Cracking Peeling Skin

[mkpoto]

For many years I have been having severe dry and cracking skin during the fall and winter time. My tips of my fingers are rough and cracked, and the palm area starts to peel off (looks like glue) later in the months my fingers tips get so bad that they start to bleed. I have attached some pictures of what my hands look like.

http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c44/markkwak/?action=view&current=photo-19.jpg
http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c44/markkwak/?action=view&current=photo-19.jpg

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It is good that you have given the photographs because they cut short the differential list. The various causes which may be responsible for such cracking and peeling of the skin are allergic or irritant contact dermatitis, contact with harsh detergents, soaps and lotions that contain perfume, cold and dry air, eczema or fungal infections.

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. For mild-moderate symptoms a weak steroid may be used and also use good quality moisturizers to prevent moisture loss from the skin. During the day, hydrate and protect hands with a protective and moisturizing cream. At night, repair them with creams formulated from glycolic acid—a must for improving skin texture and tone. If still the symptoms do not improve then please get a clinical examination done by a dermatologist. Fungal infections have to be ruled out then.

Hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.

[Simpleman74]

Your finger tips may be doing this from your PC keyboard, believe it or not. Or it may be something else. But many are developing allergy to plastics, and other synthetics like polyester,vinyl, and others. This causes skin issues, and is called Allergic contact dermatitis. People who have this also develope another skin condition like eczema as well. Or xerosis "winter dry skin" Allergy to the cold, nervous dermatitis "and being cold simulates nervousness thus the nerves harm the skin," and other skin disorders could be your problem. People with the Allergic contact dermatitis "ACD" often only have skin issues from it, when the immune is running low for a time. And in the wintertime,"cold wear immune down temporarily very fast" and thus this is when it will react on the skin. A mild ACD can be your problem here. And I choose this one because your fingertips and the keyboard. tips suggest contact derm. And there are some clues to look at here if so. One thing that causes this is tip sweating often. The skin becomes soft and may turn white from being so wet for reg. basis on and off. And the white skin being soft peels. Then the hands dry when you sleep. And the skin is firm again. Wet,dry,wet,dry over and over destroys the outer layers. And also the skin on the finger tips is different than your other ares.
This mild allergy is not going to hurt you.
And if this is it, then you may have issues "likely" with polyester,vinyl and other synthetics as well and do not react from it. Or little at times. lower legs, dry forearms tiny red dots on upper legs or triceps. I have this. I sprayed my mouse and keyboard with 9 thin coats of clear Lacquer."a non allergen so hard it blocks out plastic allergy" and have no issues with it. Except after a long time of continuing typing. it isn't 100% but all I do is sweat on fingertips a bit and keep wiping them. wearing polyester in your clothes even 25% poly 75%cotton. Or even less can wear your immune down to plastics and make this more an issue, and may be why this is happening now and not before. Or you got sick and thus low immune and it came on. If you avoid too much contact, your immune can get on top of it again!

Do your finger tips sweat while on the keyboard? Hand itch or sweat on mouse? ?
Any red dots ?
itching anywhere?
any dry skin?