skin peeling off my fingertips

If you are using a wound ointment that has "silver" in its name it will do it to. I am have the same issues on my hands. Kinda why the wound care nurse told me to wear gloves...

4naturalselection wrote:

I'm having the same problem, and I found another forum that suggests it could be caused by a fungus, similiar to athlete's foot. That sounds plausible to me; I thought I'd post it here also, since no one mentioned it in this groupl

http://www.boards.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-93517.html

:D this is what i thought too, a fungus. since i started working at a cafe i have noticed my thumb and pointer finger (index i think) begining to dry out and peel and scratch on my clothes etc...annoying and there is one girl that's been working their a lot longer than me and her fingers look horrible. its the only other girl besides me that has fair skin. she obviously doesn't visit a doctor. i recently lost my medical ins. or i wouldn't be looking on here but i would ask the doc instead. i bet its fungus though. once i had fungus on my arm, its like a rough spot and the doc told me to put lotion on it while your wet right out of the shower, don't dry off but right out of the shower. i did that a couple times and gone. i wonder if it would work for this too. if not i will see the doc and find out if it is a fungus etc...i wonder if i can get that cream at the pharmacy though. just wanted to say this is the only post that i feel has the right answer. thanks.

Hi, my son has the same problem, I am only sure it is not alergy as he usually has it first on hands and 2 weeks later on his feet. Once I found on internet it can be after streptococus infection. So we did the test, he had streptococus in his throat, took ATB, but after some time the peeling sking appeared again. Today, I found on internet that it could be latent boreliosis... It comes, we use cream with urea or olive oil, and then somehow it disappears. But then after some time it comes again...I thought it could be also fungi, but fungi infection doesn't disappear itself, does it? So we just keep creaming it...

To the individual that mentioned another forum someone mentioned a fungus as the cause. I went to a dermatologist about this problem about 3 years ago. I was told I had a fungus. No explanation as to what caused the fungus or where I got it from. Took a medication and somewhat cleared up. Still have the problem and no clue what is causing so I have not bothered to return to doctor at cost of $100+ to not really get the kind of information I am looking for. Otherwise I am extremely healthy and have no other issues going on.

I have had this happening since I started donating platelets. I talked to the nurse at the center and she said she never heard of anyone having this happen because of donating.
It has been driving me nuts and I am glad to see others have it also because misery loves company. I used to drink a lot of water but I started drinking less the past year and it has gotten worse so I think water is connected to it. I am going to try the black currant seed oil and hope for the best.
Good luck to us all in trying to fix this annoying problem!

So I commented on this a few months ago, and I would just like to say I figured out what mine was from. I'm a nail technician and it turns out that I'm allergic to acrylic nails. So LADIES, if you are wearing acrylic nails, GET THEM REMOVED. At first, I refused to believe it was from that, but it is. After I took my nails off it got better so much faster. Gel works perfectly fine on my hands, no allergy to that. Gel might be a little more pricey 5-10 dollars, but it's definitely worth it, and I like gel better anyways ;-)

FOUND MY CURE! This year (fall 2010 through today Feb 21, 2011) is the first time I have ever suffered with this condition. Started with dry calloused areas on my thumbs and pointer fingers on both hands same pattern. Then it spread to other fingers and started down my fingers to the palm. Skin was very thick and would crack open. Even areas where the skin didn't seem thick my fingers would split open. Mostly near the tips. After a bath or doing dishes my hands felt like velcro. I had been putting lotions on 10-20 times per day. NO HELP AT ALL! I was reading the forums online. People were guessing it could be all kinds of skin conditions even that it could be yeast. I was trying everything so I tried the yeast infection cream and put it on my hands. Believe it or not, I thought it made my hands feel better than anything else so far. I really didn't think it was yeast so I looked on the tube to see what the carrier was made of. Mineral Oil! So I picked up some unscented mineral oil, the kind you take for constipation. that way I figure there wouldn't be any perfumes etc that might irritate me. I got a pair of gloves from Avon to wear for night time treatment of your hands. The best thing ever!!!! My hands are almost normal after a couple of weeks. I believe my hands had to heal from under the tough dry skin and the thick dry skin slowly came off the top. They are still not perfect but wanted to share this with you because It was a cause of much suffering for me. I wore taped up finger tips to be able to type because that's what I do for a living (use the computer)

Every time I bathed or washed dishes I put the mineral oil on my hands. rubbed it in for a minute or two then wiped the excess off. then before bed, I put plenty of the oil on my hands and put the gloves on and wore them at night. The gloves from Avon are made from a non absorbent woven material, they let you hands breath but do not absorb the oil so it can be absorbed by you hands only. The gloves keep the oil off your bedding and clothing.. give this a try and good luck! it works for me, but give it a little time. :-D

Dear Fellow Inquisitive Minds,

I can attest to & validate your pain, annoyance, and frustration. I'm currently an otolaryngologist in training and have had the same symptoms for a variety of years; mostly affecting my thumb in a sporadic fashion. The cycle involves thickening of the skin, reddening, folowed by peeling & discomfort. I had seen a dermatologist while in medical school who completely & utterly ignored this issue.

Thus, I embarked on a comprehensive search in several of the most widely used & all-inclusive clinical dermatology textbooks & atlases. Although, the differential diagnosis includes quite a few possible causes, by far, the one that best describes this condition is termed "Atopic (Fingertip) Eczema). I provide you an excerpt from the Habif Clinical Dermatology Textbook 5th edition; Chapter 3 "Eczema & Hand Dermatitis) in the section "Fingertip Eczema":

Fingertip eczema

A very dry, chronic form of eczema of the palmar surface of the fingertips may be the result of an allergic reaction (e.g., to plant bulbs or resins) or may occur in children and adults as an isolated phenomenon of unknown cause. One finger or several fingers may be involved. Initially the skin may be moist and then may become dry, cracked, and scaly (Figure 3-27). The skin peels from the fingertips distally, exposing a very dry, red, cracked, fissured, tender, or painful surface without skin lines (Figures 3-27, 3-28, and 3-29). The process usually stops shortly before the distal interphalangeal joint is reached (Figures 3-30 and 3-31). Fingertip eczema may last for months or years and is resistant to treatment. Topical steroids with or without occlusion give only temporary relief. Once allergy and psoriasis have been ruled out, fingertip eczema should be managed the same way as subacute and chronic eczema, by avoiding irritants and lubricating frequently. Elidel or Protopic is sometimes effective; tar creams applied twice each day have at times provided relief.

Even though this may not provide any well known & effective cures, I think it describes the disorder perfectly (at least for myself) and helps reach some degree of reassurance. Of note, I have personally found that this condition abates during the warmer months; eczema is known to improve with exposure to UV radiation as well.

Best of Luck to you all

I can sympathize with all of you. I have lived with this condition for quite a few years, until about 3 weeks ago I took my 5 month old son to the chiropractor for something unrelated and I mentioned my condition to him. He does muscle testing (applied kinesiolgy) and he tested me and said I have a virus that is causing my condition. He gave me a bottle of Detox Virus #4 made by Homeopathic Remedy and told me to take about a cap full once a day and give it about 3 or 4 weeks. And low and behold it worked, my condition is all but gone. I have tried everything, been to numerous doctors, took tons of cream and nothing worked. This condition is caused by a virus in most people. The nice thing is you dont need a perscription to get it. It is kinda pricey at 22 bucks a bottle, but it will last for about a month and it works so it is well worth it :-)

Most doctors do not believe in muscle testing as a way to cure lots of aliments we have, but I am living proof it works. My sister too have had awesome results with this method. Your body can pin point what is wrong by testing muscles related to the area of problem. I was sceptical, but not anymore. Hope this helps someone.

I have suffered with this same condition for years!  I seen one doctor after another, used all types of prescription creams and nothing has worked.  Between using bandaids and finger cots I cannot find any relief from the misery and discomfortant let alone the unsightliness of my fingers. I take vitamins, fish oil, flaxseed oil, etc.  Is there any relief or cure for this condition?

i read on a website that this is hereditary... both my brother and i have this condition though our parents dont. my brother studies biochemistry which may be the chemicals, and his hands are worse than mine sometimes. i started this 2 years ago when i was 10. i notice that parts of my fingertips are "uneven", as some parts have peeled more and others not. bending my fingers makes the tips kinda wrinkly and feels odd, and "lines", kind of like the deep ones on my palm appear. whenenver i touched water for a while it would peel more. after i peeled so much and it started going red and hurt i went to the walk-in clinic and he said that it was something like eczema, yet not, and he couldn't really express what it was but he gave me this prescription (i forget what it was) and after a while it started working. i stopped using it, and the peeling problem was gone for a while but then it came back. at first i tried eating multi vitamins which worked temporarily, though maybe me switching my vitamin brand cudve factored into that. seems like a lack of some neccasary nutrition (im a picky eater, not sure about u guys), stress (it seems to get worse when im near final exams or project deadlines), and just hereditary issues? i cant pinpoint the exact reason for my condition but... hope this helps...

Ive had this promblem for the last two years, it comes and goes it started on my right index finger

than transfered to my left???  Fortunetly my right finger has it now, been infected for 5 months and

nothing seems to fix the promblem im glad I ran into this site!  Im going to give the Black current

seed oil a try thanks if it fixes it ill be sure to let you know.  BTW my father had this promblem to his

doctor had said that he brought a fungus back from the Bahamas??? Im thinkin he didnt know what he

was talking bout:-D

Hello everybody, I have followed all the posts on here for the last 1 1/2 years.  About 1 1/2 years ago at christmas I was really sick, chest infection and then got strep throat, a couple of months later I got a small patch of psoriasis on the front of my leg, and a small patch of skin on my left thumb died and started to peel off.  The psoriasis on my leg slowly started to get worse and the small patch of skin on my thumb started to get bigger and then it spread to other fingers and then to my other hand. 

The skin would die and peel off leaving very sensitve areas on my fingers, it would then heal up and the cycle would start over and over again. It was getting so bad that when the skin came off I could not touch anything for at least a week without being in extreme discomfort.  I tried everything every cream on the market, dobavet, clorofax, everykind of hand cream, kept them away from chemicals ( I am an aircraft mechanic so my hands are my job). 

I tried a very expensive drug call Toctino, with no luck.  At this point I was getting very depressed because it was starting to have a large impact on my quality of life. My girlfriend and I moved to Ontario, Canada, and I had a referel to a doctor in Markham, Ontario.  He looked at my hands, asked me what I have tried. Told me strep throat can be a trigger for psoriasis, and he then perscribed me a drug called Cyclosporine and a cream called Nerisone Oily Cream.  I have been on this drug for 1 month and my legs are starting to clear up and my hands are making a full recovery, they haven't been this good in over a year!!  This drug is pretty strong, but I haven't had any side effects except for the odd headache wich could be from anything.  Do some of your own research and talk to your doctor (a dermatologist perscribed this to me), and I do get blood work done every 6 weeks to make sure everything is good inside.  Good luck, and I hope this helps!!!!

About a week ago, the right side of my left index finger cracked and began peeling. So far a couple layers have been peeled off since then and then a few days ago, my right thumb, on the left side of bend, started to form a callus type texture, having no feeling. Starting yesterday, the next 'bend' on my left index is looking like it's going to peel. I have no idea what this is!!! I don't really trust doctors because I have had an infection and I was diagnosed wrong 2 times before the right one finally came along. I lost half my eye sight. Bad experience...I don't go to doctors anymore. I only trust the nurses in my church. :)

None of this hurts a whole lot, only if I aid the peeling by removing the loose skin. And it doesn't itch.

Can anyone let me know if you have had success in what you have talked about?? The oil stuff??

Does anyone on this forum also chew their nails (fingers in the mouth) and/or have GERD. I have the same problem with my fingers and its very cyclical. Crack, peel, heal, thick skin, crack, peel etc. There is never a day where this is completely gone. Been going on for about 3 years now. Have been to Dermatologist with some relief but no cure. I don't buy his explanation that the cause is unknown and there is no cure. I believe there is a cause for everything. I am going to try several of the solutions mentioned in this forum, one at a time and will report back if I am truly cured. But I wonder if there is a connection between the nail biting (fingers in the mouth) and/or GERD. BTW, I was about 59 when this started, post-menopause. Wash dishes with rubber gloves, and use gloves in gardening or anytime long exposure to water, dirt or any other drying agent.



Hope to hear back. Thanks.