tiny fingers blister-like

dyshidrotic eczema
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyshidrosis

I get these same clear little blisters every year in warmer weather on my fingers and just found this while researching what the cause may be and I do believe that this is what I have...hope it helps!

A big terrible sounding name. I guess it is fitting. Dyshidrotic Eczema, or DE, as I will call it for short is a terrible disease that attacks the palms of your hands and sometimes the bottom of your feet. Sometimes it attacks both at the same time. It is a horrible skin condition that doctors have a hard time explaining. The doctors are also unsure of what causes the disease and how to treat it. DE causes small fluid-filled blisters to form. The blisters can last up to three to four weeks, and cause intense itching.

The treatments most commonly used are topical creams, wet compresses and ultraviolet light therapy. Most of the treatments are ineffectual. Once the blisters pop and dry up it often leaves cracks and grooves in the skin. They are very painful.

Even with treatment recurrence of DE is very common.

Some of the signs and symptoms can be:


Small bumps begin to form on your hands or the bottom of your feet.
Intense itching that can almost be unbearable.
Cracks and grooves (fissures) form on your hands, feet or toes.
The small bumps form into blisters and can become very painful.
The cause is not known. There are theories, associations with allergies and asthma. But, all of that is conjecture and no one really knows what the cause is.

Treatment too is spotty at best. Mostly because so little is known about the disease. Here are some of the most common treatments.

Corticosteroid creams and ointments. These must be prescribed by your doctor. They are given to help speed the disappearance and improve the appearance of the blisters. The creams also help the cracks and fissures left when the blisters disappear.
Compresses. Use wet or cold compresses to help with the itching and increase the effectiveness of the topical creams and minimize the bumps and blisters.
Antihistamines. These may be prescribed to help with the intense itching. You can also try the over the counter products like Benadryl. This will save you some money.
If these are not helpful the doctor may prescribe the use of a special ultraviolet light. This can be very expensive and the effectiveness is widely debated.

I hope this helps bring some light to a disease that is often slid under the rug.

After reading a large majority of the posts on this topic and in looking back on my own experience with this skin issue I think I have come up with a few similar traits that seem to be shared amongst others that are afflicted with this.

Stress
Heat
Water (primarily warm/hot)
Sweaty Palms
Dry Skin
Family History of Skin Ailments

I have had these tiny water blisters on my hands for years now. From my experience they don't spread and the only time mine have ever hurt is when I have scratched them on something. They do tend to show up during stressful times and they only tend to occur when the weather is warm or down right hot (today its 100 degrees). I have always had extremely sweaty palms (which is now termed hyperhidrosis). Sometimes I can squeeze my hand tight and sweat actually drips out or there is a visible coating of wetness on my hands.

I am not a medical professional, but I grew up reading medical books as a child, and my mom is a nurse and my dad is a diagnostic radiographer (X-ray Technologist). So I have grown up with an heightened awareness of topics relating to health and wellness.

I do believe that the list of potential causes listed above does have some impact on why the blisters occur...especially since so many people have had them under similar conditions. I don't believe popping them really helps...similar to a pimple or blemish...if you agitate it, it will grow more irritated and could scar or become infected. Just try to keep your hands clean and try to find methods to reduce stress in your life.

I have had this problem for about 10 years. About a year and a half ago, I went to a dermatologist and had some tests done. I had to wear this big sticky thing on my back with all of this stuff on it to see if I had any reactions to any of the substances...Turns out I did! My doctor explained that in a lot of the cases the DE is a reaction caused by an allergy. Mine is an allergy to metals. I am allergic to nickel, white gold, yellow gold, and propylene glycol (a common preservative). My wedding set is white gold and nickel is very common. It seems to be aggravated by heat and water, also the nickel in food causes me to break out. I had most of my expensive jewelery plated in Rhodium to minimize contact, but I can tell when it is going to happen. If I wear certain jewellery or eat food I know is high in nickel, I have a breakout on my hands within 24-48 hours. Just a thought...you can be tested at your doctor's office.

Oh man. That helped me out so much. I've been freaking out about this for years and those pictures nail it. Not as severe, but certainly interesting to know and keep an eye on what the learn about it.



Thank you!

I got this when I was nursing babies twice. My Dr. thought it to be a hormonal issue at first... It turned out to be a vitamin deficiency. Babies were sucking out all my vitamins. Try taking some extra beefy multi-vitamins and see what happens. Worked for me.

I also get these blisters. I have gotten them every summer for about 3 years. When I pop mine, I find that underneath there is a very small, but deep hole in the flesh under the blister. After I pop them they dry up and eventually go away. There are more now than the first year I got them. They're hardly noticeable to anyone else, though. Are these the same blisters ya'll are having? And has anyone found anyone who knows what it is?

I too have been getting these bumps for about 7 years now. I was working in a fast food chain at the time and thought it might be from stress. The doctor that I went to said that I was just washing my hands too much and not to worry about it. I didn't notice them as much until lately. But here years later I find I have a little out break of a few again... And I do know that for the past 2 weeks i wash washing a LOT of lettuce everyday so along with my usual hand wahsing that I do (i'm a stay at home mom) my hands were in the water quite a bit more than usual. Therefore I would have to say these 'mystery bumps' are caused either by stress or washing hands too much. ????

I also DO NOT pop them... If you leave them alone they go away after a few days.

Good luck to everyone that lives with these small anoyances. :-)

I also started getting small blister clusters on most of my fingers a few years ago and still do. my figers will be fine for a month or two, my hands perfectly fine, then for no known reason the blisters will appear for a few days, then my fingers start pealing like crazy. It doesnt hurt unless I dont put some lotion on and the fingers crack, but its gross having dead skin constantly peeling off. After a month or so of my skin peeling, my hands will suddenly clear up and I will be fine again for a month or two. Very strange.

OK I THINK i know what they r. U get them from sweating or when pressure is against a certain area on the skin. I have them on my toe because I wore gym shoes with no socks one day in the summer time when it was like 90degrees. My friends at church get them on their hands from playing he tamborine because of the tambourin contantky pressing up again their thumb while they are holding it. U cant get rid of them, they leave on their own. Its just apart of life.

I also occasionally get these small bubble like things on my hands. They never hurt, they just feel a little tough. They look like small bubbles filled with water. They're barely noticeable, and you can only really notice them if you feel the skin.

I'm convinced they are related to eczema. My mother had mild eczema, and my sister does also. I've only had small patches of eczema a few times in my life, very minor. I don't think they are anything to be worried or ashamed about. Thankfully, mine aren't itchy or painful, so they're not much of a bother.

The advice I've gotten is to not pop them! Also, try to keep your hands moisturized, and avoid harsh soaps or chemicals on your hands. For most they shouldn't be much of an annoyance, so I'd say just learn to live with them. For those that experience itchiness and pain, I would see a doctor as soon as possible so he/she can provide you with some sort of cream or something to lessen the symptoms.

All in all, I wouldn't freak out. Seems pretty common.

I also get these, but only in the summer months, and then only if it is hot for a few days. They are not painful, unless I mess with them and they do go away within a few days. Sometimes they have a small brownish dot in the center of them but that is rare. I wonder if maybe that might be a blood vessel breaking from the blister forming. Some sort of fever blister maybe from sweating in the heat. I do not know. I do know other people that get them, and none of us have been able to get any kind of good answer from health profesionals. I do not have a stressfull life, I do not have any skin allergies and I have used the same moisturiser and soaps for most of my life due to dry skin and these have only been arriving for the last few years. If I pop them they do not spread they only get a little sore. It is good to know that there are a lot of us out there and that we are puzzleing the medical community, not like that is hard.

So I too get these and the first thing I thought was because of the tanning bed, I just started going this past month and that was when they appeared. So I am thinking maybe a virul infect from the beds not being completely sanitary. Also I am under a lot of stress so these two sound like what could be the cause.

I too get these and I think it's probably Dyshidrosis.

Wikipedia describes the condition in fair detail and altough mine don't look quite like the photos, I do also get pitting of the nail on the infected finger and mine does appear to worsen during the summer months.

Ok, so ive got these little red blister-like things on my hands. I have no idea what they are. I know its not an allergic reaction because I have at least one at all times. I do have eczema, and that might be what it is, but I doubt it. The blisters are on both hands. On my forefinger, middle finger, and ring finger on both hands, and then my left thumb. WHat are these painful things and how do you get rid of them.