tiny itchy blisters on arms & legs

[twilightburl]

Shamefully, for almost 8 years I have been getting very small itchy blisters on various spots on my arms and legs.  The small blisters develop and immediately itch intensely, which is how I know they're there.  They have a clear fluid inside, with no puss.  When I scratch them in my sleep or when they break, they often weep a little  amber colored liquid.  Also, when I scratch them, more tiny blisters will develop around the original blister, signifying an infection.  These broken blisters often leave  (little open sores) which can be difficult and slow to heal.  These outbreaks seem to come in waves, as I'll often go weeks or even a month or two without a sign of blisters, itching, or infection.  I have never had any white puss or swelling redness around these troublesome blisters/vesicles, which isn't like any normal skin infection I've ever had before.  Can anyone help me diagnosis this problem please?

[Harvengure]

I have actually had this most of my life and have been told it is a form of psoriasis or 'palmoplantar pustulosis' or some such thing.  Either way, as said above, there is something of a laundry list of causes and treatments.  However I've found that a Clotrim/Betamathasone ointment has done wonders.  What will happen is I'll apply the cream here and there for a couple of days and the rash goes away for sometimes weeks at a time and then I slack and simply forget to put the cream on and eventually the rash comes back.  Still, while using the cream steadily, say every other day, the rash goes away.

I should say though that when applying the cream when you do have a breakout of this rash...it will make you want to scratch even more then you normally would.

[rgon66]

Hi Everyone!
My son who is 5 yrs old, has had the same condition for the past year. Small blisters all over his body, then turning into sores (due to scrating too much). He ended up in hospital numerous times, because it ended up getting worse and turning into cellulitus, due to too much bacteria in his body. The doctors could not work out what the cause was. Fed up with all the hospital visits, I ended up at the naturopath. All I had to do was change his diet!  Within 2 weeks his condition was basically cured!  He had to change to Soy milk and Gluten free bread....it was wierd, because he never had a problem before hand with these foods (cows milk and normal bread). (the naturopath also recommened a cream and a multivitamin powder to speed up his recovery process).  Now, I have noticed if he is given the cows milk, or has normal bread that the blisters and blemishes come back, but within a day with the cream and multivitamin, it is gone again.....so maybe it is foods that we consume?!

[ErK625]

Look into Dyshidrosis eczema or pompholyx eczema. You will be pleased to know i found this today after dealing with the same symptoms as all of you for a pretty long time. I guarantee this is exactly what you have!!! Check out this website!!!

http://www.skincare-answers.com/dyshidrosis.html

[bobsmith2005]

Guys,

I moved to Miami 4 years ago, the first year was fine, but the itchy skin
and blisters of what you have began in 2009.

I swam anytime the ocean allowed, I drank beer daily, then in the summer
of 2009, I discovered a very sweet local mango, it is only available between
June-August, I bought and eat a lot in 2009, yes, all hell broke loose, I got
what you guys described, I went to see skin doctors, they gave me
2 kinds of cream that helped me to sleep, boy, I lost so much sleep, but
I did not know what caused my skin irritation.

What I did was to go through the process of elimination, I stopped drinking
beer, then I found out the alcohol increases the itch feeling only when
you have the irritation already.  Anyway, I stopped the beer.

Then I realized every year I began the itch process in July, the only fruit
I eat so much during June/July/August is Kent Mango, this special
brand must contains a lots of poison Ivy itch ingredient.

I discovered this Mango allergy last month after I purchased 14 Kent Mangos, after the 3rd one, I started feeling the itch skin is coming so I stopped right way, now I am experiencing the symptom but this time it is
less than last year or year before because I only had 3 :(

Anyway, this itch symptom usually go away in months, sometime 6 months, but once it stops, my skin returns to normal.

I do believe the 90+ degrees sunshine is also the problem, I swim a lot so
my legs and back have more itch blisters than other places.

My advice to you are from my experience of fighting this xxxxxxxx

(1) When take shower, do not take too much hot water because the
hot water would make the blisters 'grows'
(2) Triamcinolone Acetonide cream USP 0.1% is very good stopping the
itch
(3) Permethrin cream 5% is very effective for the blisters, it stops itchy
feeling as well.

I must consider strongly to move back to the cold zone because I did not
have this xxxxxx in the past, however, I hate "snow", God, you can't have
both, can't I?

[Myndee]

I went to my Doctor yesterday and this is what I found out: What I have is called Polymorphous Photodermatosis. In lame mans terms is an allergy to the sun. I have these bumps filled with clear clean fluid on my arms and legs, the places most exposed to the sun. My bump very in size and then turn into these scars that are purplish pink and then turn white and Oh My God do they itch bad!! When I itch the bumps the top of the blister pops, a clear fluid come out and within a 30 seconds the bump looks exactly like it did before, just like the blister I popped. When it heals and the purplish pink goes away it pulls the color out of your skin so it looks white and that is the Photoderatosus part.. Funny thing is that this will not effect the face and if you have them any other place then the places that are in the sun most of the time aka arms and legs, or if they are on your face, you DO NOT have this.

My Doctor gave me a steroid to push the allergic reaction out of my skin and a cream to help the places where the allergic reaction turned into Eczema. The steroid is called Prednisone and the cream is called Betamethasone Diproionate Cream .05%, It seems to be helping especially in the places where I have the Eczema, and the itching (thank God!!).

How you keep yourself from getting this again is to wear a good moisturizing lotion with a sunscreen in it. Depending on your skin it can be from a SPF 8 to 30. Anything above 30 is a waist of money cause there is no such thing. If you CAN NOT find a lotion with sunscreen that works get what is called Cetaphil, it is a very good hydrating lotion (Doctor recommended) and mix it 2 parts lotion to 1 part sun screen (also make sure the sunscreen is water proof). This will make a shield for your skin against the sun. Also a good tanning lotion if you can use something with a lighter SPF. This will moisturize and help protect your skin and NOT the $8 Banana Boat stuff. Go to a tanning salon and tell them you need one to protect your skin cause you are allergic to the sun with a good moisturizer. You may end up paying $30 - $180 but it is worth it to keep these ugly bumps from coming back.

My personal problem with all of this is I am 5'8 and range from 115 to 120lbs. I had popped all of these and they scabbed over. So I look like I had needle marks and meth sores. There was three different people actual came up to me and recommended a good Drug Treatment Program. I told them NO this is some sort of allergic reaction to something and they would look at me and say, keep telling yourself that. They are not going to go away until you get help. Talk about insulting and wanting to punch someone in the face for judging!! So I really want to get rid of these stupid blisters. But I guess now a days you can not be tall and thin without being accused of using drugs to get there. I call them the jealous people and all of them that said this to me were women, very over weight, so I sub the people with ******* and I told them that. Also they needed to see a doctor for their issues.

My issues is because I live in Idaho where we are at a high elevation. That means more UV rays can get to my skin. Which makes sense to me because when I travel to California, Boise, or Seattle they go away, all places lower in elevation then here in Idaho Falls.

I do suggest if you have this to go see your doctor and tell them you think you have Polymorphous Photodermatosis. If they tell you that you dont know what you are talking about or will not listen to you, then see another one. YOU know your body better then any doctor and YOU are paying them so you have a right to be heard. If they try telling you that you have Scabies and have them only in the spots where you get sun, they are scaring and turning the purplish, pink then white, they are not spreading and only spread when you get in the sun - YOU DO NOT HAVE SCABIES and see another doctor. You deserve to be listened too and heard.

Best of luck and I hope this helps some of you <3
Myndee :)

[verozcorderoz]

Hi all, I have the same symptoms, my doctor told me they are fever blisters or another form of a cold sore except its not on my lips I get them too not as often..they are the worst n I am getting them more frequently..currently I have 9 bumps. Sounds weird but I only find athletes foot cream to help or antibiotics from my doctor, there are pills this is part of the herpes virus n that is the reason they spread when scratching. It's good to know I am not the only one, also I've noticed they are a tad bit warm like a fever..