinter.  They are slightly raised and red in color.  They will stay for varying lengths of time and then dry up and go away.  Usually not for more than a couple of weeks.  I may go for months and months and not get them and then all of a sudden they show up.  I have been to various dermatologists over the years and they seem puzzled and never seem to know what they are.
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1797234 tn?1315625704
I believe I actually have read every posting so far on this "red bumps on the fingers" mystery. Most of your posts have been very enlightening and even comforting to know I'm not the only one w this lifelong mystery. Although, I wonder if some postings are not from people suffering from something completely different, even after they state they 'have exactly the same thing'.
I began getting these little bumps off & on since I was 8. Obscure little red bump, feels like a "sticker", very painful to touch when it 1st appears then less over time until it disappears after a week or 2. I panicked over them as a kid until my mom (who was always into health food stores and reflexology, before it was "cool") looked at them and said, "Eh, they're just nerve bumps."
I am now 42. I've had sometimes a year to even a decade or more in between and I only Googled this for the 1st time because they recently reappeared. Again, near a joint of the fingers of my right hand. 1st, and worst! at the pad of my right hand near the "pointer" finger (now gone and just a small white spot, like a tiny blister that healed). 2nd bump appeared below the top joint of the same finger (now almost gone) Next one came as the 1st 2 were healing, near the cuticle of my right thumb. Ouch! The next one is below the middle joint of my middle finger. The last is below the middle joint of my pinkie. I say "last" loosely since I can actually see the beginnings of more just under the surface of the pads of my right hand & fingers which may or may not become painful.

I am Caucasian, female, No antibiotics for at least 2 years or more. Haven't been recently sick. I avoid wheat and sugar wherever I can but am not strict on that. I live in a hot, humid climate but they also appeared back when I lived in a cold, dry climate too.

I assume mine are triggered by stress since my skin seems to be my personal "stress barometer".  Makes sense to me though, since I read somewhere that skin issues have to do w inner conflicts coming to the surface...as in something or someone is bugging you. And physiologically speaking, the right hand is the one we give away our energies with. But I'm not a physiologist or a psychologist. I will say though I've been thru several, more severe, long term periods of stress in my life and they never made their personal appearance. Sometimes it was something new...and definitely worse! Go figure.
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Avatar universal
I have never had a doctor know what was wrong either- here's a picture of when I have a breakout- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZDYIlykg8psf6AuUmTb36NJdXm4osu0A/view?usp=sharing
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yup- this is what my fingers look like:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZDYIlykg8psf6AuUmTb36NJdXm4osu0A/view?usp=sharing
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Avatar universal
Have you ever been tested for overactive thyroid?   These small red bumps could be a result of low immune system, and appear when there is extra stress in your life.   Google Graves disease and read about for interest. Also could go along with a gluten intolerance .   All treatable but definitely go hand in hand.  
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I have had these same bumps for my entire adult life. I find I most often get them before my periodand they dissopant soon after it starts, so mine seem to be linked to hormonal flares. I'm currently pregnant with my first child and have been getting them intermittently throughout my pregnancy. Interesting to say the least. They seem harmless enough.
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Hi I've found putting Vaseline on the spots or areas prone to it, stops it being itchy and sore. Thought any remedy would help because they're awful
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Im 15 and ive noticed it only in the summer for the past 5-7 years. Since it's only when it's hot my mum thinks it's heat rash, it always goes away after a month or two but i just keep it cool and try to reduce the spots
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I have recently started getting these on my fingers & toes, exactly how you have described. I believe it is from excess sugar in my diet. I've found when I eliminate sugar the soreness dissipates and they will go away within 5 days. As soon as I have sugar again they swell and are slightly painful and irritating like a blister, after 6-8 hrs once sugar has been eliminated they ease back again. Not contagious, just a sign somethings changed in your metabolism to sugar, wheat also converts to blood sugars so can flare them up as well I've found. Small amounts of sugar may not cause it to flare but prolonged and large amounts of sugar definitely do.
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Hi, I have found over the years that these red bumps that we all seem to have and no dr seems to have an answer for are not contagious and I'm basing that off the fact that no one in my family or long time friends have ever gotten or had it. Over the last few years I have been trying to keep track of I get them, how long I have them and if it's just one or two or alot more. In doing so I've noticed that I have them more when it starts to get warm out and the hotter it is the more I get. Say I get maybe one or two every few weeks when it's cool out then around summer months those one or two turn in to 5 or 6 sometimes more. Very painful especially around your knuckles. Hopefully we will have the answers we are looking for soon.
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I have the same thing ive seen the doctor and he told me he believes its because ive had scarlet fever in my life and the red bumps will come and go mostly when im tired . I dont know if Thats true but Thats the explaintion i got
Avatar universal
Hi, I feel I have the same thing as you do. I've been getting small red dots on the joint of my finger and when I touch it, it's slightly sore. They come and go and I haven't had them for a while and I just got them back yesterday. I've asked about it but no one has an answer. I'm pretty sure it isn't contagious but just in case I avoid contact as much as possible whenever I have them.
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That seems to be exactly what I have experienced all my life. Nobody seems to be able to explain it. It's the same thing as everyone else is describing. This is pretty wild.
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That seems to be exactly what I have experienced all my life. Nobody seems to be able to explain it. It's the same thing as everyone else is describing. This is pretty wild.
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Avatar universal
I also have had these in the past and tied them to eating grapefruit. I stopped and haven't had any for years. Suddenly I have them again; but haven't had grapefruit. I wonder if they are tied to ph balance.
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I have these and I also have RA. I have tied them in the past to eating grapefruit. I gave up grapefruit and haven't had them for years. I just developed some; always on my right hand. I have not had grapefruit but wonder if it could be related to ph balance.
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To those that have posted about the red, itchy bumps (looks like little blisters) on fingers and hands especially after using cleaning products or washing hands frequently. My hands broke out like this when I was working and had my hands wet frequently & after having baby. My fingers would itch so badly, I slept with socks on my hands to prevent scratching. If I scratched, they would become worse. Dermatologist called it Contact Dermititis, and said cleaning & washing so much I had stripped the acid mantle that protects skin. He gave me some sample cream to dry up blisters but also said to use AQUA CARE LOTION WITH 10% UREA. It cleared it up within a month. Now whenever hands start getting itchy, red, chapped, I just use this lotion a few times & it fixes problem. TRULY AMAZING STUFF! Try it. It's sold over counter. It may help.
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I have a similar thing to what is being described- itchy red spots on skin of the backside of my fingers between the first and second joints of the middle 3 fingers (index, middle and wedding finger (as they call it)). Those fingers are also a little swollen and firm and sore to the touch. For me it has definitely been caused by the cold and is chilblains. The heating and hot water in my house keeps going off and so at times I've been rinsing my dishes in freezing cold water with no rubber gloves. This has primarily affected my right hand I believe because it is the one that stays under the cold running tap the longest while I try and get all the soap off. It could also because connected to it being furthest from my heart. I've had chilblains on my feet before and it feels very similar and affects the same areas on my toes.
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My daughter had the same thing, red, itchy painful bumps on her fingers and toes. Yesterday, we soaked both hands and feet for forty minutes in water (as hot as she could stand-about 2 quarts) and about 1/4 cup of "Batherapy Natural Mineral Bath" that I found in the closet. It was purchased at Sally Beauty Supply, one pound plastic bottle for $5.49, but I don't know when. It could have been in the closed for years. As soon as her feet were in the water, the itching stopped, and now 24 hrs later, has not returned. The pain stopped last night while she was sleeping and has not returned as yet. When she took her feet and hands out of the water yesterday, the bumps really showed up individually. Today hands and feet are better and seem to be healing. She has had the bumps before at stressful times and they have eventually gone away, but this time they were severe and she could not bend her fingers. This morning she can bend fingers and toes and says they feel like they are healing. They look a lot better, have gone down and smoothed out and have a slight purplish tinge. I wanted to write as soon as I saw the results just in case this could help any of you.
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Avatar universal
This is EXACTLY what I have.  It starts with red, sore bumps on my fingers (mostly index finger) and then after a few days they turn brown (like blood blisters) and slowly fade away.  They are getting worse with time and the last episode has left my index finger looking like I have tiny stab wounds that are healing.  At first I thought it was from glue I use when doing art projects, but I have stopped using the glues, paints and anything else I could think of.  Maybe stress, but I'm not sure.
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I don't have time to read every comment but I posted here in 2012 that I had the same problem and if I every learned anything I would repost. I had the same thing you described and it would go away for months and come back. I had never been to a doctor until my hands got too hot from being near the stove while cooking and the bumps swelled up,  then I scraped one finger on something and I think it infected it (very red,  tender,  itchy, oozing) the doctor gave me a steroid cream and said it was contact dermatitis. He said if I go to a dermatologist they can take some of it from my finger and tell me what is causing it so I can avoid it. I have not gone to a dermatologist and my hands have like a red mild scar from where I used the cream to make the bumps go away.
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Avatar universal
Ulcers in mouth may be autoimmune, take her to rhuematologist...sore throat may actually be ulcers in throat. I get these bumps on hands and worse symptoms due to stress or foreign chemicals. Good luck!
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Thanks AnMarirn, I've same condition. it flares during winter mostly for me. Please let me know your dermatologist's diagnosis and recommendations. I visited my dermatologist several times and even got biopsy done but it was inconclusive.  
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I get these painful red bumps on my fingers during times of stress... Have since I was a kid. I also realized they flare up after cleaning with household products if I don't wear gloves. They are very painful and reddened when they first arise, then become less painful and less reddened with time. I saw a dermatologist for this when I was a kid and diagnosed, but my mom cannot remember what it was called. From my research as an adult it appears to be dyshidrosis or dyshidrotic eczema. Cortisone cream helps them go away faster. I'm making an appointment with my dermatologist to verify diagnosis. They'll probably be gone by the time I get in to see her. Also like many others with this problem, I work in healthcare and wash my hands constantly.  Research says to keep hands well moisturized. Hope this helps some of you suffering from this skin condition.
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Avatar universal
That happen too me  and it was crazy I had to go to the doctor to see  what was happening to me and that was it lol
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Not saying this applies to everyone but have you thought of being tested for Lupus?
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