what can i do for my contact dermititis?!
Question: What can i do for my contact dermititis?
i'm at the end of my rope. it hurts to move my hands and theyre cracking and bleeding. thank you for looking.
Answers:
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
You might consider cotton glove liners which may improve protection when worn under occlusive gloves, assuming do you wear them.
There is something called EpiCeram that might really help, it is used for atopic dermatitis, irritant contact dermatitis, radiation dermatitis, and other dry skin conditions. Basically it is a type of lotion. The other options are topical corticosteroids, most of which are dirt cheap (including the prescription ones) or topical calcineurin inhibitors.
Also don't use any moisturiser that is antibacterial or has a fragrance.
M.D., C.M. psychiatry, internal medicine (Québec)
Hons. BSc pharmacology
Are you allergic to the gloves? if so, they need to provide vinyl gloves for you. Is it really contact dermatitis, or are your hands just drying out from washing them so often? If this is the case, moisturize them really well at night and wear cotton gloves over the moisturizer while you sleep. Also, use the hand sanitizer as often as you can as an alternative to washing (I used to be resistant to this, but apparently it is recommended by OSHA). Good luck.
RN for 12 years
First order of business is to determine what you think is causing the rash.
Second, you have already tried - if there is a rash, you alter the pH. You tried that.
Third is to shore up your skins acid mantle/lipid barrier - use lots of creams - some of them are much better than others in that department. My first suggestion would be plain olive oil (yes, the type you cook with) second would be Curel itch relief or sensitive skin formula (runs about 5 bucks at Walmart) Apply a heavy layer before bed. And a 1% hydrocortizone ointment (which is common enough in most dollar stores) is certainly worth a shot. But if hydrocortisone ointment helps, you really can't use it more than a couple weeks before it starts to thin the skin....
Sounds like you need to minimize exposure to an allergen though - try powder free and latex free gloves where you work, those are the primary culprits.