I'm a 26 year old male in Atlanta, GA, and some-what a "new" sufferer of this non-contagious skin condition. I have had little help from general practitioners and dermatologists with this frustrating blight. Here is my story.
Last year, in July, I was doing some late spring cleaning... I went from top to bottom in my house and it was sparkling when I was finished. I had worn green latex gloves as a precaution because I was using all sorts of chemicals in bathrooms, on floors, kitchen counter tops - you get the idea. About a week later, I noticed a small blister on the inside of my right-middle finger. It itched a little, and popped - and simply released a clear fluid, like most common blisters do. I didn't think anything of it.
A few days later, I noticed what appeared to be upwards of 20 miniscule blisters - commonly referred to as vesicles, in the same spot. They itched furiously. I assumed that somehow, I must've come in contact with the chemicals after all and they were now showing up in this reaction on my finger. I applied some anti bacterial ointment, a Band-Aid, and thought all would be well in a couple of days. This treatment seemed to make it worse. What had started in the area of about the size in diameter of a snow pea was now the size of a nickel.
About a week after I noticed the first sign of the vesicles on my middle finger, I was at work and my right-fore finger started itching. I didn't think anything of it, frankly didn't even look at it, and scratched - which ignited the "fire" of furious itching that is so common with pomphlox. Before I realized it, I had opened up 5 small areas that were all covered in vesicles on my forefinger. I didn't know what to think. Once the tiny layer of skin on top of the vesicle is removed, the skin underneath almost has the appearance that it has been "tunneled" through. This is simply because the vesicles have taken up the space and left an opening in the skin. I had all ideas that somehow I had picked up scabies - as I have read that they eat the skin on the fingers, and itch.
I went to a general practitioner a couple of days later and he stated it wasn't scabies, but was some sort of rash. He prescribed a steroid cream - cortisone (mometasone furoate ointment) - which is all any of the practitioners and dermatologists I've visited over the course of a year have prescribed. This started, what has so far been, a year of uncomfortable, embarrassing, and relentless struggle against something I have no control over. Not only do I have no control, but I have no cure.
I've been prescribed about three different names of creams, all cortisones, all the maximum percentage allowed - and sadly, all pretty worthless. I will say that they *sometimes* help with the itching, but as for "cure" the condition - no.
Now that I know what the condition is - I know NOT, *NOT*, to even start scratching. I have pretty strong will-power, but once it is started, even I can't control it. This has greatly helped as the less skin damage is done via scratching, the less it looks like I am suffering from a flesh eating virus. However, the results of the condition itself are still horrible. The top layer of skin, actually not just the top layer as the vesicles continue to form underneath each other, and recur again and again over the course of a couple of weeks, sometimes 3 or even a month, seem to kill the skin above them.
The skin "dries" out, as if the vesicles have cut off it's life-line to the body, and then becomes hardened. As the skin around the affected area remains placid and flexible, the hardened areas crack, and break away from the good skin. This causes the painful, highly visible, and embarrassing sores that appear. At first I tried to hide them with band aids. This only made it worse. Band-Aids retain the heat from the skin, as well as normal moisture released from all areas of the skin, and essentially water log the affected area. Apparently moisture in the skin helps produce more and more vesicles, also it drastically increases the itching associated with them. I've learned that the best thing to do is to use a cotton material wrap, NOT the non-stick kind as they have some sort of thin layer of plastic material on them (exactly like Band-Aids) and do not allow the skin to breathe, and place a thin strip of paper tape around that to hold it in place. The paper tape breathes - so it allows air to get the affected area, but the bandage doesn't allow dirt, bacteria, and really just anything to touch the VERY sensitive and sore area. I've tried the same bandage with polysporin bacitracin - but this is no good as the anti bacterial ointment still doesn't allow it to breathe. Again, just dry finger and dry breathable bandage have worked best for me.
After the affected area doesn't look so horrible anymore, I don't bother putting on the bandage. It seems that keeping it dry, and open to free air is the best thing for it. The healing process is *VERY* long and drawn out - as just when I think my finger is getting back to normal, I wake up one morning to notice 20 or so brand new tiny vesicles, peeking out through my fresh, new, still pink, skin. You can imagine how happy I am to see that.
This is why I mentioned above that it's frustrating. It seems there is no relief in sight for this lovely skin condition I've been dealt in life. I do have some good news though. At one point it was on my right middle and index fingers and thumb. At the same time, it had crossed the tummy-gap and was on my left index finger. It, knock-on-wood, has left my left hand entirely. Every now and then I pick an older, tiny piece of skin from the last digit of my left index finger - remnants of some vesicle deep within the skin I'm sure, and worry that it will come back.
Today, my right hand thumb is fine. My right middle finger still has remnants of vesicles from a couple months or so ago - but looks normal for the most part. The right side of my ring finger was affected just over a month ago and still has a few tiny healing spots from abrasions in the skin where it cracked. The last digit of my right index finger is still very much affected though. Today was one of those mornings I woke up to see the new vesicles. I thought I was on the road to healing the last digit - but looks like it won't be happening any time soon.
I cling to some false hope that if I can just get all my fingers healed up at the same time - it won't come back. I still hope that today... I remember yesterday that I was happy that my index finger was looking so much better - that in a few more weeks, I would have new hands, free from vesicles, and the *magic* would happen and I wouldn't have to deal with this anymore. I know this is crap, but it's what I use to 'keep going' as it were. It's possible that one day I'll wake up and have clear hands, and be fine forever. It's also possible I'll wake up one morning and have clear hands, and a week later vesicles will appear on one of my fingers again. I've read that pomphlox (some doctors still call it dyshidrotic eczema) "comes and goes" and "if it still bothers you, just apply the cortisone cream." These are words from dermatologists that do not have this condition. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but just one good dose to a couple of these doctors would probably change their mind about it. It would then become something a little more important.
When I go to a dermatologist, the last thing I want to hear is "oh, there is no cure for that." Sadly, the last two doctors I've gone to have let those be the FIRST words out of their mouth. I KNOW there is no cure for it. I want compassion, I want a doctor to look at it and say "I hate this has happened to you, I know how horrible it must be to have something so visible and painful on your fingers and feel there is nothing you can do about it." Doesn't look like I will see one any time soon with that to say, so I just keep saying it to myself.
I've recently decided to look for support groups, etc, or even message boards. I have yet to find any. Apparently not enough people have this condition to warrant it. So I decided to find some place today that I could tell my story. This looks as good as any. If you know anyone with what I've described, or you yourself have what I've described, know that you aren't alone. It has, at the very least, happened to me. So far the only help I can suggest is the dry bandage during the hardened and cracked skin phase. If you have any suggestions, or creams/medicines that have helped, or even magic beans I can bury, please let me know.
The damaged skin turned white like you said - and the skin that grew back was in much better shape - and resisted the peroxide. What used to take WEEKS to heal up was done in only a few days of this treatment.
I've had another reaction on the tip of my right pinky finger, and will treat it with peroxide tonight. I'm much happier with the look of the skin after the peroxide treatment - it's not as horribly noticeable, and like I said, what took weeks was done in only one.
Thanks so much! I would definitely recommend the peroxide treatment to others with damaged skin. It really helps repair the damage and dramatically reduces the healing period.
Written by Andrew R. © 2003
Updated 8-2-2006
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