# Dermatitis??



## Ben_W

Guys,

Does anyone else struggle with this?

Lately, it seems to have become a bit of an issue on my hands. I've not been to the doctors yet but I'm going to.

After something as simple as washing my car, the next day and for the next few days, the skin on my hands, especially on my fingers and the areas between them, becomes blistered. Over the next couple of days, the blistering goes and my skin drys out, and sometimes cracks. It itches like crazy. Use of E45 cream helps but it's a bit concerning, especially when it's just a service wash I'm doing. Current use either Carbon Collective Lusso wash or DJ BTBM. Neither of which I'd expect to cause issues, not carry any specific warnings.

This is what my hands look like today after last doing a wash on Christmas Eve...





Short of buying a big pair of marigolds, I'm stuck with what else to do. Anyone else struggle, have similar or any solutions?

Thanks


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## bigalc

Looking at the pictures you need an anti histamine cream and probably a steroid cream.
Only problem with some creams is that they thin the layers of skin,with prolonged use.

I've had issues with the palms of my hands for years and can't use even mild soaps on them.tried creams galore which worked short term to relieve itching then was referred to a consultant dermatologist.
Had treatment under ultraviolet lamps which did not work.
Eventualy was prescribed TOCTINO tablets which i take 1 daily for 5 days.
Very expensive drug but what a relief from the itching, and stopped the blistering.


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## macca666

You need to get gloves. It might be worse as it's during cold weather I used to get hacks etc from my hands going in and out if the water.

Sealskinz get a decent review on here I've got a cheap pair of waterproof diving style gloves I got from sports direct which I use.

I'd recommend putting the e45 on before you wash the car as well or getting some sort of barrier cream which hopefully might help.


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## Caledoniandream

I do get it in the winter when I wash my hands to much, or after cleaning the car.
Also when using polish or dry stuff like plaster or cement.
I now use handlcream (some Norwegian formula boots / Sainsbury’s) every time I wash my hands. 
Also I use good rubber gloves and window cleaners gloves to wash the car. 

Never have any problems in the summer, but as soon as there is cold wind and the heating on my hands become funny.


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## Tricky Red

That's just your hands chapping in the cold. A decent hand cream at night left on will sort that


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## davies20

I agree with the above.

However when I first got into car care years ago I used to use Turtlewax wash & wax. Without a doubt about 2 hours after I washed the car my hands would start like this. So products are 100% a contributing factor.


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## Rayaan

Could also be irritant dermatitis from products used. Avoid soaps and products or use gloves.

Use of E45 cream is good but people don't use it properly. It needs to be rubbed in and your fingers should feel greasy otherwise you aren't using enough. Do this 2 times a day.

Hydrocortisone cream will help but temporarily. It thins skin with prolonged use. We don't like prescribing prednisolone oral for long use either. Too many side effects and not particularly serious looking at the pics. No need for high potency steroids or medium potency ones at the moment.

No need for antihistamine creams or immunosuppressive medication. Too many side effects

Use a anti histamine oral medication. Much better. Something like desloratadine as its non drowsy.

However, I would be inclined to see your GP. Being on the fingers a differential diagnosis would be herpatic Whitlow especially if itching intensely and particularly if painful which you've not mentioned but it's a possibility.


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## Cookies

^^^^^ what Rayaan said lol. 

Hope you get it sorted bud. Feckin awful that. 

Cooks

Sent from my Wenger 16999


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## Andyblue

Hope you get it sorted out - I suffer with dry skin on my hands and working for the NHS and having to constantly wash them, doesn't help - I find a good hand cream works wonders and when doing the car, I wear Nitrex (powder free) gloves and it makes a big difference...


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## DLGWRX02

I used to pour diesel from cans and quite a few times spilt some on my hands, I havnt done this for best part of 8 years now but ever since I've suffered on my right hand around the base of my thumb which sometimes spreads around to my palm and down beyond my wrist, where gloves don't help.









I wear gloves everytime when ever I was the car. I've used all the creams prescribed to me but it clears it and as soon as I run out it reappears, so I just settle with the itching. I'm forever washing my hands at work and they definitely get irritated more with moisture, sometimes to the point I actually bite it to take the itch out of it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Pauly.22

I’ve had contact dermatitis on my hands for probably 10-15 years now. 

There is no actual cure, you can only do things to help prevent it starting up. 

Wear gloves when doing any sort of car cleaning with chemicals, when you shower try to use simple body wash without perfumes etc in it. 

I’ve had patch testing to discover what I’m allergic too and they couldnt find a specific thing. 

Defiantly go to the doctors. They will give you a steroid cream and probably a bottle of dermol, it’s a soap substitute to wash your hands with. Although they do say try not to wash your hands too much and don’t use really hot water. As it dries your skin out. Although I found putting my hands under really hot water felt nice, I then put th cream on and it seems to melt more into my warm skin. 

But try to use the steroid cream as little as possible, it thins your skin, I find even if I just catch my hand of something it cut the skin now. 

I bought cotton gloves on eBay to put under my work gloves when working on my car. It helped a lot. 

It’s an awlful thing, hope you can keep it under control.


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## weedougall78

I get dry skin on my shins that itches like a mofo, I started using this occasionally and it did wonders.

Got it from Boots I think.


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## JB052

Ben_W said:


> Guys,
> After something as simple as washing my car, the next day and for the next few days, the skin on my hands, especially on my fingers and the areas between them, becomes blistered. Over the next couple of days, the blistering goes and my skin drys out, and sometimes cracks. It itches like crazy.
> 
> This is what my hands look like today after last doing a wash on Christmas Eve...
> 
> Anyone else struggle, have similar or any solutions?
> Thanks


If you do use gloves for protection, its worth choosing latex and powder free gloves.


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## Rayaan

weedougall78 said:


> I get dry skin on my shins that itches like a mofo, I started using this occasionally and it did wonders.
> 
> Got it from Boots I think.


I wouldn't get held up on the brand or names. They're all pretty much one of a kind are cetraben, e45 etc, in other words moisturisers which maintain a barrier for the skin.
Avino may be worth a try as its got oatmeal which others don't. Evidence suggests it's helpful for dermatitis and eczema


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## GleemSpray

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but Fairy washing up liquid is awful stuff if you have sensitive skin - it really is. You can get all sorts of chapped and peeling skin after just a quick dip into a bowl of hot water mixed with WUL.


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## weedougall78

Rayaan said:


> I wouldn't get held up on the brand or names. They're all pretty much one of a kind are cetraben, e45 etc, in other words moisturisers which maintain a barrier for the skin.
> Avino may be worth a try as its got oatmeal which others don't. Evidence suggests it's helpful for dermatitis and eczema


Nice one dude, I didn't know that.
Anything that saves me a few quid is all good


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## wayne451

Personally I really don't get on with E45, think it's awful stuff.

I have the skin of a leper in the winter months but rarely on my hands.

Dermol as mentioned above is ok as a shower emollient, got loads of bottles of it spare if you want me to send you one? 

Balneum Plus is great for me, same with Eumovate (had supply issues for a bit) and hydrocortisone cream. I mix the 3 together and apply as one.

I've been using steroid creams for almost 2 decades and can honestly say I've not experienced thinning of the skin. 

Infrared sun beds can help too. Also 'Moo Goo' and some Norwegian soap that I forget the name of. 

I find it's seasonal so I use all sorts at this time of year, summer I'm perfect and need nothing.


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## Ben_W

Tricky Red said:


> That's just your hands chapping in the cold. A decent hand cream at night left on will sort that


No, it's not. I've had this on and off, to varying degrees for the last 18months, through summer and winter. The cold also wouldn't cause the blistering im getting as well.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll give the docs a few days to quieten down as inevitably they will have a rush on this week I reckon after being closed for the Christmas period. The E45 cream does help (and I'm using it as suggested,hands are greasy afterwards) but the blistering period is pretty painful, some times it hurts that much I can't close my fingers into a fist.

Purposely havent washed the car for a while now because of this.

Thanks again.


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## Ben_W

wayne451 said:


> Personally I really don't get on with E45, think it's awful stuff.
> 
> I have the skin of a leper in the winter months but rarely on my hands.
> 
> Dermol as mentioned above is ok as a shower emollient, got loads of bottles of it spare if you want me to send you one?
> 
> Balneum Plus is great for me, same with Eumovate (had supply issues for a bit) and hydrocortisone cream. I mix the 3 together and apply as one.
> 
> I've been using steroid creams for almost 2 decades and can honestly say I've not experienced thinning of the skin.
> 
> Infrared sun beds can help too. Also 'Moo Goo' and some Norwegian soap that I forget the name of.
> 
> I find it's seasonal so I use all sorts at this time of year, summer I'm perfect and need nothing.


Thanks for the offer Wayne. At the moment, the only thing that sets it off is washing the car. Doing the pots, showering,washing hands as normal doesn't seem to affect it. The minute after I finish washing the cars, I want to pull my hands off. The itching gets so bad at time, I sometimes interlock my fingers and move my hands so it scratches the itching between my fingers. Not good I know but it does provide some relief. Apparently when it's bad, I don't in my sleep as I've woken the wife a few times.....

Will see what the doc says.


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## Kerr

It's a nasty condition to have and needs seen to.

Working in the oil game I've lost count of how many people end up in a right mess. Some itchy bits where you really don't want them.


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## Sh1ner

I have suffered with dermatitis for over forty years since just after I started working on cars. I had never had a problem before but once it started I could not get it to go away with creams, careful washing etc. The top layer of skin on my hands used to fall off almost weekly and they were permanently red raw.
Barrier creams did help minimise it but it was always there
The solution for me has been, gloves, gloves and gloves in different types. vinyl, nitrile, latex, breathable open backed, cloth, leather, extra long etc. Whatever is most appropriate for the task I am doing.
I go everywhere with some in my pocket, buy them in 10s and 20,000s and wear them for any thing that involves getting wet, oily, fuel soaked, solvent soaked, dry powders and the like, in fact anything that contaminates my hands.
It is unavoidable occasionally and I can get caught out.
Now if they ever show any signs of itching, I run them under a cold tap for 10 mins and then try to have a sleep and keep them cold so that I do not rub them together until whatever is causing it, subsides.
Scratching the itching is a mix of pleasure and pain. Great whilst I do it but I pay for it later because my fingers and hands become very swollen, really painful, sore and almost unusable. I honestly think scratching is the worst thing you can do, so I avoid it to extremes.
If I find my hands getting dry I rub in Vaseline and wear gloves while sleeping. I find Vaseline really good and much better than E45 but it is greasy.
My hands are now so sensitive, if I pick up a whole chilli and rest it in my palm, I start to sweat.
I have a mechanic friend who has just developed dermatitis. He is in his 30s never used to bother and laughed at me wearing gloves. He doesn't any more.
After trying countless different gloves, he does not really get on with them. He has also tried lots of hand cleaners and the best thing he has found, for him, is coal tar soap. It is the only thing he now washes his hands with. Bars of soap everywhere.
Whilst he still suffers it does appear to have minimised the inflammation and red cracked patches are much less but still there none the less.


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## Rayaan

Ben_W said:


> Thanks for the offer Wayne. At the moment, the only thing that sets it off is washing the car. Doing the pots, showering,washing hands as normal doesn't seem to affect it. The minute after I finish washing the cars, I want to pull my hands off. The itching gets so bad at time, I sometimes interlock my fingers and move my hands so it scratches the itching between my fingers. Not good I know but it does provide some relief. Apparently when it's bad, I don't in my sleep as I've woken the wife a few times.....
> 
> Will see what the doc says.


That's quite interesting and would tend to suggest a product may be irritating that bit of skin on the hands making it worse

I'd try isolating the products and giving them a test to see. Most likely it's shampoo as it would have prolonged contact with bare hands unless you wear a glove


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## Njs71

A very interesting thread. 

I have recently suffered with some sort of dermatitis or whatever it is on both my ears my elbows and on top of my hands. My ears are the worst, drives me mad with the itching and I too wake my other half at night when I start scratching in my sleep. I've had this for 3 or 4 months now and after trying various creams to relieve/ cure this I'm finally giving in and going to the doctors. 

So my advise is go and see your GP for a proper diagnosis or you'll end up wasting loads of money on creams etc that don't work.


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## Big Bri

Had psoriasis since i was a child,along with dermatitis.I have Tried everything over the years with various levels of effect.Problem is,i haven't found a magic cure.They come back.Wish a Month in Tenerife was on my GPs Prescription list.Clears it up a treat.Downside,i then get Prickly heat if i dont take antihistamine.
Dont use the following on your skin as a cure,your own urine in a morning,Bannana skins dried or fresh,neet paraphin,bath in Tomatoes[spanish ones],pure sea salt,maggots,Preparation XXX ointment [loads of these creams around and they dont work].Some say avoid meat from The Pig,Eggs,cheese,and no coffee......list goes on.
*With the hands* i found Vaseline[petroleum jelly] at night realy does help.Cover hands in it,then put Sandwich bags on your hands or Wrap in clingfilm while in bed[sexy or what].Avoid washing up liquid and similar products.I use coal tar soap mainly or Dove in a morning.Before i use a steroid cream if the blistering is bad.
Doctors is your first step,trial and error probably your next.

BB


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## Paul04

Have you tried dream cream from lush?


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## rubberducky1957

I've had contact dermatitis for the last 30yrs but now under control. Creams have never worked for me due to wearing nitrile gloves at work. Hands sweat and the cream turns into a rancid sweaty mush no longer able to act as intended and possibly having the opposite effect. Any contact with water - out in the rain, shower, bath and its gone in a blink anyway. I can recommend Diprobase ointment a Vaseline type emollient containing white soft paraffin and liquid paraffin. Basically Germolene without the Phenol content. Supermarkets and pharmacies stock it. Doesn't contain lanolin like many treatments do which can cause irritation on broken skin. Persistent, doesn't wash off easily, absorbs readily, and doesn't remain greasy. But the main defence as already said is gloves, gloves, gloves.


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## Pauly.22

rubberducky1957 said:


> I've had contact dermatitis for the last 30yrs but now under control. Creams have never worked for me due to wearing nitrile gloves at work. Hands sweat and the cream turns into a rancid sweaty mush no longer able to act as intended and possibly having the opposite effect. Any contact with water - out in the rain, shower, bath and its gone in a blink anyway. I can recommend Diprobase ointment a Vaseline type emollient containing white soft paraffin and liquid paraffin. Basically Germolene without the Phenol content. Supermarkets and pharmacies stock it. Doesn't contain lanolin like many treatments do which can cause irritation on broken skin. Persistent, doesn't wash off easily, absorbs readily, and doesn't remain greasy. But the main defence as already said is gloves, gloves, gloves.


Buy yourself a pair of cotton gloves and wear them under your work gloves.

I do and it helps a lot, been doing it for 5 years. My hands are a lot better.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/122758548249


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## rubberducky1957

Pauly.22 said:


> Buy yourself a pair of cotton gloves and wear them under your work gloves.
> 
> I do and it helps a lot, been doing it for 5 years. My hands are a lot better.
> 
> https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/122758548249


Thanks, I do this with some tasks but when working with microcomponents I need as much sensitivity as possible so can't do it much of the time. I actually carry orange mamba nitriles in my pocket everywhere. Picking up something from the garden centre, servicing the car or pretty much any task - its orange hands. Can't risk it flaring up as it takes days to get under control again. Undergloves definitely work though - and keep your hands warm!


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## Guest

I had dermatitis on my arm it was horrible! 

It would crack and bleed especially when at work "mechanic". 

Then one day i got ****ed off and rubbed lithium grease on it!! 

2 weeks later it was gone and has never come back! 

it got better day after day. 

must of been something in the grease!

:lol:


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## jazzite73

Aveeno Excema therapy cream
Betnovate cream

are quite good.

Diprobase doesn't cut it if you have severe case. Its very greasy and is basically just vaseline. sits on the skin for hours and in my case causes itching.


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## jazzite73

Paul04 said:


> Have you tried dream cream from lush?


glorified crap


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