[Jenn1fer82]

Does anyone know anything about how I can find more information about Dried, cracked, peeling, bleeding, itching hands? I'm scared that she might be allergic to something that she's eatting or that she's exposed herself to that she's not even aware about. Her occupation is a manicurist and there's a good chance that with all the things she have to work around is giving her an allergic reaction.

I don't know how to stress it enough to my friend that she needs to really take care of herself. I've noticed that she's been having these symptoms all summer long. She keeps telling me that its no big deal that she'll just use the over the counter medication to take care of it, like anti-iching creme. I noticed it more on the left hand then on the right hand and she does use the right hand to write. I don't even know where to start when it comes to searching on the internet to find out what would cause such a thing, especially when the symptoms have been happening for months now.

[lenjan]

Happens to me on my shins now and then. A dermatologist dx'd it as eczema. You can get prescription steroid creams for it, but the OTC stuff works just as well, IMHO.

[zoidy]

It does sound like it could be an allergic reaction to something she works with. Unfortunately the best treatments for that sort of reaction are to avoid exposure to whatever is causing the problem. Which is hard when it's part of your job. It would be worth trying to isolate what is the problem (maybe during a holiday from work?) and maybe change to a different product/brand which doesn't cause problems. It could be a reaction to other things though, even though it's only on the hands - foods, cosmetics (including moisturisers!!), medications... all common culprits.

There are lots of steroid creams that doctors can prescribe but there are also over the counter things that can help with that sort of skin reaction - avoiding soap is a very important one as soap is the wrong pH for skin and is quite drying as a result. Soap/fragrance free washes (Cetaphil is my favourite, but there are a few out there - the other Australian brands don't appear to be available overseas) are great. And a heavy duty moisturiser is also vital. Sorbolene/cetomacrogol is not good enough (it's more used as a base for other ingredients like sulfur, salicylic acid etc). Cetaphil makes one which I recommend a lot. And usually the companies that make the soap free/fragrance free washes make them too. Avoiding overly hot water is also a good plan. And it's a good idea to either wear (lines) gloves or get someone else to do the washing up (hot water plus detergent = bad).

A dermatologist consultation is very important though, to work out what is causing the problem and how to best treat it.

[SweetSunshine]

I was a cosmetologist and I also did some manicures. I had problems like this too when I wore the plastic gloves. I also have eczema and it could be that too. Her best bet would be to go to a dermatologist and also make a list of the products she uses and take that with her.Or better yet take the product containers with her. She may be ablet to continue the manicuring but maybe switch to different product to use on the customers. Hope this helps.

[darkeyes]

She may have contact dermatitis,which can really be a problem. I get and have gotten severe bouts with it,and was seeing a dermatologist for it,after all the OTC things only partially worked.
One presciption product I had was a gel,not greasy or oily,called, Diapolene (sp?) no,it has nothing to do with diaper rash,I had hands that were cracked,itchy so bad I literally would scrath to they bled. Or I'd get all little fluid filled teeny bumps thst itched,and then ooze.
I had one summer where I was in constant treatment with various topicals. I can get a reaction from some handsoaps while some do not bother my skin at all, I react to a brand called "Softsoap" terribly, the most. Another thing too, if you use rubber gloves for cleaning be sure to use a cotton glove liner,it's a thin 100% cotton glove(s) made for that.
See, that use to really be a problem,when I'd be stripping antique furniture,my own perspiration of my hands would set up a ideal environment for dermatitis,using the glove liners helped a lot.
I can sympathize with anyone dealing with this,even some moisturizers can react,making the problem worse instead of soothing.
The best thing for me when my hands are really dry and starting to crack,is get a jar of Cetaphil cream,at night cover you hands with it and then put a white cotton glove on it,some stores sell "sleeping" gloves and even "little peds" for the feet,designed for the same purpose.
The best thing is to see a dermatologist,to help rule out the cause and then prescribe proper treatment.
It most likely has nothing to do with her diet,but things we all come in contact daily.
I get the same reaction if I handle any juniper plants,or tomato branches,besides certain soaps.
Hope things clear up for her soon.
Take care,
DE

[pamelasu]

My hands had done the same thing when I was working with foods and I had to wash my hands a lot. I was severely allergic to the soap that we had to use and I ended up having to use $200 worth of medication on my hands for one night to clear it up. I suggest that she take some vacation time and just let her hands heal. She needs to put lotion on them and let just keep putting it on them. Bag Balm is another good thing to use as well. But the key thing is to continuously put it on so that the hands can soak it in. It may take a while to get them to heal but it should work.

[January]

If she uses latex gloves, she might be allergic to latex.

Jan

[Sarah116]

Severe dry skin get some lotion. Any should do.

Bag Balm, heavily applied at night. you can buy it at feed stores or walmart.

[DizzyLizzy]

I had the same problem when I worked in health care - caused by over-washing and under-moisturizing my hands. The doctor said it was a type of eczema.

For treatment, I used the neutrogena Norweigan hand cream several times during the day and immediately after I washed my hands everytime I washed them, and at night I would slather my hands with hydrocortisone cream and put cotton gloves on to sleep so that the hydrocortisone cream did not get everywhere.

I would also wear rubber gloves (vinyl or latex) as often as possible even at home for things like doing the dishes so that I didn't have to wash my hands or expose them to water. I even wore gloves in the shower to reduce the amount of soap/water on my hands since too much water and soap was the cause of the problem to begin with.

Mine was very bad - cracked, bleeding, blistering - and it cleared up in about a week once I started using good hand cream, hydrocortisone at night, and reducing my contact with soap/water and Purell-type instant hand sanitizers (even the aloe types are extremely drying).

Hope that helps,
Liz

peeling of skin is not exema as far as I know. Exema is a red rash like a heat rash that if not treated cracks open and bleeds.

I use Aloe, Bag Balm, and or Mometesone cream for my exema.

My feel on the other hand chap meaning the skin drys out cracks and peals which leads to peeling too deeply and starts bleading.

I use hand lotion (doesn't matter which brand which ever one is cheapest is what I get. I put it on after baths and at night when I am going to bed and the next morning im pretty much healed up. Then its just a matter of leeping lotion on it every night.

[Peanuts]

My family uses Udder Cream - no kidding. It comes in a white bottle or tube with black spots like a cow. But it is really mild and doesn't sting sore skin too bad and doesn't leave greasy sensation on hands. It really helps, especially during the cold weather. We find Udder Cream in the drug store and sometimes the grocery store.

[kwishoshua]

I have the same problem, it started for me about 2 months ago when they began doing construction in the store I work at. I have an appointment to see a dermatologist. So far, all of the otc creams/ointments/pills I have used have little if any effect.When I take benedryl it makes it fade but not go away completely. If I am away from work for several days it almost completely clears up but only a few hours at work and it begins to get really red and then crack and bleed again. My primary physician said "it just looks like eczema to me" but I still requested a dermatologist referral. I'm going to request an allergy test and a culture.