peeling red raw fingertips and hands cracking fingertips 8yr-old girl. mother had the same. winter

Not sure if this helps any but I have suffered through a similiar incident when I was in Med Tech school. My hands would be extremely itchy. The itch was so severe but yet my eosinophil count (part of a CBC) was within normal limits. I also had water blisters and my fingers were cracked which was painful when they were wet, hence I wear lab gloves as my profession. My father has the same thing with his hands. There is a medical definition called neurological dermatitis. It is caused by an emotional stimulus. Is your daughter stressed about school, friends or family? Just having this condition may be stressful enough. I know that I was embarassed and felt like a leper. I was diagnosed with ecezma too but my allergy test came back negative. Not sure of the age to start allergy/immunology testing for pediatrics. I was given corticosteroid shots which did nothing as did the fungal steriod cream. Once I graduated from college and passed my licensing boards it pretty much went away. I sometimes still get flare ups now and then, especially on the palm region and fingertip region where the finger bends. I work for a Clinical Lab Immunologist and I had a test ran on myself (35 yrs. old) called an Antinuclear Antibody test by Western Blot methodology. I have tested positive for some autoantibodies....still waiting for my physician consultation/interpretation of the results. Perhaps she has a type of psoriasis or juvenile dermatomyositis. A Dermatologist would be recommended to help further direct you with your daughter's care. One note, though, a lot of these skin conditions are hereditary with unknown causes. Please let me know if any of this information helps.

To "Bean", I experienced similar symptoms as a child. It started at around age 4 and lasted until I reached puberty. The skin started peeling at the tip of one finger and continued to peel slowly (several layers) toward the first bend. The skin was raw and sensitive. I had lost my finger print. I had seen various doctors from different countries who prescribed various treatments, from oral to creams. Nothing worked. It was very embarrassing and limited my physical activities (ex. difficulty playing dodge ball because catching the ball would break the skin and bleed.) There was only one doctor that said I had to wait it out until I had my first period. After that it took about a year to heal completely. This was in 1983 so I guess medical science has not found a cure yet.

Hi,
I would like to share this story with you hoping that it might help many like me. I had painful occurrences of cracking finger tips, bleeding and peeling skin on my hand. I went to the skin specialist and she told me that I have psoriasis and gave me rubs, ointment and told me that I will have to use it for rest of my life. This went on for about 1 year and I would get these bouts about once every month and would last for about three weeks. For some other unrelated reasons, I came to know that drinking water (about 8-10 glasses) of water is good for me. So I started drinking more water than normally I did. It has been since last three months that my fingers have not cracked and the roughness is almost gone. Just to make sure that the water is the cause. I stopped drinking this extra water for a fifteen days and the symptoms started to reappear but not like before. One more thing to mention that I used to drink about two to three cups of coffee and about two to three alcoholic drinks per day. I have reduced my coffee drinking by about 90% and I have about one drink a day now. May be this has something to do with it.
Hope this helps. No harm in trying anyway because this amount of water is good for you anyway.
VJ

Hey Bean, There are a couple of things it could be, yes psoriasis - I use Diprosone Cream 0.05%, this works very well for me if I catch it early,Try the water theory first though. If it clears up that's great. Could also be that the soap you are using is too drying on your hands and if you use it very frequently it will aggrevate it even more. Change to a mild soap and dry your hands thoroughly, then use a barrier cream to protect them. hope this information helps you out some. Lori-ellen

Eczema on the hands, especially fingertips is due to a nickel allergy. Look up what foods and substances contain this element and have her avoid them. For example: jewelry, coins, apples, etc. even water....do not immerse your hands in water. I wash my hair in the sink with vinyl gloves, and bath in water with salt or epson salt (about a cup). Line metal cookware in parchment paper for baking. Try not to eat anything from cans. Try to cook food in glassware. Buy big bottles of saline solution to rinse hands, especially if rinsing in water first is unavoidable. Use only cetaphil lotion to wash or aveeno eczema wash.

I have been researching this for three years.

Furthermore, the best results to treat are:

Burrows solution soaks-follow pharmacy guidelines. And put soaks of sodium pamanagate ( I use cosmetic cotton ball type) wrapped over with gauze. This is found in crystals at the pharmacy, and only a few grains will make a dark, dark purple solution that can stain the hell out of anything so be careful. Both of these are completely non toxic and have been around for more than a hundred years. You do this for a couple of weeks and it will knock it out. You might have to go back to it from time to time when it reappears. Keep hands moisturized with vasoline...avoid all cosmetic type c**p.

You have to have plenty of gloves around to avoid touching nickel. Finding nice ones can be fun, my favourite kind are soft fuzzy ones. The fine cotton ones aren't thick enough. Finding the right bandaids is a challenge, as some make it worse. I find one kind of antibacterial ones the best but you can go through boxes and boxes of them. Although not pretty, a very soft white cotton sheet type material cut or ripped into bandages is the best thing for healing following the soaks or the recommended washing as above. Only use Tide free and gentle for washing all clothes, bedding etc. and put them through the rinse cycle twice. Never use dryer sheets.

It sounds annoying but there have been times when these sore fingertips were like third degree burns and equalled any surgical and injury pain I have suffered in my entire life.

My daughter and I both suffer from raw hands... Have narrowed it down to gluten intolerant... If we stay away from wheat, rye, and oat products which is breads, bake goods, pasta, pizza, subs, sandwiches, our hands clear up... Our diet is based mainly on fruit, vegetables, some meat, rice and potato... There are many gluten free recipes on the computer.

I was just going to say what Suelynn just said.  Additionally, skin breaks can result from systemic yeast getting out of control.  It can result in cracked hands, feet and eyelids.  I'd try taking a break from gluten, white foods (starchy things that turn to sugar in the body, like rice, potatoes, etc.) and sugar and also find a doctor's office who will test for candida.  It's a test that can be done by drawing blood or taking a stool sample.

I had the same problem here it is most likely caused by stress irritation genetics or all of the above.I have used a new cream called neosporin eczema essentials this cream is not just for eczema it helps heal skin like magic it tops the pain or the dry itchy skin.This cream is great yo try out it healed my hands in only 3 days.After my skin began to look normal i kept using this cream and have not seen that stupid peeling skin.

My sister suffered from the same thing. It was finally diagnosed as an allergic reaction to fluoride. We got non-fluoridated toothpaste, bottled spring water (long before it was fashionable) and skipped the fluoride treatments during tooth cleaning sessions. The condition improved immediately, but it took many months (perhaps even the better part of a year) for the skin to be fully recovered.

Have you considered Gluten as the trigger...look up dermatitis herpetiformis 

I have suffered with contact dermatitis for years due to a nickle allergy. I have seen several dermatologists who prescribe steroid cream as the only thing to control it. The skin on my fingertips is getting very thin due to the steroid use. I have tried every otc cream at great expense. A friend suggested I try lavender essential oil. Wow - what a difference it has made. I am no longer using steroid cream. I apply the oil 3 or 4 times a day and also use a good nickle free hand cream. I am so excited to finally get relieve.

"systemic yeast" causes hypovolemic shock and death, if left untreated. There is no such thing as convalescent "systemic yeast." dullard nonsense.

Wow. Very informative ty
Bc my 5 y o. Has peeling finger tips. Shes starting