Itchy Fingers And Toes

have you considered food allergies? I direct this comment especially to the guest with the itchy index finger
ie. Gluten, or dairy?

I have the same it is the index finger on my left hand. it did stop for quite a while but has ust started again aftre doing some work wearing gloves & not sure o is what triggereditagain. They were old gloves as well so that may not have helped.

I itch on my fingers/hands & toes/feet and after I've scratched (because it is unbearable) my hands or feet swell horendously - it is really debilitating - help!!!

IT IS 4A.M. & I'M UP SCRATCHING & RUBBING MY ITCHY HANDS. tHEY ITCH SOOO BAD,I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
BENEDRIL CREAM WAS A JOKE. I USED BAKING SODA. wHAT DO I DO?

I too have really itchy fingers and sometimes toes. Painful, red, burning sometimes (esp after drinking wine), skin breaks down, and it looks like it's coming from inside - it started with a horrid red blister on my toe that seemed to come up from inside. Doctors sent me to specialist and they thought it might be lupus (definitely automimmune) but they wanted to do a punch biopsy test next but because I earn my living typing for hours on end, i didn't want my hands out of action even for one day! Sounded horrendous - taking a bit of flesh from fingers already so painful! So didn't pursue doctor route so far. I find that sugar in foods can set it off (+wine) and when it's bad any foods that have a sugary effect (eg sweet veg - carrots, beets), and esp. fruit does it.

It's curious cos two things I have found recently that I think help are drinking a ton of water, which I imagine would flush out offending substance. But also I find after exercise it's worse, sets it off, and when I diet, so I wonder if it's the body clearing out causing toxin overload in system, so I wonder if it's related to that yeast overgrowth thing (that is related to too much sugar in diet) because when it first kicked off bad I'd moved house and changed diet a bit by eating cherry flapjacks from local baker and they are SO sugary. And thinking back, very first symptoms started when really stressed, but stress causes us to eat more c**p food anyway tho. And I've always been a big sweet eater - puds, sweets, mango chutney, you name it I love it. And dieting seems to cause it to get bad too.

Once I identified sugary food as a trigger, I started to cut out sugary foods, which I think helped (but can never do it totally) but then tried raw food diet but that set my hands off really bad! so it's confusing. But water helps a lot, (plungning hands in cold water and drinking a ton of it) and maybe charcoal tablets to mop up the toxins released by candida? (which is why it would get bad when dieting cos yeast die-back gives off worse toxins that eg eating sugary foods would give off. (Sugar also gives off toxins from the yeast).

Hope this helps and hasn't confused you more! Definitely look at diet tho. Lack of exercise may be a common feature too on this thread (cos of sitting at computer all day typing?) Does anyone do a good amount of exercise regularly before it started but still they get it?   Would be interested to know. Will keep you posted as I learn more.

Hugs n' love to everyone! Such a nightmare. eh

 

Hi,

Just to let you know I've had horrendous itching in fingers and toes - coming from inside, not atopic like contact dermatitis or eczema or anything - for a few years now (in fact one of the first ever symptoms was like a red bump coming from inside on toes then fingers, under my skin, v, painful and sore) and was desperately looking for a cure, and I believe I've found it. My cure seems to be sugar! i.e. avoiding it completely. I also had huge splits on the skin of my fingers which have almost completely healed after just 10 days sugar-free.

 

It's early days so experimenting if have to cut absolutely all sources of sugar or not (e.g. I've had a small amount of fruit). But in the last 10 days I've had absolutely no itching at all!!!!!! Just a little hotness and swelling in the fingers when I eat which dies down after 2h max. I'm trying to stick to eating a lot of proteins (although I don't digest them well so still have to have carbs), as I find any carbs will set my hands off with swelling, getting really hot, skin getting tight and cracking again. But this is improving every day.

 

I always suspected sugar was the cause (I've been a sugar overeater for >50 years!) but couldn't understand why exercise would set it off too, and so thought it might be more complicated than just one food item. That was a red herring tho, cos exercise merely releases sugar into blood stream from stores in body, e.g. from liver - more research needed by me - but I’m so excited wanted to  too.

 

Also apparently starvation (I used to go long periods in the day without eating so I could eat more at night) and possibly gall stones - again more research needed - causes the liver to kick out bile salts into blood stream which get into the skin and cause terrible itching.

 

So avoid all added sugar (even in prepack meals) and cut back on any other sources - e.g. honey, fruit, etc - also dairy acts a bit like sugar in body, so cut milk n' cheese too - just for a while to see if it works for you. (Eggs n' butter are fine though.) Also wine, any alcohol would set me off too - has a sugar effect in body.

 

I found choc was SO difficult to give up! but it's been 10 days now - yay!!! I could of course have 100% cocoa as a sub to get over cravings but gone cold turkey. SO worth doing and long may it continue!  Let me know of your experiences if you can. Do you eat a lot of sugar? If you cut it out, does it work for you too?

 

PS I also have bad circulation in hands and feet, v. low blood pressure, so don't know if that's relevant too. And I sit at a computer all day...

I have really bad eczma on my hands. They itch severely. I just try ignore it and do something else to distract me. I constantly use E45 cream itch relief cream. I've been to the doctors but they stuff they gave me didn't help at all.

OMG i do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is awful!!! between my fingers and toes itch so bad i itch them raw!~! It drives me insane! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been looking through a lot of these posts trying to find an answer and haven't gotten far. I too have itchy fingers/hands, but my biggest issue is my feet, specifically my toes. They can get so itchy, but it isn't relieved by scratching. It feels good to a degree to rub them really hard, but I tend to rub the skin off making a sensitive scab and it doesn't necessarily stop itching. My digits swell from itching, I get small fluid filled "pimples" where I've rubbed. Benedryl and cortisone creams don't work. I typically have to use ice. I thought maybe athletes foot, but the spray isn't working and wouldn't explain my hands. Maybe allergies (I do have a few and take Singulair). Or I've thought of going to a dermatologist. I don't have issues all the time but since moving to south FL where I wear flip flops most days it's been more frequent. I don't know where to start...Help!

Mine started after I moved too! And I started getting more exercise at the same time. Do you get more exercise now you're in Florida? Mine started with a blister on my toe after raking leaves in a big garden. So I think it's kind of clearing out, body getting rid of toxins partly. I'm finding that eggs help, also things like cocoa butter in chocolate but I'm off sugar completely now so don't touch chocolate. but eggs help when my hands start to swell/itch. Since cutting all sugar I am SO much more stable now. Takes time. Good luck. x

Hi just browsing and came across your message. Think you should look at lowhistamine diet. Lowhistamine chef has some great info Good luck

Are you sure that Polycythemia can cause finger and toe itching? What else can it cause?

My feet have been extremely itchy for a couple of weeks, i am hoping somebody can suggest a remedy to help it is driving me crazy

i have similar problems, doctors tried scabies medication didnt help much even after completing the entire course of medicine. planning to go for allergy test. feels like having having problem with some specific element. also i had been taking antideprecent sometime now. let me know any better suggestions. thanks SD

Thank you I will chark with my dr