What Is Hand Eczema?
Your hands are prime targets for eczema triggers like dry winter air or hot summer days, and flares on your fingers can be itchy and painful. So give these parts of your body a little extra TLC if you struggle with eczema.
Hand Eczema Causes
A few things can cause hand eczema, including:
- Your genetics
- Injury to your skin
- Allergies
- Irritants like detergents, cold, heat, and friction
- A breakdown in a protein in your skin that makes it easier for irritants and allergens to trigger a reaction
Sometimes, the cause is never found.
Stress-related eczema on hands
If you’ve noticed that your hand eczema only occurs when you’re stressed, you might have stress-related eczema, also called dyshidrotic eczema or dyshidrosis. It can appear on your feet, too.
This type of eczema can be caused by a few other things, such as allergies or having too much moisture on your hands.
Eczema on hands in the winter
Cold weather can be hard on your hands, especially if you have eczema. Not only are the temperatures colder, but the air is also drier. This means your skin will need more moisturizer and you’ll have to be gentler to it to prevent damaging it.
Symptoms of Hand Eczema
What does hand eczema look like?
Eczema on your hands might look different from eczema patches on other parts of your body, where it often appears as itchy red or dark brown patches. When it’s on your hands, you might also notice:
- Pain
- Burning
- Dryness, peeling, and flaking
- Swelling
- Cracks
- Pus or crusts
- Bleeding
Hand eczema blisters
If you have hand eczema, you might have bumps or small blisters (about the size of a small seed or bead) around the palm of your hand and fingers. The small blisters can join together to make a larger one. Eventually, the blisters become dry, scaly, and cracked.
Common Types of Eczema on Hands
A few types of eczema can affect your hands, depending on the cause:
Irritant hand eczema
Irritant contact dermatitis (or irritant eczema) happens when you come into contact with something that irritates your skin, like dust or chemicals. You might even get it after washing your hands a lot. These things can cause problems with the protective barrier of your skin, leading to eczema.
Allergic hand eczema
Allergic contact dermatitis (or allergic eczema) is caused by an allergic reaction to something around you. Common causes include nickel, fragrances, rubber, and certain plants.
Dyshidrotic eczema on hands
Dyshidrotic dermatitis (or pompholyx eczema) causes itchy, watery blisters, usually on your palms and the sides of your fingers. You can have this along with a different kind of eczema in another spot on your body. It may come in cycles and is most common before age 40. Doctors aren’t sure what causes it. But things like metals, allergies, stress, heat, and sweating can make it worse.
Hand Eczema Treatment
The first step to treating hand eczema is to make some lifestyle modifications, but if they don’t work, you might need medical treatment from your primary care doctor or a dermatologist. These are some of the medical treatment options:
Topical therapy. This involves applying ointments, gels, or creams directly to the eczema patches on the skin.
- Corticosteroids. Over-the-counter steroid products are often not strong enough to treat hand eczema, so you might need a prescription for a stronger corticosteroid.
- Protopic. This medication works on the immune system, stopping it from attacking the skin’s cells.
Phototherapy. Applying a special light with UVB or UVA rays can help treat hand eczema patches.
Oral medications. If topical treatments don’t help, your doctor might suggest you take medications by mouth if you have a severe flare-up.
- Oral corticosteroids. An oral corticosteroid, like prednisone, which you would take for a short period could help treat the hand eczema.
- Alitretinoin (Toctino). This medication is only used to treat severe hand eczema. It’s not approved for eczema elsewhere on your body. It helps calm your immune system and the inflammation from the eczema. It can take from 12 to 24 weeks to work.
Living With Hand Eczema
If the hand eczema is new, it’s important to see if you can pinpoint the cause. A “patch test” done by your doctor might help you find if it’s caused by a specific irritant or allergen. If the patch test can’t find anything, talking to your doctor might help you identify other causes, like stress or having your hands always in water.
Regardless of the cause, there are some things that you can do to manage the condition so it’s not so painful or itchy.
Develop handwashing techniques that are gentle on your hands
Washing your hands is important to help prevent the spread of infections, like colds and the flu. Washing your hands can also keep bacteria from entering any cracks in your skin caused by eczema. But it’s important to wash your hands in ways that they don’t get more irritated or sore. Here are some tips:
- Avoid hot water. Warm water is less harsh on your skin.
- Choose gentle soap without additives that could cause allergic reactions or be irritating. You can also look for soap-free cleansers. When choosing a soap, check the label to look for things you want to avoid, like:
- Fragrances
- Allergies
- Dyes
- Antibacterial products
- Alcohol
- Avoid using waterless, antibacterial cleanser to wash your hands because they usually contain alcohol, which will dry your skin. However, if you do have to use it because you don’t have any other options, be sure to moisturize your skin right after cleaning.
- Remove any rings before washing so soap doesn’t build up between the ring and your skin.
- Rinse your hands thoroughly to remove any soap residue.
- Don’t rub your hands dry with a towel – dab or pat them dry instead. You can also let them air dry.
- You can also go waterless when washing your hands: Rub your usual cleanser between dry hands and blot it with a soft towel.
Manage cracks on your hands
If a flare-up makes the skin on your hands crack and bleed, try the “soak and smear” technique.
- Soak your hands in lukewarm water for 5 to 10 minutes and then pat them dry.
- Apply plain petroleum-based ointment all over your hands and put on cotton gloves. Glycerin-based ointments also help heal dry, cracked skin.
- Wear the gloves for at least 30 minutes.
Do this twice a day. If it’s hard to do at work, make sure you moisturize as often as you can.
Other tips
There are also some steps you can take while going about your daily activities:
- Wear gloves when:
- Washing the dishes or doing any cleaning
- Preparing certain foods, like peeling citrus fruits, onions, chilies or garlic
- Washing your hair
- Limit how long you wear rubber gloves. Also, ordinary rubber gloves can make your hands moist while you’re wearing them, so look for those that are lined with cotton or are made of PVC. You can also wear 100% cotton gloves underneath the rubber gloves. Avoid gloves that have powder in them and latex gloves because they can cause allergic reactions.
- Choose your rings carefully. Some inexpensive rings contain nickel that can make your hand eczema worse.
- Take your rings off when using any cleaning products if you’re not wearing gloves. The cleaning product can get between your ring and skin, causing irritation.
If you’re at a stage when you’re trying to decide what occupation to go into or you’re thinking of changing jobs, keep in mind that some are harder on your hands than others. For example, if you have hand eczema, you may find it hard to work in a hair salon, health care facility, day care center, or any other area where you have to wash your hands a lot.
Hand eczema lotion
Keeping your hands moisturized means you need to choose the right lotion. Look at the labels for a moisturizer that contains more oil than water. The oil will remain longer on your skin to protect it, while the water will evaporate.
Greasy ointments, like petroleum jelly, are the best for keeping moisture in your skin.
You can also look for the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance that is awarded to products that don’t contain ingredients that are known to trigger eczema flares.
Managing hand eczema at work
Some of the tips for managing hand eczema might be difficult to do in some work places. If necessary, you can ask that your employer make some accommodations, which could be as simple as switching from a harsh soap at handwashing stations to a gentler one or providing you with gloves.
- Protect your hands from allergens or irritants with gloves as much as possible.
- Bring cotton gloves to wear inside rubber gloves.
- Bring your own gentle soap or cleanser, as well as moisturizer and medications, like ointments.
Takeaways
Hand eczema can cause irritation, pain, and cracking skin. These can all make it hard to do your everyday activities. There are some things you can do that might help relieve the eczema patches, such as using gentle soaps, moisturizing your hands frequently, and wearing gloves when cleaning or doing something that will make your hands moist or dirty. You can also ask your doctor if you need treatment, like prescription ointments, phototherapy, or an oral drug.
Eczema on Hands FAQs
What causes eczema on the hands only?
Eczema on your hands can be caused by irritants, like chemicals or harsh soaps, allergies, friction, or even stress.
What deficiency causes hand eczema?
Some researchers believe that low vitamin D levels may make eczema worse.
What foods trigger eczema?
Food as an eczema trigger is very individual. If have any food allergies, it’s possible that these could trigger eczema. There aren’t any tests to check for this, so you would have to learn by identifying when you have a flare and what you have eaten. Keeping a food journal can help with this.
Is hand eczema fungal?
No, hand eczema is not fungal or the result of a fungal infection.
What is the best treatment for eczema?
Treatment for eczema depends on how severe it is. Many people can manage hand eczema by avoiding triggers and taking care of their skin. Others need to use topical treatment, phototherapy, or oral medications.
