Dishydrotic Excema

LegacyUser

Has anyone on here got Dishydrotic Excema?

It's driving me mad! Have it on both hands and one foot. It started up about 5 years ago during a terribly stressful time and following a viral infection and has been coming and going ever since, but seems to come more than go lately. Lots of blisters that are really itchy, then they bleed, then they dry out, then the skin flakes......

Doctor hasn't given me any idea what to do to get rid of it, or stop it starting in the first place, or avoid it. From my own experience though stress definitely plays a significant role.

Any sufferers out there with any experience of this?

LegacyUser

I just did a search for this on boards to see if anyone mentioned it- I have it too, drives me crazy and nobody knows anything about it!

I've done a good bit of research on it because my GP had never heard of it- one of the the things mentioned as a trigger was the contraceptive pill, so I changed to the contraceptive patch and it improved a bit but it's after flaring up again recently. It's said that stress makes it worse, and other things I read that are bad are Vitamin E, extremes in weather (I was travelling when I got it first and went from humid weather to freezing weather and it was awful then, my feet were bleeding, so sore) and exposure to nickel (often found in costume jewellery).

In fairness in comparison to some of the photos I've seen (google image it, yuck) I think I've a fairly mind version of it- but it's still really irritating & I've no idea how to get rid of it or if it's possible. I definitely think it's a hormonal thing- I know of a woman (around 28 years old) who reckons she got a flare up of it when she was pregnant, and she never had it before.

It's not contagious apparently, but I reckon my boyfriend has it on his feet as well. His hands are ok, but his feet are in bits, worse than mine ever were. Maybe it's not dishydrosis at all, but it seems quite similar.

I would say this though- as much as you might want to, try not to sctrach, because that definely spreads it (something to do with the watery substance in the blisters spreading under the skin if you put pressure on it).

All I know is that I hate how wrinkly my hands have gotten because of it, it's horrible

LegacyUser

It's funny that you mention vitamin E not being good, because I was considering using vitamin E cream on my hands and feet to try to speed up the healing process.

The scarring is getting really bad lately and I look like I'm covered in cigarette burns on my hands and feet. Or maybe that bio oil stuff might help?

I don't have any allergies, but warm weather and stress are definitely the 2 things that make it worse for me.

I also discovered that my dad has it on his hands and feet too, I had never really noticed to be honest. He developed it after a heart attack. His doctors said it seems to be pretty common after a heart attack. Weird or what?

I wonder is there a hereditary factor to it too?

Anyway, needless to say I'm getting nowhere with my GP and I can't afford to go to a dermatologist so I suppose I'm stuck with it for now.

LegacyUser

Yeah I'd say bio-oil couldn't hurt, it's quite soothing in general for it's other purposes and because it's not perfumed it doesn't sting.

Never heard of anyone in my family with it, and my GP never heard of it. I'm reluctant to self-diagnose but all the symptoms are there and those photos I saw are pretty much the same as what I have. I've a bad flare-up of it at the moment but I can't seem to figure what's causing it because I haven't been wearing much costume jewellery lately, I was on holidays from work so I wasn't stressed, I wasn't using fake tan (sometimes I wonder is it a factor)... so have no clue why it's bad again!

It's DEFINITELY important to make sure to always dry your hands and feet properly after washing though, otherwise the blisters are worse. Also no mater how tempted you are, remember it's like chicken pox: if you scratch it can scar.

Anything you come across yourself, let me know!!!