I am now 20 years old.I have had fingertips dermatitis for about 10 years. The hard skin flakes off every time and I am worry whether it can lead to skin metaplasia and cancer. I use Betopic cream (Betamethaxone) . But, it doesn't work .What should I do to cure it? Please give me advice. Please.
Hi everyone who is looking for a solution. I agree with the most comments here, there is not a magical solution so stop looking for one and keep your morale high. I've seen lots of different Dermatologists and most of them offered different solution and different drugs from their experiences, some worked, some didn't. I have fingertip dermatitis for 10 years (I'm 30 years old) and tried lots of different medical creams, well still not a solid solution.
A friend of mine is a Geneticist and he explained why drugs are not working for my fingers. Its because of we have thousands of genes and the problem is not that specific broken gene, it is different combination of genes from one person to another, so its cause is mostly different for all of us. That's why in some messages one treatment works for some people and it doesn't work for rest of us. For me, my hands are in very good condition according to 10 years ago. I think its because of I've learned when my fingers are happy and when they are not. I'll write my experience for my fingers, hope it helps. Moisturizing your fingers is key point, you need to carry a moisturizer cream in your pocket all time, like it or not. Stress is your enemy, try to avoid it if possible. If your fingers more flare up when you are under stress don't surprise. Wearing gloves seems to heal very fast, but after taking off the gloves the new skin is so thin, it peels and cracks with the same speed, so it doesn't work for me.
Don't use too much steroid creams as Doctors recommend because these creams also gets your skin thinner. Don't use a medical cream for a long time (3 - 4 months), it seems skin seems to get used to it and start not to respond to that medicine. (Well I'm not a doctor at this point but this is what happens for me). I don't use any pill right now, but in the past I tried different pill, some seem its okay but none of them have a solid cure.
Having a bath - around 10-15 mins - in the morning and when I get to home in the evening is great for my fingers, I know it is not always possible to get 2 baths in life rush everyday but I try my best. Of course after water and soap, (always use natural soaps, never the liquid ones.) when I go out from bath I need to use a good moisturizer. Again I used lots of different brands, I don't like the oily ones because I can't touch anywhere, not like the smelly ones, some seems to absorb by skin too slow. I think you should also try different ones and find best for your skin, my recommend is the which for your skin absorbs too fast and stays soft, after taking a bath hands and fingers get more water inside them because of osmotic pressure and as soon as you get out of bath and use moisturizer it helps to keep the skin soft much longer.
Stay away from chemicals, hard and heavy work if possible. Never forget your cells are 7/24 trying to repair your skin. Well, there is something wrong with one or two of your genes in thousands of genes, the thing you should do is to help your cells with what is missing, not suffocate your skin and body with chemicals, medicines and drugs. Just try to find what is good for your fingers and maybe researchers find a magical drug someday and we'll all return to our non-moisturizer life.
Have a nice day and hope you all get a cure :)
Please let me know what advice or medication you get from your doctor. I have the same condition and I can't wait to get rid of it!!
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Symptoms: Dry, cracked skin on the hands and feet; deep, extremely painful fissures at any point on the hands, fingers and under the toes that will not heal; sheets of skin that peel off and leave exposed raw dermis that won't heal over; hard chunks of dead dry skin that come off exposing raw dermis. Topicort, Clobetisol and a few other dermatologist prescribed treatments have had no effect whatsoever. Basically, there is no conventional medical treatment and I have been to university dermatologists, among others.
I am going to tell you how to treat, and possibly (long term) reverse this problem. The method I have developed is highly effective, simple to do, non invasive, inexpensive and even obvious once you begin. While every case is different if you have the symptoms I describe above you can fix it, or at least live with it, and no dermatologist will give you this treatment. Obviously, if you develop a sensitivity stop or adjust the treatment as needed.
I have searched extensively for external (dietary) factors that may be causing this. I am suspicious of certain things, but nothing confirmed. I strongly suggest you continue your search for an underlying cause (good luck) as part of this effort.
You will need at least a couple (or all, depending on your level of desperation) of the following ingredients. One or two of them may be highly effective, but mixing and varying what is available to you is the best approach.
1. Aloe burn gel. I like Maximum Strength Alocane Emergency Burn Gel because of its 4% lidocaine content but ANY burn gel or lotion containing either lidocaine or allocaine will work. This is to treat the pain you are experiencing with this condition, and is an optional pre-treatment to the effort I describe below. And plain aloe gel itself is highly useful in this effort.
2. ANY of the over the counter lotions with the words psoriasis or eczema treatment on the label. I have used, and consider the following to be top of the line: Metaderm by Haus, MG217 Psoriasis (terrific), Dermarest Psoriasis, TriDerma Psoriasis. You MUST have one or more of these in your arsenal. There are others that work; get what is available to you and start now.
3. Indispensable: ProFoot Heel Rescue Foot Cream (with Argan Oil), Argan Oil (isolated), Earth Science Multi-Therapy Ceramide Healthy Skin Lotion, AnuMed Vitamin D3 Cream, 10-20% Urea creams such as Udderly Smooth Extra Care 20 (not their regular moisturizer), Borage Therapy Advanced Formula. I can't say enough about Argan oil in this mix, and the ProFoot is number one on my list but the 20% urea is also right up there. I am sure there are others as well.
4. Useful: Corn Husker's Lotion, Zim's Max Crack Creme, Shea Butter, O'Keeffe's Working Hands Hand Cream, Foille Medicated First Aid Ointment (great on fissures), 3M Avagard.
5. Avoid: Common skin moisturizers with no psoriasis or eczema values listed. Some of these will not help and will actually exacerbate your situation.
6. Vinyl gloves. I highly prefer the disposable transparent latex free 12 packs available at Wal-Mart and elsewhere. Transparent is almost a must, but sometimes you have to go with what you've got. Also, these are often one size and may be a little difficult for large hands.
Method: Pre-treatment with Shea Butter or Aloe Gel (or others) is optional but highly recommended. Deep fissures respond well to Foille. The idea is to work a manageable thin layer of this stuff onto your hand before proceeding.
Basically, you will be pumping one or more of the above ingredients into the vinyl glove, putting the glove on and leaving it on overnight. You need to put the ingredients INTO the glove because it is virtually impossible to get enough lotion onto the hand and then pull the glove on without creating a huge mess. You are creating a bath of lotion and need to have more in the glove than the skin can absorb overnight.
If you are treating specific fingers, for instance, you need to pump some lotion into the corresponding finger of the glove to ensure adequate coverage. Experimentation will tell you how much to use; too much and you'll puncture the glove.
If I had only a few of what I have listed to work with it would be the ProFoot Rescue, Aloe, MG217 and 20% Urea, and I would use all of them together. But virtually ANY of the above listed ingredients will yield good results when used with the glove.
Once you have your lotions in the (transparent) glove pull it on and look at how the lotion is distributed. Obviously, you want the problem areas to be completely covered. Work the lotion around and get it right. Do this right before you go to bed and leave it on until the morning. Then take the glove off and rub your hands together to work the residual lotion in a bit; you can also touch up any other affected areas of the body with the excess at that time.
You may well be astounded at how much better your diseased hand looks after even one of these treatments; at a minimum you should see enough improvement to encourage you to keep doing this over and over, night after night, until you get your hand(s) back. The absolute key here is repetition--do it every single night, even if you think you are getting much better. This is not necessarily a cure, but at least a system of very effective management.
After you have the glove off and shower or do the dishes (suggest you protect with a clean glove for these) you may well see the cracks and dryness reappear. Don't get discouraged--simply refresh your hands with any of the above (love that ProFoot) with a simple hand massage and do this throughout the day. Then repeat the glove treatment at night for the full 8 hours or so.
Sitting in a movie theater? Treat the affected area with your small bottle of 3M Avagard repeatedly while you watch the movie. Great stuff, can sting a bit so maybe use the aloe burn gel. Figure it out, you're on your own.
You may, at times, think you are only seeing a half day or so of relief. This condition is extremely difficult. Just keep refreshing during the day and repeating the regimen night after night after night. Persistence and repetition are key.
Yes, you can re-treat during the day, and even an hour of the glove is highly effective. Try one of the lotions you haven't tried before and see what works best. If you can wear the vinyl glove under another glove, as while driving, do so. When you need to pull the vinyl off just throw it away (can be re-used) and get on with your life.
This method is similar to a somewhat informal "soak and smear" technique handed me by a dermatiolgist, wherein the affected hand is soaked in water for 20 minutes each night and then coated with a (very expensive) prescribed ointment overnight. Frankly, the glove treatment using over the counter solutions is just as, if not more effective, far easier and much cheaper. No one is going to soak their hand for 20 minutes night after night (although you can certainly add this in from time to time), but wearing a glove is quick and easy.
Using this method I have gone from a hand racked with pain and virtually unusable to one that is virtually free of all symptoms, but I do have to repeat the regimen three or four times a week.