Any dermatologists / skin experts / excema sufferes on the forum?

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Billies Mum

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I saw my Dad at the weekend

He has dry hands covered in painful cuts and splits. Sometimes up to 18 at once!

He does a desk job so nothing that might have caused this
He has seen a doctor 4 times but nothing prescribed works - the docs says it is stress that is causing this
I really want to help him as he refuses to go back to the doctor, feeling like he is useless. Apparently this is some kind of excema

Has anyone heard of this before?

Maybe someone has a reccomendation. He has tried most thing on the market already

I would be so grateful for any advice
 
My FIL has this problem and always uses any extra cream we've got for my son's eczema - not the steroid cream but the intense moisturising stuff the doc can prescribe. At the moment he's using Diprobase - has your Dad tried it already? There's two types, ones an ointment that is really greasy, you rub it in really well and overnight wear cotton gloves or something to encourage absorption into the skin. You can use it any time but as it's so greasy it can be a bit of a pain, especially on your hands. The other is a cream, not greasy and you can't use too much of it - apply as many times as you like, whenever you need to really. Maybe it would be cheaper to buy than pay on prescription though :-\
 
Hiya

I have the same thing that your dad has, its awful and so painful.

I use oilatum moisturising cream and have a oil that i put in the bath, i also use aqueaous cream which is really cheap to buy.

When my hands are bad i just use a fragrance free moisturiser as anything else really hurts my hands.

Does your dad use handwashes? i fiind that if i use the antibacterial ones my skin is so sore.

Its so frustrating and i have seen lots of skin specialists but they just say to moisturise.
 
:) Jenny, I would recommend taslking to Chrissie at Gorgeous Guineas about this. I used her oils on my son's Seborrhea (spelling) and it cleared up). Now he goes straight to the guinera cupboard when he has skin problems ::)
 
claire said:
Hiya

I have the same thing that your dad has, its awful and so painful.

I use oilatum moisturising cream and have a oil that i put in the bath, i also use aqueaous cream which is really cheap to buy.

When my hands are bad i just use a fragrance free moisturiser as anything else really hurts my hands.

Does your dad use handwashes? i fiind that if i use the antibacterial ones my skin is so sore.

Its so frustrating and i have seen lots of skin specialists but they just say to moisturise.
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Sorry to hear this Claire. I think my Dad washing his hands makes it worse. He has OCD about hygiene, but ive never seen his hadns this bad before.
 
karenrgpr said:
:) Jenny, I would recommend taslking to Chrissie at Gorgeous Guineas about this. I used her oils on my son's Seborrhea (spelling) and it cleared up). Now he goes straight to the guinera cupboard when he has skin problems ::)
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Thanks Karen
I will

Claire - maybe we should both talk to her?
 
my hands got real bad due to washing real often and using strong disinfectant on them when I was still working in a nursing home, I just got a steroid creme prescribed and it cleared up very well, very quickly. I was told that once it has cleared up, I should use stuff like neutrogena and vaseline as soon as I notice any redness coming up.
 
I have the same problem. At one point my hands had infected eczema so I had to use antibiotic cream as well as steroid cream. I was advised I was washing my hands too often and to moisturise six times an hour through the day! Aqueas cream was the only cream I could tolerate, though I tried a friend's Diprobase and that was fantastic. I try to apply a bit of moisturiser, rub it in then apply a bit more, and so on, over and over - usually in the evening. I also wear gloves whenever I can - you can get gloves for sensitive skin in Boots the Chemist. The cuts are very painful and I find the only way they heal is to cover them with plasters at least overnight. Thankfully these days the skin is better than it used to be when I had nappies and potty training to do.
 
:) Other than GG Diprosalic has been good on skin that starts to go red, but its very greasy.
 
Hope you dad gets it sorted soon. Recently my hands have been really sore recently...they're really dry and sting and up really itchy and red..not nice! :-\
 
I know this will sound odd but my cousin has had bad excema all her life, but she cut out dairy products and it has gone! She just uses goat's products now, although this may not suit your dad, anything is worth a try, and also sea water helped her clear hers too, got no idea why either helped but they did.
 
I have psoriasis & the best thing i've done for my hands when they're bad is to blather them in a greasy ointment such as vaseline (if he's not allergic) or emulsifying ointment shove on some plastic gloves (like the ones in hair dye boxes) & cotton gloves over the top & go to bed, they should be lovely & soft in the morning & the cuts shouldn't hurt. Repeat every night if he can stand it until they're feeling better & any moisturising cream to slap on during the day - E45, diprobase, aqueous cream - the key is to moisturise, moisturise & moisturise again.  Great in theory i know but not always practical.

I sympathise totally & good luck
 
My Mother has the same nasty skin problems.. She uses all E45 (I think it's 45? XD) products..

However, when getting shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas, I decided to buy their box full of Neem products for my Mum and she absolutely loves them!

She uses the soap at work and wants more of it because she says it works wonders - her hands look fantastic now. C:
 
Jane said:
Hope you dad gets it sorted soon. Recently my hands have been really sore recently...they're really dry and sting and up really itchy and red..not nice! :-\
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My hands go like that due to the temperature of my body... the more i itch the worse they get lol
 
Get some 100% pure shea butter (unrefined if possible). Products with shea butter added are no good. Its completely natural and much more effective than the stuff available from chemists etc. I had excema that would bleed and crack if my hands got wet or I stretched my fingers too much - its almost gone now :)
For instance;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pure-Unrefine...103936918QQcategoryZ74996QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Have a google - there are lots of internet places that sell it.
 
Thats fantastic - thankyou O0

I'll get some for him and see if that helps
 
Had terrible problems like this some years ago when i was doing my art degree. I lost the use of both my hands.

I used many things - the best steroid was Dermovate. This is a very strong topical steroid on prescription. I have loads here. Email me if you want me to send you some, but it must be used sparingly.

Paraffin 50-50 (over the counter) is a good moisturiser as it is oil based rather than water. That is important.

Aqueuos can be used as a handwashing solution.

Haelan tape is a steroid bandage that is applied to the affected area. very good.

You can also stick the cracks together with superglue, but it must be sterile.

I had two courses of phototherapy which in the end cured the problem. It's not nice, but it's good.

Do email me if you would like more advice. it's a bloody nightmare - dermatitis.
 
I have had eczema since i was a little baby and i find it goes in cycles.
I too have the hand problem and it's worse at the moment, probably cause of the dryness in the air and i've had my hands in water too often.
I wear cotton gloves at night also, i smother my hands in my prescription cream and then usually they're a little better by the morning.
All the best i know just how painful it is :(
 
My OH uses "emovate", I think its available over the counter without prescription and its not badly priced. Hope you find something that works, any irritation is horrible but when it causes open sores...... :o
 
I have pompholyx on my hands at the moment...all red and sore and ouch! I've been using a steroid cream (Fucidin H) for a while and it's done absolutely nothing...just helped to keep it moisturised really :-\

However, i've just started bathing my hands in salt water for half an hour/as long as possible each evening (and using the cream as well to keep moisturised ;)) and, for the first time in 3 months, my hands seem like they're getting better! And i've only been doing it for a few days!

I also get 'normal' eczema on my legs...but when I went on holiday and swam in the sea, it totally cleared up within the week...which gave me the idea of the salt bath :) it really seems to be helping!
 
Believe it or not, it doesn't actually hurt! It might be that the concentration isn't high enough to sting? Or maybe my hands have just gone past the pain stage ;D
 
Not an expert but do work with it and recommend stuff everyday. ok if hes not on anything else then and you dont say what hes tried so if this repeating what he has tried sorry, i would cover the hands in Aqueous cream and leave for a bit then wash off, use a olatium or E45 to wash his hands and if thats not working then maybe try a good hand cream regularly like the neutrogena one if nothing is working insisit on him seeing a dermatologist because it could be something treatable and sometimes doctors take a while to refer. hope you find something that works
 
"emovate", I think its available over the counter without prescription and its not badly priced.
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yeah thats right you dont need a script cant remember price under a fiver i think x
 
Ahh, that reminds me, my hands improved dramatically when I changed my hand soap and washing up liquid. The hand soap used to be an anti-bacterial one - it is now Dove. And of course not having to change nappies or wash potties helped too!
 
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