Causes and when to speak with a doctor

Hand rashes can result from allergic reactions, exposure to irritants, and sunburn. Health conditions, such as psoriasis and eczema, can also cause hand rashes. Treatment will depend on the cause.

In this article, we look at the possible causes of a rash on a person’s hands and when to seek medical help.

Below are images of different rashes on the hands from a variety of causes.

Contact dermatitis is a condition that causes changes in skin color, itching, and irritation. Irritant contact dermatitis results from direct exposure to substances and accounts for around 80% of dermatitis cases.

These substances directly affect the skin and may cause rashes on the hands if this is the site of exposure.

Common skin irritants include:

• hand soaps
• rubber or latex gloves
• nickel and gold jewelry
• citrus and other natural acids

Contact dermatitis usually goes away once people remove the irritant.

Discover some triggers of contact dermatitis in this article.

Several substances can cause minor allergic reactions on the skin. These substances may affect the hands when a person is gardening, using a new lotion, or having exposure to a chemical with which they have an allergy.

In allergic contact dermatitis, the immune system overreacts following contact with these substances, causing a rash, swelling, and irritation. This differs from irritant contact dermatitis, where the substances themselves cause symptoms.

It is possible to treat many minor allergic reactions at home. Learn how here.

Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life threatening allergic reaction that causes the body’s immune system to react aggressively to a substance. It sometimes begins with a slightly swollen rash similar to hives.

If the rash spreads quickly, it can lead to more severe symptoms, such as a swollen throat and trouble breathing.

A person who suddenly develops a rash following a sting, new medication, or exposure to another new substance should immediately contact a healthcare professional.

Anaphylaxis is a life threatening condition. Learn more here.

Hives often appear as raised, dumpy rashes. The bumps are itchy and may appear lighter when someone presses on them. The condition can result from irritant and allergen exposure, underlying health conditions, and other physical triggers.

Hives can be acute or chronic, and nearly 20% of people will experience the condition at some time in their lives. The medical term for hives is urticaria.

Find out what causes hives and how to treat them.

Eczema, sometimes called atopic dermatitis, is a chronic skin condition. It causes scaly patches on the skin that may be darker or lighter than the rest of the skin. The patches may be all over the body or just in one place, such as the hands.

The rash often itches and may worsen when the skin is dry or during cold or dry weather. Eczema is more common in children than in adults. After childhood, eczema typically goes away by itself, but many individuals can have the condition in adulthood.

There is a variety of eczema types. Learn more here.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes an overgrowth of skin cells. This can cause rashes, inflammation, and raised, scaly, patches of skin known as plaques. The condition can occur in any part of the body.

Psoriasis tends to appear pink or red on those with light or fair skin tones, with scales appearing silvery-white. On medium skin tones, it can appear salmon-colored and feature silvery-white scales. On darker skin tones, psoriasis could look violet with gray scales or appear dark brown and difficult to see.

Psoriasis on the hands may also affect the nails. People with the condition on their hands may develop the rash elsewhere, such as on the scalp.

There is no cure for psoriasis, but some medications can help manage the condition.

More information on psoriasis is available here.

Exposure to sunlight can cause sunburn on any part of the body. Clothing rarely covers the hands, so it is important that people remember to apply sun cream to the back of their hands, fingers, and wrists when applying to the rest of the body.

Sunburn may hurt at first and then begin itching. The skin may look dry, blister, or peel. Sunburn can affect all people, although those with lighter skin have a higher risk of burning.

Find out how sunburn affects dark skin here.

Several genetic conditions can cause the skin on their hands to peel continuously. This peeling will often be painless, but it may result in swelling, skin discoloration, and localized discomfort.

The peeling may worsen during the summer or after frequent handwashing or exposure to water.

Learn more about peeling skin here.

Tinea manuum is a type of fungal infection of the hands, similar to athlete’s foot. It usually causes a rash with a raised border.

A person may contract the infection from a person, animal, or soil with tinea manuum or from touching the feet of someone with athlete’s foot. The rash is usually very itchy and can cause the nails to discolor or look misshapen.

More information about tinea manuum is available here.

Lichen planus is a common inflammatory skin condition. It causes swelling, discoloration of the skin, and bumps. It can affect any part of the body, including the mouth and scalp, but some people first notice the rash on their wrists or hands.

Find out all there is to know about lichen planus here.

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the skin’s deeper layers. If bacteria enter the skin, it can cause cellulitis.

A range of diseases or injuries can allow bacteria to penetrate the skin. A person can get cellulitis even after minor injuries, such as a cut from a razor or a bee sting.

Cellulitis may resemble a rash because it looks swollen and discolored, but it is a dangerous infection that can spread quickly.

Find out more about cellulitis here.

Treatment depends on the cause of the rash. It is usually safe to treat minor conditions, such as contact dermatitis and eczema, at home. The most common treatments include:

• steroid creams
• calamine lotion
• colloidal oatmeal
• moisturizers
• reducing sun exposure in cases of sunburn
• antifungal creams for fungal infections.

It is not possible to prevent all rashes. However, below are some strategies that may help:

• Use fragrance-free moisturizers to reduce the risk of irritation and allergic reactions.
• If a person has eczema, use a formulated cream, especially after washing hands.
• Wear gloves when working in the yard or using irritating chemicals.
• Avoid using medications, including medicated creams, unless necessary. This can reduce the risk of a medication-induced allergic reaction.

People should consult a doctor regarding any rash that does not go away on its own with home treatment. They should also seek medical attention if a rash starts spreading.

A person should call a healthcare professional immediately if:

• they have a fever and rash, or the rash shows signs of infection such as pus or oozing
• the rash is painful but not itchy
• the skin is very swollen
• they have other symptoms, such as symptoms of a cold or the flu
• a rash appears all over the body, especially after an insect sting or taking medication
• a person has a rash and has trouble breathing

Various substances, conditions, and infections can cause rashes on the hands.

Most rashes are not serious and will go away independently, even without treatment. If a rash hurts, appears suddenly, or does not go away, it may indicate a more serious problem.

Prompt medical treatment may ease the pain and treat the rash.

Causes and when to speak with a doctor

Hand rashes can result from allergic reactions, exposure to irritants, and sunburn. Health conditions, such as psoriasis and eczema, can also cause hand rashes. Treatment will depend on the cause.

In this article, we look at the possible causes of a rash on a person’s hands and when to seek medical help.

Below are images of different rashes on the hands from a variety of causes.

Contact dermatitis is a condition that causes changes in skin color, itching, and irritation. Irritant contact dermatitis results from direct exposure to substances and accounts for around 80% of dermatitis cases.

These substances directly affect the skin and may cause rashes on the hands if this is the site of exposure.

Common skin irritants include:

• hand soaps
• rubber or latex gloves
• nickel and gold jewelry
• citrus and other natural acids

Contact dermatitis usually goes away once people remove the irritant.

Discover some triggers of contact dermatitis in this article.

Several substances can cause minor allergic reactions on the skin. These substances may affect the hands when a person is gardening, using a new lotion, or having exposure to a chemical with which they have an allergy.

In allergic contact dermatitis, the immune system overreacts following contact with these substances, causing a rash, swelling, and irritation. This differs from irritant contact dermatitis, where the substances themselves cause symptoms.

It is possible to treat many minor allergic reactions at home. Learn how here.

Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life threatening allergic reaction that causes the body’s immune system to react aggressively to a substance. It sometimes begins with a slightly swollen rash similar to hives.

If the rash spreads quickly, it can lead to more severe symptoms, such as a swollen throat and trouble breathing.

A person who suddenly develops a rash following a sting, new medication, or exposure to another new substance should immediately contact a healthcare professional.

Anaphylaxis is a life threatening condition. Learn more here.

Hives often appear as raised, dumpy rashes. The bumps are itchy and may appear lighter when someone presses on them. The condition can result from irritant and allergen exposure, underlying health conditions, and other physical triggers.

Hives can be acute or chronic, and nearly 20% of people will experience the condition at some time in their lives. The medical term for hives is urticaria.

Find out what causes hives and how to treat them.

Eczema, sometimes called atopic dermatitis, is a chronic skin condition. It causes scaly patches on the skin that may be darker or lighter than the rest of the skin. The patches may be all over the body or just in one place, such as the hands.

The rash often itches and may worsen when the skin is dry or during cold or dry weather. Eczema is more common in children than in adults. After childhood, eczema typically goes away by itself, but many individuals can have the condition in adulthood.

There is a variety of eczema types. Learn more here.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes an overgrowth of skin cells. This can cause rashes, inflammation, and raised, scaly, patches of skin known as plaques. The condition can occur in any part of the body.

Psoriasis tends to appear pink or red on those with light or fair skin tones, with scales appearing silvery-white. On medium skin tones, it can appear salmon-colored and feature silvery-white scales. On darker skin tones, psoriasis could look violet with gray scales or appear dark brown and difficult to see.

Psoriasis on the hands may also affect the nails. People with the condition on their hands may develop the rash elsewhere, such as on the scalp.

There is no cure for psoriasis, but some medications can help manage the condition.

More information on psoriasis is available here.

Exposure to sunlight can cause sunburn on any part of the body. Clothing rarely covers the hands, so it is important that people remember to apply sun cream to the back of their hands, fingers, and wrists when applying to the rest of the body.

Sunburn may hurt at first and then begin itching. The skin may look dry, blister, or peel. Sunburn can affect all people, although those with lighter skin have a higher risk of burning.

Find out how sunburn affects dark skin here.

Several genetic conditions can cause the skin on their hands to peel continuously. This peeling will often be painless, but it may result in swelling, skin discoloration, and localized discomfort.

The peeling may worsen during the summer or after frequent handwashing or exposure to water.

Learn more about peeling skin here.

Tinea manuum is a type of fungal infection of the hands, similar to athlete’s foot. It usually causes a rash with a raised border.

A person may contract the infection from a person, animal, or soil with tinea manuum or from touching the feet of someone with athlete’s foot. The rash is usually very itchy and can cause the nails to discolor or look misshapen.

More information about tinea manuum is available here.

Lichen planus is a common inflammatory skin condition. It causes swelling, discoloration of the skin, and bumps. It can affect any part of the body, including the mouth and scalp, but some people first notice the rash on their wrists or hands.

Find out all there is to know about lichen planus here.

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the skin’s deeper layers. If bacteria enter the skin, it can cause cellulitis.

A range of diseases or injuries can allow bacteria to penetrate the skin. A person can get cellulitis even after minor injuries, such as a cut from a razor or a bee sting.

Cellulitis may resemble a rash because it looks swollen and discolored, but it is a dangerous infection that can spread quickly.

Find out more about cellulitis here.

Treatment depends on the cause of the rash. It is usually safe to treat minor conditions, such as contact dermatitis and eczema, at home. The most common treatments include:

• steroid creams
• calamine lotion
• colloidal oatmeal
• moisturizers
• reducing sun exposure in cases of sunburn
• antifungal creams for fungal infections.

It is not possible to prevent all rashes. However, below are some strategies that may help:

• Use fragrance-free moisturizers to reduce the risk of irritation and allergic reactions.
• If a person has eczema, use a formulated cream, especially after washing hands.
• Wear gloves when working in the yard or using irritating chemicals.
• Avoid using medications, including medicated creams, unless necessary. This can reduce the risk of a medication-induced allergic reaction.

People should consult a doctor regarding any rash that does not go away on its own with home treatment. They should also seek medical attention if a rash starts spreading.

A person should call a healthcare professional immediately if:

• they have a fever and rash, or the rash shows signs of infection such as pus or oozing
• the rash is painful but not itchy
• the skin is very swollen
• they have other symptoms, such as symptoms of a cold or the flu
• a rash appears all over the body, especially after an insect sting or taking medication
• a person has a rash and has trouble breathing

Various substances, conditions, and infections can cause rashes on the hands.

Most rashes are not serious and will go away independently, even without treatment. If a rash hurts, appears suddenly, or does not go away, it may indicate a more serious problem.

Prompt medical treatment may ease the pain and treat the rash.

Fungus on the feet – prevention and effective treatment

Epidermophytosis of the feet is a group of fungal diseases that have a common localization and similar clinical manifestations. Very common and affect people of any age (rarely children) prone to chronic relapsing course.

Infection occurs in baths, showers, on beaches, gyms, when using someone else’s shoes and other household items contaminated with fungal elements.

In the pathogenesis of the disease, the anatomical and physiological features of the skin of the feet, increased sweating, changes in the chemistry of sweat, metabolic and endocrine abnormalities, injuries of the lower extremities, and vegetative dystonia are of great importance. Pathogens can be in a saprophytic state for a long time without causing active clinical manifestations. Athlete’s foot has several clinical forms, each of which can be combined with nail lesions.

Symptoms and course

The process most often begins in the interdigital spaces, mainly between the most closely adjacent 4th and 5th fingers. When you feel a slight itch at the bottom of the interdigital fold, a strip of swollen and slightly flaky epidermis appears. After 2-3 days, a small crack appears here, releasing a small amount of serous fluid. Sometimes the stratum corneum falls off, exposing a pink-red surface. The disease, gradually progressing, can spread to all interdigital folds, the plantar surface of the fingers and adjacent parts of the foot itself. The serous fluid seeping to the surface serves as an excellent nutrient material for the further reproduction of fungi.

When fungi enter through the disturbed stratum corneum into the deeper parts of the epidermis, the process is complicated by an eczematous reaction. Numerous, strongly itchy, clear fluid-filled blisters appear, which merge and erode in places, leaving weeping areas.

The process can move to the back surface of the foot and fingers, the sole, capturing its arch to the very heel. The disease, then weakening, then again intensifying, without proper treatment and care, can drag on for many years. Often, this is accompanied by a complication of a secondary pyogenic infection: the transparent contents of the vesicles become purulent, the inflammatory redness intensifies and spreads beyond the boundaries of the lesion, the foot becomes edematous, the patient’s movements are difficult or impossible due to severe pain; subsequent complications may develop in the form of lymphangitis, lymphadenitis, erysipelas, etc.

In some cases, epidermophytosis on the soles is expressed by the appearance on the initially unchanged skin of separate groups of itchy, deeply located, dense to the touch blisters and blisters with transparent or slightly cloudy contents. After their spontaneous opening, the cover of the bubbles disappears, remaining in the form of a corolla only along the edges of the lesion; the central parts have a smooth, pink-red color, slightly flaky, less often – a weeping surface; often new bubbles appear on it. Due to their merger, the lesion expands and can capture significant areas of the soles.

The absorption of allergens (fungi and their toxins) is a sensitizing factor for the whole organism, increases the sensitivity of the skin, and an allergic rash may appear on it. It is more often observed on the hands (palms). Sharply limited erythematous discs are formed, dotted with a large number of small bubbles with transparent contents, which burst, exposing an erosive, weeping surface surrounded by a widening rim of swollen and exfoliating epidermis. Fungi are not usually found in these lesions.

Epidermophytosis of the feet begins mainly in the summer. Increased sweating, insufficient drying of the interdigital spaces after bathing contribute to the introduction of the fungus.

The defeat of the nails with mycosis of the feet is observed mainly on the 1st and 5th fingers, usually starting from the free edge. The nail is thickened, has a yellowish color and a jagged edge. Gradually, more or less pronounced subungual hyperkeratosis develops.

Treatment

Particular attention should be paid to the careful processing of lesions.

The patient should take daily warm foot baths with potassium permanganate. In this case, it is necessary to remove the crusts, open the blisters, cut off the fringe along the edges of the erosion, as well as the covers of festering blisters. After the bath, wet-drying dressings or lotions are applied with an aqueous solution of copper sulfate (0.1%) and zinc (0. 4%) or with a 1% aqueous solution of resorcinol. After wetting stops, dermozolon, mycosolone, and then alcoholic fungicidal solutions, Castellani paint, and, finally, if necessary, fungicidal pastes and ointments, are applied.

The effectiveness of treatment depends not so much on the choice of a pharmacological drug, but on their correct, consistent use in accordance with the nature of the inflammatory reaction.

Fungicidal treatment is carried out until the test results for fungi are negative.

Extremely important is the anti-relapse treatment carried out within a month after the elimination of the lesions – wiping the skin of the feet with 2% salicylic or 1% thymol alcohol and dusting with 10% boric powder. For the same purpose, it is necessary to thoroughly wipe the inner surface of the shoe with a formaldehyde solution, wrap it for 2 days in an airtight fabric, then ventilate and dry, and socks and stockings for 10 minutes. boil.

With the complication of athlete’s foot with pyococcal infection, antibiotics are prescribed – methicillin, cephaloridine, oleandomycin, metacycline, erythromycin. The patient must comply with bed rest.

Prophylaxis

Provides, firstly, disinfection of floors, wooden flooring, benches, basins, gangs in baths, showers, pools, as well as disinfection of impersonal shoes; secondly, regular examinations of attendants and persons involved in swimming pools in order to identify patients with epidermophytosis and treat them early; thirdly, carrying out sanitary and educational work. The population needs to be explained the rules for personal prevention of epidermophytosis: wash your feet daily at night (preferably with cold water and laundry soap), wipe them thoroughly; at least every other day, change socks and stockings; do not use someone else’s shoes; have your own rubber sandals or slippers for the bath, shower, pool.

To harden the skin of the soles, it is recommended to walk barefoot on sand, grass in the hot season.

causes and how to get rid of it? ✓ Author’s articles of the Clinic of Podology Poljot in Moscow

Itching between the toes may indicate the development of various diseases: fungus, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, allergies to materials that make up shoes or socks. When this symptom appears, you should not resort to self-medication and traditional medicine, but it is better to immediately contact an experienced dermatologist until the disease has passed a chronic or acute form.

Diagnosis and treatment

During the appointment, the dermatologist conducts a visual examination of the skin of the legs, finds out the time when the discomfort began, and collects data on the patient’s lifestyle. To exclude other pathologies and accurately determine the diagnosis, a number of clinical tests are prescribed:

• scraping from the nail plates and skin of the toes;
• blood chemistry;
• analysis of feces for the presence of helminths;
• analysis for immunoglobulins, thyroid hormones;
• application tests.

If necessary, the patient is referred for a consultation with a gastroenterologist to rule out eczema.

The main cause of itching between the toes is a fungal infection. With mycosis, discomfort is felt more strongly after water procedures. If scraping from the nails and skin of the legs showed the presence of fungal spores, then complex antimycotic therapy is prescribed, taking into account the age and condition of the patient. In the absence of timely treatment, the fungus captures the nails, causing a change in their color, delamination and increased fragility. In severe cases, mycosis leads to flaking of the nail plates, which is accompanied by severe pain during walking and can be complicated by infection of the soft tissues of the toes.

Prevention

To avoid itching of the skin between the toes, you should follow the rules of personal hygiene:

• do pedicure regularly;
• wash your feet daily with antibacterial soap;
• when visiting swimming pools, baths, water parks, use individual hygiene products, personal shoes and a towel;

• wear comfortable shoes in size, excluding rubbing of the skin of the legs;
• use cotton socks.

With increased sweating of the feet, it is recommended to use antifungal powders, protective varnishes and gels for nails.

If you suffer from severe itching between your toes, do not self-medicate! Contact the dermatologists of the Podology Clinic and get rid of discomfort in the legs before complications appear.

The author of the article: Poletskaya Maria Nikolaevna

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This entry appears in sections

Psoriasis

Treatment of hyperhidrosis

PACT therapy

Foot fungus (foot fungus)

Interdigital cracks

Mycosis of the skin

Atopic dermatitis

Microscopic studies

Eczema

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