Paging Dr. Hive - What's Wrong with my Hand? (Somewhat Gross Picture Attached)

[Negin]

Sorry for this gross picture. 

I've had this for at least a month. I've been trying to avoid going to the doctor, never mind the fact that most things have been in total curfew or lockdown until recently. 

It may have been aggravated by more housework and dishes than usual. I wear rubber gloves, which I change as often as needed. I use lots of hand cream to keep it moisturized. 

it may also be aggravated by stress. 

It's only on one hand. 

No itching or pain. 

Just redness and scaly-type patches. 

Thank you so much. 

I will likely see the doctor within the next week or so, but I'd prefer not to. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Negin

[ktgrok]

well, my go to answer for unknown rash is to mix up some antibiotic ointment, some anti fungal ointment (athletes food cream or similar), and some cortisone ointment and then rub on the affected area 3 times a day. Covers your bases. 

[klmama]

It looks rather like a staph infection to me.  I'd do the ointments plus eat a bunch of garlic every day to fight infection from the inside. If you have other antifungal/antibacterial foods or supplements, it's worth trying.  Coconut oil?  

[Selkie]

When my dh is stressed out, he gets eczema on his hands that looks like that. His is very itchy, though.

[Laurie]

It looks like eczema to me.  Watch the video about hand eczema in the link to see how it compares to your hand.  https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/eczema/types/hand-eczema

Are you right-handed?  I have eczema on my hands...and my right hand looks worse than my left.  I wear gloves, too, but I find that they also cause irritating friction.  My dermatologist told me that I need to wear cotton gloves under my waterproof gloves, but this is way too bulky feeling for me when I'm actually trying to wash things!  

If you're concerned about staph, you could do bleach baths/soaks and see if that helps.  You would need to use about 1/4 cup of bleach for a half bath or 1/2 cup for full bath.  Compresses would work, too.  I'll find a link to a dermatologist on youtube that has very helpful advice...she had something about bleach baths recently. (Dr Dray) 

Good luck!

Here's the video about bleach baths:  

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Laurie

[Reefgazer]

2 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

well, my go to answer for unknown rash is to mix up some antibiotic ointment, some anti fungal ointment (athletes food cream or similar), and some cortisone ointment and then rub on the affected area 3 times a day. Covers your bases. 

I was going to suggest something similar, as long as the rash is not spreading.  Diaper rash ointment, specifically.   If it’s spreading, see a doc, and if you can’t do that, a high salt poultice to kill bacteria. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Reefgazer

[Negin]

Thank you all so much for your quick and helpful replies. I'm going to look into all of this right away. 

[Negin]

11 hours ago, Laurie said:

It looks like eczema to me.  Watch the video about hand eczema in the link to see how it compares to your hand.  https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/eczema/types/hand-eczema

Are you right-handed?  I have eczema on my hands...and my right hand looks worse than my left.  I wear gloves, too, but I find that they also cause irritating friction.  My dermatologist told me that I need to wear cotton gloves under my waterproof gloves, but this is way too bulky feeling for me when I'm actually trying to wash things!  

If you're concerned about staph, you could do bleach baths/soaks and see if that helps.  You would need to use about 1/4 cup of bleach for a half bath or 1/2 cup for full bath.  Compresses would work, too.  I'll find a link to a dermatologist on youtube that has very helpful advice...she had something about bleach baths recently. (Dr Dray) 

Good luck!

Here's the video about bleach baths:  

 

Thank you. Yes, I am right-handed and it's on my right hand only. 

Thank you for the links! I'm going to read and watch right away. Dr. Dray is a wealth of info and so knowledgeable. I used to follow her, but this sounds really mean and I apologize .,.. her voice gets to me. I had to stop following her. Thank you again for this. 

ETA: Dr. Dray's video was so helpful. I'm going to start the bleach compress suggestion from today. It was so helpful. I'm laughing at myself, since I just subscribed to her channel once again! 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Negin

[Negin]

11 hours ago, Seasider too said:

Hope you're feeling some relief. I’m just jumping in here on #teameczema. 😆

Cortisone and aquaphor usually clear it up, diligently applied. An antihistamine can help. 

ETA I’d give it a wash with hibiclens, if you happen to have any on hand. My mini-archaeologists, baseball players and frog catchers got me in the habit of keeping some in the medicine cabinet. 

Thank you so much. 

No hibiclens to be found in this part of the world, but I will go with your other suggestions. 

[Ausmumof3]

Are you wearing cotton inners.  My hands do that if I wear rubber or latex gloves without a proper lining.

also I’ve had to back off the hand sanitiser.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Ausmumof3

[Negin]

22 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Are you wearing cotton inners.  My hands do that if I wear rubber or latex gloves without a proper lining.

also I’ve had to back off the hand sanitiser.

No cotton liners, just regular rubber gloves as always, which I only wear when washing dishes. 

I don't use hand sanitizer nearly as much as before. Maybe a little bit about 2-3 times a week. 

[Ausmumof3]

47 minutes ago, Negin said:

No cotton liners, just regular rubber gloves as always, which I only wear when washing dishes. 

I don't use hand sanitizer nearly as much as before. Maybe a little bit about 2-3 times a week. 

Maybe worth trying a cotton inner for a bit till it heals.  

[Negin]

On 5/22/2020 at 3:40 AM, Ausmumof3 said:

Maybe worth trying a cotton inner for a bit till it heals.  

They don't sell them here, but I'll look into them for possibly ordering. By the time they get here, during this crazy time, it will likely be months.