skin peeling off my fingertips

I wish I knew whatever it was I started (or stopped) doing in the past month that has brought my peeling thumb tips back...for a while, I had been enjoying peel-free fingers; sigh.  Mine only get painful when I get overzealous about picking away at the rough edges of skin.  The peely spots often start with an itch and/or a small bubble/blister, which I then can't stop myself from worrying at, and the patch gets larger.  It is strange how it tends to jump to a new fingertip whenever an afflicted fingertip begins to finally smooth and heal!  It is usually just my thumbs and index fingers.

I've had dermatologists tell me it is a moisture problem, but moisturizers do not cure this condition.  There was a cream I was prescribed by a doctor in New Zealand once, when I developed sore, bumpy blisters on my toes by putting them too close to a space heater while they were quite cold.  Wish I could remember what that cream was, because a fortunate side effect was curing the peeling finger problem!  I suspect it was some sort of anti-fungal cream, which puts me in the camp that believes this is not an eczema/dry skin issue (although that might be what it is for those of you with painful cracks in your fingertips).

Something else that seems to speed the healing process: disciplining myself not to pick at my peeling flesh!  Easier said then done--my keyboard and lap are currently littered with dry little flesh flakes...  Yuck!

Hi~  I had peeling cracking skin on my thumbs and forefingers many years ago.  Went to a dermatologist, tried every cream and lotion...nothing worked.  About the same time, was treated for anxiety and that doctor suggested the finger tip issue was because of anxiety.  With medication and meditation, anxiety and fingers healed up.

Wow, I have this condition as well. I had it once about 6 years ago and it has just started up again. Last time it stayed with my thumb and this time it is spreading to my other fingers. Last time my doctor gave me a prescription cream and it went right away........I believe that it was steroid based. Ofcourse she doesnt pracice anymore and I have yet to go to my current doctor about it. It sure is unpleasant though. Like many of you I have resorted to a bandaid on my thumb. Anti fungal cream does not seem to help it too much, neosporin does provie some comfart but I dont believe that we are dealing with a bacteria. I may try the seed oil mentioned above. Thanks

The skin on my fingertips peels as well, but instead of lasting for a few weeks it's been like this for a few years. 

Hi all!  Looking for any updates from those of us with the splitting peeling fingertip problem..Did anybody find anything that really helped them?  I've been wearing cotton gloves when doing housework and also at my job..I sometimes need to wear vinyl gloves when at work so I put a cotton glove barrier on first..that seems to keep my fingertips really protected..the vinyl makes my hands sweat and I notice that it irritates my fingertips..

 

Thank goodness mine went away on its own after about a month. I have no idea what it is and it is so strange and annoying. Like I said, the time before, a steroid prescription cream from my doctor took it away immediatly. This time I couldnt go to a doctor and just had to keep my thumb covered with a bandaid because it was so uncomfortable. Nothing I used over the counter helped....just time. Hope yours goes away soon. Strange stuff. If you can get to a doctor, ask about a steroid based cream.

I just wanted everyone to know I figured out what mine was from!! My skin started peeling off underneath my fingers, then when I would peel it the rest of the way off, it would heal and peel again. My fingers became swollen and itchy and red all around my nails and cuticle. I was a nail technician student at the time, so my classmates I had been practicing a ton on all of our nails. Since we were all new, we were still learning, and apparently it was from over exposure to the acrylic. We would touch the skin so much with it, my skin couldn't handle being touched by it anymore. So even if you're gotten nails for years, you CAN devlope an allergy to it!! Remove your nails and see if it goes away, and switch to gel!! For a while, even when I would do people's nails with acrylic, when I filed it, if the dust got on my hand it would make them swollen and itchy. They no longer do that, so the allergy eventually faded. I just needed a break from it. The doctor can also prescribe you a steroid cream that helps the itching and the peeling stop faster.

My hands have been peeling and cracking open for over a year now, my hair was falling out also.. I tried creams and nothing helped, steriods would heal it but it would come right back when i was done with that dose..In my profession I come in contact with alot of people and just talking with them a couple of people suggested it was my thyroid.. Your thyroid controls your horomones and mine were out of wack.. I went to a vitamin and herb store and got iodine and an herb for thyroid. I've been taking it for about 3 weeks and my hands are alot better... They say it can take 6 to 8 weeks for it to level out but it has helped...

I really hope it works for you. Sounds like you have something beyond what many of us have experienced. It makes sense that finger cracking and peeling comes from an inward affliction like hormone inbalance. This is why many of us find no relief from topical creams. Thank you for the info and good luck.

I want to share few tips regarding cracked fingers which are wear gloves, use Burt’s Bees SLS free soap and shampoo, limit skin’s exposure to wind and use waterless hand sanitizers.

I've had problems with this for several years. I have been diagnosed with nail fungus. None of the over the counter treatments work long term. The do help some. Unfortunately, I cannot take any of the prescription pills to get rid of it permanently since I have no kidney function and am on dialysis. If you have this problem I would seriously consider seeing a doctor. Even a primary care doctor can diagnose it and give you medication if it is safe for you. Other than that try the creams for fungal infections...like the ones for athletes foot.

Eczema is another thing that can cause similar symptoms. Which is why it is good to go see a doctor to be sure.

I have had a problem going on about 5 years now where the skin on my right hand thumb, forefinger and middle finger would dry, get hard, crack, peel, flake.  The cuticles were cracking and drying up.  It would never spread to any other part of my hand, just these 3 fingers.  I tried so many different hand creams, lotions, etc., over the years ranging from the garden variety over the counter Vaseline brand all the way up to the more expensive product lines such as Hempz.  I was sold on Hempz the first time I tried it and it does wonders but doesn't take the dryness away 100%.  It was just so embarrassing!  I was constantly wearing band-aids, who knows how much neosporin I went through....nothing seemed to work at all.  I finally did some research on my own and came across this online blog by a female body builder who was experiencing the same symptoms I was.  She said somehow she had contracted a fungus.  I know, how gross huh?  I think of fungus and what comes to mind is nothing appealing in any way, shape or form....more like green pond s**m is what I envision.  Anyway, I thought what the hell.  What can I lose right?  I mean at this point I've tried everything from tanning beds, to taking a pumice stone to my hands in the shower in the hope of sloughing off the dead skin so new skin could come through....nothing was working.  This woman suggested Tinactin.  Its primary use is for athlete's foot but a skin fungus comes in many forms and is easily contracted to the point you probably wouldn't know you had it.  I put it on last night and I swear it started working right away!  Today the skin on my forefinger is smooth to the touch, no callousing or discoloration, my cuticles have softened up. My thumb, which is the worst of the 3, is showing the same signs of repair.  I also took it a step further and purchased some hand gloves that are coated with aloe vera on the inside.  I wear them 2 or 3 times a week at night and it really helps keeping the moisture in.  I put the Tinactin lotion on during the day and I am just amazed at the results!!!  It actually made sense to me the more I thought about it because this past summer I had a planter's wart removed from my right palm and it ties in that the fungus traveled up the fingers on that side of my hand.  Anyway, so far so good and I will keep you all posted of the future results.

the skin on fingers also peels off, but generally during autum or winter. And it is painful at all
Why is this?

I am a member of Melaluca and am starting to wonder if something in one fo the other products is causing it. Do oyu use the hand soap?

I have never had this problem before. I have a cousin who did and she said she applied a petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to her hands and wore white cotton gloves over them while she slept. Now I have had this problem for a couple of weeks and will try her method. I do not have white gloves but will try with rubber gloves.