Blister-like bumps on the fingers

There is DEFINITELY 2 (or more) different things going on here.

Google image search the following and you will see the big difference:

*Herpetic Whitlow* is larger, usually non-itchy, clusters of blisters.  They sometimes are red bumps, and can hurt quite a bit.  They do not usually burst on their own, and you should NOT burst them.  I know someone who has this, and it is completely different from what I have.   He got it from an ex who had genital herpes.  It can be caused by HSV-1 OR HSV-2 so you can get it from mouth or genitals that are affected.  As someone has previously said, if you get a breakout on your hand of this you should cover it and make sure not to touch your genitals, mouth, or eyes with the affected area as you can spread it, especially if you have burst any of them.

*Dyshidrotic Eczema / Dyshydrosis* is what I and another friend I know has...I have it on my little fingers (just over a year) and she has it on her palms (has had it for about 10 yrs).  It is usually VERY TINY clear blisters under the skin (not raised, you have to look fairly close to see the blisters as they are smaller than 1mm in diameter), in clusters of anywhere from one to hundreds.  When there is only a couple they don't itch.  If you burst them, the fluid makes them spread, and makes the area itchy (ranging from slightly itchy to extremely itchy) once it starts getting itchy its almost impossible to avoid bursting more of them, and from there on out its a mess of dry flaky itchy skin, some areas will crack, the finger is swollen, and once it heals over a new layer of blisters may show up right away.  The fingernails on the affected finger can become bumpy and irregular (my cuticles have disappeared on both fingers and my nails have ridges and sometimes pits).  Sometimes I just have 1-5 blisters, and when it gets worse I will have anywhere from 10-60 on each finger.  Both fingers cleared up for the most part (although remained itchy) for several months, but one has flared up again since the beginning of December.  I have changed all the soaps and lotions in my house to natural ones (no SLS/SLES, etc) which has helped a bit of the irritation but has not gotten rid of it.  I've tried steroid creams, hydrocortisone, calamine lotion, oil of oregano (do not put it full strength onto the affected area...it burns!), BFC oil, aloe, ionic silver (similar to colloidal silver), several kinds of natural tinctures and lotions, nothing seemed to "solve it" but some things worked better than others (the steroids, calamine, and hydrocortizone actually made the LEAST amount of improvement).  It seems allergens aggravate it - I'm allergic to cats and dogs (itchy eyes and skin) so if I pet an animal it makes that area *way* more itchy than anywhere else if I don't wash my hands right away...since its a sensitive area it seems to be aggravated more easily.  However one thing I noticed is when I cut down on my gluten intake it seemed to make the most difference.  Its highly possible that it is caused by some sort of a food allergy that you are unaware of.  I have yet to discover the true cure for this though.  I am going to cut out all grains from my diet for a while to see if this resolves the problem.

 

I'm 43 and have gotten these bumps once in a while through out the past ten years. It happens the same time of the year, I noticed around the first of the year. I believe it to be the weather. It's been cold in FL. My hands and feet have been sweating which builds up moisture. Excessive moisture like when you are under stress for what ever reason and your hands sweat. So now I have the red itchy bumps. Mine go away when the warm weather comes back. If my hormones are off and I have excessive sweating it can happen anytime of the year. I'm guessing it is like keeping your hands in water too long. Just my experience and opinion. 

sounds somewhat like wet eczima.

I agree it's from a yeast infection. I had a yeast infection down below and thought i got it covered but I think it has now spread to my hands and feet. Going to try the garlic tablets and if nothing works get antibiotics from a doctor.  

Well I am a 20 year old male and I have this thing going on too. I've been reading all these posts and I don't know what could be the problem. I masturbate often (that theory), I work at chuck e cheese and I either am a cashier so I work with change and tokens (the nickel theory) or I am up front and using A LOT of hand sanitizer. Should I use just soap and water then? I have a few other things wrong with me and stress is said to be a factor of those but I'm not sure how to cope with stress. The bumps I have, don't itch they are just noticeable by me (for now) if i pop them clear liquid comes out and the skin peels. Its only on my fingers and thumbs. I've only had these for 2-3 months. I live in Washington so very cold weather right now in March but I lived here for a long time so why all of a sudden would weather play a part. Maybe it could be something else. I haven't had any cold sores either. I've never heard of garlic "pills" any suggestions would be nice. I can stop my nightly pleasure sessions and wash my hands without sanitizer but I can't quit my job I've worked there almost 9 months so I don't think it will be nickel since again why would it recently happen? I'm not allergic to anything to my knowledge. I don't want to make a doctor visit and spend a few hundred if I don't have to.

Just so everyone knows: scratching poison ivy or poison oak blisters does NOT spread the oils. The oil, called urushiol, soaks into the skin and then your body reacts to it. Once blisters are forming, the oil is long gone. It cannot be spread by breaking open the blisters or any other such thing. The blisters do not contain the oils, they are simply swollen areas of skin due to your body's overreaction to what it percieves as a threat. The reasons that you may discover poison ivy blisters showing up on different areas of skin over a period of time are as follows: Urushiol can stay on clothing or other surfaces like your couch for a long time, unless you wash the area (with soap). So if you walk through poison ivy and it gets on your shoes, for example, and then you later touch your shoes, you can get the oils on you that way. Urushiol soaks into different thicknesses of skin over different lengths of time, so you might break out in one area and then later find more bumps forming in another and assume that your scratching has spread it, but that is not what is actually happening. Some parts of the body are more sensitive to irritants and will show signs earlier. People always like to argue with me about how poison ivy works, and they will SWEAR that they have had it spread on them after scratching, but I assure you that I know what I'm talking about and a simple search on a medical website will prove me right. I have a degree in Wildlife Conservation and I have also been trained as an EMT and in BOTH fields of study, poison ivy has been a topic that was thoroughly covered. Please read up on it before spreading false information. Thanks.

I had the same problem for years - probably about a decade.  Someone told me to switch to soaps, shampoos, etc. without sodium lauryl (and laureth) sulfate b/c that worked for her.  This is a chemical used often to scrub asphalt.  Why it's in our soap, I have no idea.  I switched a year and a half ago and haven't had a breakout since.  In fact, my bubbles disappeared without about two weeks of switching soaps.   More and more manufacturers are making these laureth(lauryl) sulfate-free shampoos and soaps now, so they have become cheaper. Whole Foods 360 brand is pretty inexpensive - about $5 for a big bottle that lasts a few months.  I believe Target sells some, too.  I'm sure you can find them in your local store if you read the labels. It may or may not work for you, but it's worth a shot and it's a relatively inexpensive way to find out!  Good luck.

Am I the only male who has these? 

I got this small blisters  (ECZEMA)  on some allergic, i was on antibiotic and then i was prescribe  Prednisolone  (Prednisolone did work but i got the blisters all over again.

 

good news i am getting recovered this is all  i did, now my  blisters are almost dry and i have dark patches all over my hands. I will use aloe vera continually so my scars will disappear soon.

 

* Raw aloe vera one table spoon morning empty stomach till you recover, some time  this aggregate you flam situation so be cautious.

 

*  apply aloe vera on skin 4 times a day

 

* soak feet on Condy’s crystals solution with lightly warm water 45 mts, 2 times a day if possible, (if its so itchy I did use warm water which I almost burned my skin, some times burning is soothing)  

 

* soaking hands on Condy’s crystals solution 30 mts  4 times a day or more if needed.

 

* use antibiotic cream after soaking with Condy’s crystals or apply aloe vera

 

* Try using salt and worm water soaking 1 hr once a week at least (1 tsp for one 750 ml) its a promise you will not get this on seasonally, (feet only, some times it may hurt while you have the blisters)

 

Avoid Tomato any acidic food,  Coffee, it may verse the satiation if you a on gastric situation or stress, sleep as much as you need. Pray to god for your recovery soon. Good luck 

There are more than 1 symptom here. Partly what you are talking of is prickly heat. They are liquid filled blisters that itch but pop fairly easily. This is brought about by sun damage initially followed by high humidity. Anti histamine can work to control this. I have both prickly heat and these other blisters on my fingers and thumbs. The ones on my hands do not itch but they do 'throb' a few years ago I got the first odd ones that would disappear with time and although we're slightly painful were bearable. I now have an outbreak on both hands that has been here for 4 weeks. Some will disappear and others arrive. These are hard blisters. Flesh coloured in appearance. I feel them before I see them. When they arrive they start off red and inflamed they then calm down slightly to a flesh colour and some have a black dot in the middle almost wart like. Others don't have the black dot. They 'feel' viral in nature. But no one seems to know what these ones are. It is not herpetic whitlow which I think some people have on here. Namely those who refer to masturbation as that is part of the hepes family it would make sense that it could be that or some form of genital wart transfer perhaps? This is not what I have though. It seems there are many types with the same symptoms when reading these forums. I am a mother who gets little sleep though and has a fair amount of stress

After years of suffering with recurring cluster blisters like the ones described here (mine itched) I have finally discovered the cause-- CARRAGEENAN.

Whenever I now accidentally eat something with carrageenan in it my finger tips start to tingle, but no blisters appear. 

 

Fyi - Shingles/herpes zoster outbreak typically follows along a nerve area, usually below the breasts, around the braline, from front to back around the ribs. If your skin is broken anywhere you could transfer the virus from the blisters to the open skin wound. So take precautions by wearing gloves, not using the same towel over the infected area and elsewhere. Do not rub your eyes with herpetic whitlow or wear contacts. Herpetic whitlow can affect several fingers. Ie those which are on the same nerve /dermatome. Infection can spread to mucous /wet membranes (eyes nose genitals) or broken skin so be vigilant. The outbreak may not repeat but it can with damage to the skin, small cut or burn, so take care not to break cuticles. Herpetic whitlow can also get infected from bacteria so may need to balance treatment between antibiotic and antiviral both orally and as cream. Do not use cortisone products, cortisone makes herpes out breaks much much worse. Don't pop the blisters, apply alcohol with Qtip to dry them out if helpful, some people try that, i find it more irritating. Hydrogen peroxide and saline solutions are good to rinse the area with. Be sure not to touch clean areas, double dip or anything with things that have touched the infected area to limit spread.

It might be sun light

I have this and it is called pompholyx eczema. Don't pop the blisters as much as they itch. Try rubbing Braggs apple cider vinegar on it. A doctor can give you a cortisone cream as well.

It is a bad idea to scratch poison ivy, but the pus it releases when opened is made completely by your body and will not spread the Ivy.