I found one that a lot of people recommended and I got an appointment and went. Not much more after he got into the room to see me and he said "dyshidrosis!", wrote the spelling down for me, and told me to search the net for some info on it. He said that they don't know what causes it but that he does have a fix for it. He prescribed Carmol 40 lotion twice a day followed by theraseal (not prescription) which is a skin protectant that holds in moisture. Also he started me on Nicomide (which he called a vitamin) that has zinc, copper, folic acid...etc. And at night I was given a steroid Fluocinonide Ointment to put on before bed. He sent me home and said he wanted to see me back in 5 weeks. I started the vitamin C, E and Fish Oil as soon as I learned about it. Doing all this for a few weeks really helped out and lo and behold it was almost all cleared up when I went back.
Just 2 months ago I went for another visit and said that I seem to be healed and he said he would start me on a powerful steroid round to try to completely get rid of it. For 3 weeks I got a shot a week, along with using the Ointment and a dose pac of steroids taken by mouth. I'm happy to say 2 months after the rounds of steroids I'm completely cleared up with no bumps anywhere!!!!!! (knock on wood). I really didn't think it was helping at first but it seems like all of a sudden everything started working at the same time. If you haven't found anything that has worked ask your doctor about the stuff above. It really cleared me up!
One last thing...I THINK (I'm not a doc) the key to this is getting the skin on hands and feet as soft as possible. I work for a bottling company and my skin was terribly hard. The lotion has really make them very soft and every since they have been soft I haven't seen ANY bumps at all. Might try that!
As far as the steroid shots go, I was asked about diabetes in my family but I never was asked about a bone density test. Would my age (22) and size (6'4 185lbs) have anything to do with why I never had that test???? I'm not sure what kind of steroids they were. I just know I got 3 in the arm a week apart. They did show ample concern about being reliant on them to keep my skin in good condition after the third one was given. That's why they only gave them to me when my skin looked almost normal on its own (without the shots) but they sure did speed up the process of healing from the scaring and such.
Let me know if any of this helps.
Carmol 40 (Ingredients: 40% urea, purified water, mineral oil, petrolatum, propylene glycol, glyceryl stearate, cetyl alcohol, carbomer, triethanolamine, xanthan gum). Carmol is a potent tissue softener for skin and nails.
TheraSeal protects hands from irritants in the environment that can cause chafing, chapping, cracking and dry skin. It contains dimethicone and cyclomethicone (polymers of silica used for their waterproofing properties in barrier creams, i.e. for diaper rash, eczema, etc.), to protect and prevent chapped, cracked, chafed or dry skin, along with aluminum magnesium hydroxide stearate, which acts as a repellent against repeated washing and stripping of natural lipid barrier of hands, in a water-in-oil emulsion. Fragrance-free. TheraSeal provides long-lasting protection for those patients with occupations that require frequent hands washings or exposure to irritants including detergents, household cleansers, solvents, surfactants, and other chemicals. Other ingredients: Purified water, cetyl dimethicone copolyol, polyglyceryl-4-isostearate, hexyl laurate, sodium chloride, imidurea.
Fluocinonide (Active Ingredient: Corticosteroid Fluocinonide). Representative Names: Fluonex, Lidex, Lidex-E, Lonide. A generic alternative may be available. Fluocinonide comes in ointment, cream, solution, and gel in various strengths for use on the skin. Fluocinonide is used to treat the itching, redness, dryness, crusting, scaling, inflammation, and discomfort of various skin conditions.
Vitamin C, vitamin E, fish oil.
Oral steroids.
Steroid shots.
Written by Clent K. © 2003
Updated 3-12-2006
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