Skin infection on my hand

Jack Kelly said:Honestly, besides what I mentioned in the title, I’m kind of struggling to pinpoint exactly what happened to my hand a few months back. I’ll try to describe the whole thing as best as I can, though. It all started about six months ago when the skin on the back of my hand—right between my ring finger and pinky—started getting really dry. At first, I didn't think much of it, you know? But pretty soon, the spot started itching. In the last couple of weeks, it’s gotten so bad that I’m literally tearing at the skin with my fingernails just to get some relief because the itch is totally unbearable. Every time it flares up, this weird, slimy fluid leaks out from the wound (which is maybe an inch or two wide), then it dries up and flakes off. After that, the skin seems fine for a few days, and then the whole cycle just starts all over again. It's been going on for weeks now. I first tried grabbing some antibiotic ointment at the drugstore on my own, but that didn't do squat. Then, the folks at Walgreens suggested an antifungal, but that didn't really help much either. Finally, I went to see my primary care doctor, and she prescribed Afloderm cream (which I think is a corticosteroid?). That was actually the only thing that worked, and it worked pretty fast, but the second I stop using it, the infection just comes right back within a few days.

I’d be super grateful for any advice if anyone here has dealt with something similar. 🤷

Rebecca Roberts2 said:I went through something similar after my skin reacted to an aftershave lotion. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, but if you start auditing your daily products one by one, you might just pin down the culprit.🙂

Gregory Young3 said:That sounds like it might be dyshidrosis. I get flare-ups in that exact same spot between my fingers where the skin is really thin. Thank God mine stays so small and localized; I’ve read stories about people dealing with it all over their palms, fingers, and even the soles of their feet.

When it pops up for me—especially since I wear a ring there—it tends to linger for quite a while. Personally, I find that Pavlovich ointment (from DM) works wonders, and I also swear by that Marigold balm from Walgreens you can find at DM. It's an incredible hand balm. Honestly, it helps everything dry out and heal up really quickly.

Patrick Carter said:It’d be best if you could snap a photo of your fingers—specifically the palm where the rash is—then upload it to a free host like Imgur and drop the link here. It’s hard to tell what we're dealing with from just a description.

Are there any tiny blisters around those weeping spots? Also, do you wear any jewelry, like rings, on that hand?

What do you do for a living? Or just, what keeps you busy during the day?

Jack Kelly said:http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8152/slika1aox1.jpg

So, I stopped using the corticosteroid three days ago. Just one day after that—the day before yesterday, actually—the itching started up again, but I managed to hold out for a bit. Then, by yesterday morning, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I ended up completely picking at the skin in that spot. It doesn't look quite as terrible right now, though, mostly because I used the steroid for over a week, so the lesion is only about a centimeter wide now. Before that, it used to be at least 2 cm.

It’s not exactly like I have visible blisters, but when you touch it, it feels like these hard little lumps under the skin that swell up whenever they start leaking fluid. I don't wear any rings or anything, and since I'm a student, I don't really have a heavy-duty job. I do handle chemicals once in a while, but I always make sure to wear gloves in those cases.

I've already found a ton of potential triggers for dyshidrosis, so I guess hunting for the actual cause is going to be "fun." I mean, it could be an allergy, it could be stress, maybe it's my diet, or maybe it's some irritant that stayed in contact with my skin too long... or honestly, it might just happen for no reason at all. In my case, I guess any of those things could be the culprit...

Jack Kelly said:Honestly, besides what I mentioned in the title, I’m kind of struggling to pinpoint exactly what happened to my hand a few months back. I’ll try to describe the whole thing as best as I can, though. It all started about six months ago when the skin on the back of my hand—right between my ring finger and pinky—started getting really dry. At first, I didn't think much of it, you know? But pretty soon, the spot started itching. In the last couple of weeks, it’s gotten so bad that I’m literally tearing at the skin with my fingernails just to get some relief because the itch is totally unbearable. Every time it flares up, this weird, slimy fluid leaks out from the wound (which is maybe an inch or two wide), then it dries up and flakes off. After that, the skin seems fine for a few days, and then the whole cycle just starts all over again. It's been going on for weeks now. I first tried grabbing some antibiotic ointment at the drugstore on my own, but that didn't do squat. Then, the folks at Walgreens suggested an antifungal, but that didn't really help much either. Finally, I went to see my primary care doctor, and she prescribed Afloderm cream (which I think is a corticosteroid?). That was actually the only thing that worked, and it worked pretty fast, but the second I stop using it, the infection just comes right back within a few days.

I’d be super grateful for any advice if anyone here has dealt with something similar. 🤷

Jack Kelly said:http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8152/slika1aox1.jpg

So, I stopped using the corticosteroid three days ago. Just one day after that—the day before yesterday, actually—the itching started up again, but I managed to hold out for a bit. Then, by yesterday morning, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I ended up completely picking at the skin in that spot. It doesn't look quite as terrible right now, though, mostly because I used the steroid for over a week, so the lesion is only about a centimeter wide now. Before that, it used to be at least 2 cm.

It’s not exactly like I have visible blisters, but when you touch it, it feels like these hard little lumps under the skin that swell up whenever they start leaking fluid. I don't wear any rings or anything, and since I'm a student, I don't really have a heavy-duty job. I do handle chemicals once in a while, but I always make sure to wear gloves in those cases.

I've already found a ton of potential triggers for dyshidrosis, so I guess hunting for the actual cause is going to be "fun." I mean, it could be an allergy, it could be stress, maybe it's my diet, or maybe it's some irritant that stayed in contact with my skin too long... or honestly, it might just happen for no reason at all. In my case, I guess any of those things could be the culprit...

Jack Kelly;15816268 said:http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8152/slika1aox1.jpg

I stopped using the corticosteroid about three days ago, and I guess it started itching almost immediately—like, the very next day—but I tried my best to hold back. Eventually, though, yesterday morning I just couldn't take it anymore and ended up basically scratching the skin right off that spot. It doesn't look quite as horrific now since I had been using the steroid for over a week, so the wound is only about a centimeter wide, whereas before it used to be at least 2 cm.

It’s not even like I have blisters per se, but more like these hard little lumps under the skin that swell up when they start leaking fluid. I don't wear any rings, and since I'm just a college student, I don't really do anything intense, though I do handle chemicals occasionally, but I make sure to wear gloves then.

I've already found a million different potential triggers for dyshidrosis, so I suppose finding the actual cause is going to be a real blast. It could be an allergy, maybe stress, maybe diet, maybe some irritant that touched my skin for too long, or honestly, it might just happen for no reason at all. In my case, any of those things could be the culprit...[/QUOT

Hey there...
I've been dealing with dyshidrosis for years now, and I've seen plenty of private dermatologists in Chicago and at two different hospitals. I think I've posted about this before regarding dyshidrosis and those water bumps on hands. For the last 13 months, I've been trying to manage everything without relying on corticosteroids, and honestly, I'm in the best shape I've been in the entire seven years I've been fighting this monster. My last round of treatment was actually magnetic therapy with an allergist in Canada, which helped me out a ton because most of my issues stem from allergies. I went in for treatments, and while they aren't exactly cheap, they really worked for me. Now I just have slightly dry skin on my hands and feet. My strongest allergy is to leather—like shoes and bags—so I finally realized why everything always seems to flare up in the summer when I start wearing sandals with bare feet.
Anyway, I guess the main thing is to find a really high-quality dermatologist and try to move away from those steroid creams, because in my experience over the last six years, they've done nothing but thin out my skin. If you ever decide to head to Canada, I can give you the info: Dr. Erika Zagar, Thermae, Podcetrtek 0038635829405. There’s usually a two or three-month waitlist because people even travel from all over America to see her. She handles all sorts of dermatitis and allergies, and she's the one who cleared up my dyshidrosis. A consultation including an allergy test for about 100 allergens runs around $130, and individual treatments are about $55. That might sound like a lot, I suppose, but I've spent twice that much on random creams that only made things worse. Best of luck to everyone!