Tell Me About Skin Issues ...

[lizzywednesday]

OK, so about a week and change ago, I noticed some red, dry, flaky patches of skin on the backs of both my hands.

On the left-hand, it's a patch, a little scaly, roughly the size of a quarter. On the right-hand, it's several patches, most about the diameter of a dime, with one horizontal "strip."

Beyond the fact that it has been a very weird winter in my area, going from crazy-low temperatures to mid-60s in a matter of days, and brushing against patches of road-salt that's attached itself to my car (ew ... I really want to take it in for a wash, but feel like that'll be tempting fate!), I've also been using foaming Method handwash with a fragrance - I bought the Minnie Mouse "strawberry fizz" for DD in the hopes that it would encourage her to wash her hands more frequently.

After I noticed it, I switched up my moisturizer, added some antibiotic first aid ointment for good measure, and noticed no improvement.
I then bought a tube of hydrocortisone and a tub of Cetaphil moisturizing cream, and have re-started my Zyrtec, ... and it appears to be getting better - i.e. redness minimized, no longer flaking,

My questions are:

(1) Do I still need to go to a doctor to get it checked out? If so, who? I have an open access health care plan, so I do not have a "PCP" other than my gynecologist, and would not require a referral. (Unless an office is so antiquated that THEY need one, which wastes my time and frustrates me.)

(2) What could it be? It doesn't meet the criteria for ringworm, but might meet for psoriasis or eczema. Eczema does run in my family (my younger brother had it on his legs as an expression of a dairy allergy) but so does severely dry skin. I've never gotten this before, so I'm honestly curious.

[barkley1]

Sounds like eczema to me, esp since the hydrocortisone helped. DS and dd have both had a patch or two a couple of times , and the dr called it "coin eczema" bc it was about the size of a coin. Official name: discoid eczema.

[Katigre]

I would first change what soap you use and see if that improves things.

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[lizzywednesday]

Thank you.

Not to pry, and feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but in your DCs' eczema, do you find it's tied to diet or allergies?

As for the soap, I was considering getting a soapdish and some Ivory (I don't react to it) but DD will DEFINITELY play with it. Does anyone have the Castile soap dilution recipe for use in a foaming soap dispenser? I have one of those hanging out in my powder room and would be willing to try.

[mikala]

Re: castille soap, I just put a half inch to an inch or so of Dr Bronner's in an old foaming soap bottle and fill the rest with distilled or RO water. It isn't a recipe as much as trial and error to get the level of foam you want.

[barkley1]

Thank you.

Not to pry, and feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but in your DCs' eczema, do you find it's tied to diet or allergies?

As for the soap, I was considering getting a soapdish and some Ivory (I don't react to it) but DD will DEFINITELY play with it. Does anyone have the Castile soap dilution recipe for use in a foaming soap dispenser? I have one of those hanging out in my powder room and would be willing to try.

I'm not sure...it was rare enough that I never felt the need to pay that close attention to their diet. No allergies as far as I know.

[candaceb]

Some Method hand soap has Methylisothiazolinone which has recently come to light as a trigger for skin allergies in some people (including me). I have had eczema since I was a baby and getting rid of that chemical has made a huge difference in my skin.
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703935/METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE/

[lizzywednesday]

Some Method hand soap has Methylisothiazolinone which has recently come to light as a trigger for skin allergies in some people (including me). I have had eczema since I was a baby and getting rid of that chemical has made a huge difference in my skin.
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703935/METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE/

Yes, the Method "strawberry fizz" does have this ingredient and, at first, I wondered if that was what was causing it, but I didn't get the same kinds of contact issues that other things that result in other skin issues for me, so I was willing to rule it out.

[hellokitty]

Due to such a brutal winter, I've been having similar issues. I'm at the point where my hands break out in an angry red rash almost as soon as I wash my hands in any sort of commerical (ie: public bathroom) soap, and I'm actually thinking about carrying around my own soap. Yes, use the hydrocortisone to get it under control, and then make sure you are liberally moisturizing your hands with a lotion that isn't going to irritate your skin more (I can use cetaphil and tropical traditions coconut unscented lotion, other stuff irritates my skin and makes it worse). Make sure that the soap you are using isn't making things worse.

[lizzywednesday]

Due to such a brutal winter, I've been having similar issues. I'm at the point where my hands break out in an angry red rash almost as soon as I wash my hands in any sort of commerical (ie: public bathroom) soap, and I'm actually thinking about carrying around my own soap. Yes, use the hydrocortisone to get it under control, and then make sure you are liberally moisturizing your hands with a lotion that isn't going to irritate your skin more (I can use cetaphil and tropical traditions coconut unscented lotion, other stuff irritates my skin and makes it worse). Make sure that the soap you are using isn't making things worse.

Carrying my own soap to the office strikes me as a pain in the butt, but I'll do it if I have to.

Before bed, I've been putting a thin layer of hydrocortisone on the patches, let it kind of "dry" and then topping it with the Cetaphil cream. It looks MUCH better today - I've been using the hydrocortisone/Cetaphil combo for about 5 days.

If I get up and wash my hands after that, I reapply.

[lizzywednesday]

Quick update:

(1) In order to try and rule out a preservative allergy, I bought some Dr. Bronner's and found a second foaming dispenser in the bathroom DD and I use. After THOROUGHLY rinsing the dispenser bottles, I used filtered water and about a half-inch of the Castile soap and got the same amount of foam I'd get from Method, so that's good.

(2) I continue to apply the hydrocortisone & Cetaphil cream before bed every night. I've also added an application in the morning before starting work.

(3) I've kept up on taking my antihistamine (generic Zyrtec).

It's now been a week and you can't tell I ever had anything wrong with my hands unless you get close.

Thank you all for your input!

[acmom]

My kids and I all have eczema and sounds like you could have a patch of it. My hands have been awful this winter too. Glad it seems to be under control now. Just wanted to mention one quick thing about the hydrocortisone...my DH is a physician and always has me apply it thinly to eczema flareups when they get bad (for me and kids), but then as soon as they start getting better, he has us stop the hydrocortisone and switch to another non-medicated lotion (eucerin usually) bc he said prolonged use of the hydrocortisone can thin the skin. So if your hands are looking clear now, I would switch to just the cetaphil rather than the mixture.

[lizzywednesday]

My kids and I all have eczema and sounds like you could have a patch of it. My hands have been awful this winter too. Glad it seems to be under control now. Just wanted to mention one quick thing about the hydrocortisone...my DH is a physician and always has me apply it thinly to eczema flareups when they get bad (for me and kids), but then as soon as they start getting better, he has us stop the hydrocortisone and switch to another non-medicated lotion (eucerin usually) bc he said prolonged use of the hydrocortisone can thin the skin. So if your hands are looking clear now, I would switch to just the cetaphil rather than the mixture.

Good to know, thanks!

I may have to get some cotton gloves to use for the Cetaphil then, so I can apply a nice, thick layer, and not worry about its impact on my sheets!