Extream itching on hands & feet after contact w/ water, chemicals, & acidic foods

[Jess417]

My hands & feet itch horribly after showering, using chemicals to clean house(i use gloves to prevent while cleaning now & have switched to a vinegar based cleaner), bathing our dogs, swimming, cutting fruits & vegitables, & washing my hands more than 2 or 3 times in say a 30min to 1hr time frame (on a scale from one to ten on the intensity of the itching a 10 easily, i've had hives & its way worse than hives). It's been so bad I've just broken down crying & screaming, smacking my hands & stomping my feet causing pain to take away from the itch sensation. I've swapped to sensitive skin everything when it comes to taking a shower & washing my hands, but the problem still continues. I've found even the coldest shower doesn't help. At its worst my hands & feet have broken out in bumps under the skin, became very red & inflammed, & then started to peel in the days following. I'm staring to wonder if I have a chemical imbalance thats causing this, but I have been unsucessful in finding anything to confirm my suspicion. Any recomendations you may have would be very appreciated. Thanks~Jess

[Creativ1]

I have the same thing and it has been going on for about 6 weeks or so. It is EXTREMELY painful and SEVERELY itchy! When I got out of the shower last night my feet itched so bad, they were red and full of huge hives everywhere and my veins& toes were badly inflamed. Just now I washed the dishes and my hands are very itchy. It just really hurts!
I really appreciate your answer and I am going straight to my Dr. to see if he can help me. Thanks, Kim

[Dr Rajput]

Hi, welcome to the forum, recurrent attacks of allergy suggests Hereditary angioedema (HAE), which is a rare genetic disorder resulting from an inherited deficiency or dysfunction of the C1 inhibitor.

There are many tests (various types of Immunoassays and Total IgE levels) are available which indicates the severity of allergy but we cannot predict your betterment.
At this time you need to restrict the foods and factors to which you are allergic to. C4 and C1 inhibitor antigenic levels are recommended as initial screening tests in the patient.

Treatment options available for the acute attack are, C1-inhibitor [C1 esterase inhibitor replacement protein (C1INHRP)], Plasma and Antifibrinolytics against prescription. During attack, anti histaminics and corticosteroids are quite effective in relieving itching as well as hives.
I suggest you to consult immunologist for further evaluation. Take care and regards.