Thread: Rash on hands?

I've got a mystery rash!

From what I can tell, it's a contact allergy of some kind - as in, something I'm touching or wearing is causing the rash. Every so often (it appears random; I haven't found a pattern so far) I will break out in a rash of tiny, clear or red bumps across the back of my hands, on my knuckles and occasionally down the back of my wrists. It rarely extends to my palms, up my fingers or around my wrists any further, and hasn't ever occurred on other parts of my body. Because of this I assume it's not a food or pet allergy.

Friends have suggested at various times that the bumps might be due to a cleaning chemical (hard to pin down which one), dust (is it possible to have a skin allergy to dust without any facial/breathing issues?), a heat rash (although it doesn't reliably occur during hot days, nor does it always go away when the temperature drops), a weird food reaction, or a skin care product.

The last time it occurred was on Monday, when I bought a new deodorant. The rash came up within half an hour of using the deodorant, stayed all week and today (Friday) has disappeared. It wasn't terribly itchy this time but lasted longer than it had in the past. Usually it would disappear within a day or two. I thought it might be the new deodorant, especially since the rash lasted all week while I was using it. The rash had been fading since Thursday, so to test the deodorant theory I didn't put it on this morning and waited for the rash to fade completely, and re-applied it this afternoon to see if the rash would come back when the deodorant was re-applied. It didn't! I don't know if that rules out the deodorant, or just proves that my body has stopped reacting to it. I can't think of anything else I did or touched on Monday that would cause the rash. I didn't eat before it appeared, and I only took an antihistamine (which I don't normally take, but have taken before without getting a rash).

Any ideas what this could be? Could I be missing some household item that I brush against (especially in the bathroom or kitchen, which is usually where I am/was when the rash occurs) or a certain piece of clothing that is causing this? I can't remember what I wore on Monday and whether it was old or new.

Are you a constant hand washer? Or perhaps not a frequent enough hand lotion user? This time of year is brutal on your exposed extremities and hands in particular.

It is advisable that most people need to up their water consumption and increase the frequency in which they use a mositurizing hand lotion. Stay away from those that are loaded with fragrance and try to find one for sensitive skin.

Some other thoughts....

Are you wearing new or different gloves then in years past? Doing your house cleaning without wearing gloves of any kind? Could it be the gloves you're wearing when doing house cleaning (rubber? latex?). What type of soap are you using when you bathe/shower? Laundry detergent? Fabric softener?

It appears to be a contact dermititus (sp?) of some sort and tracking it may be quite a challenge. The skin on the back of the hands is quite thin and very sensitive.

I would encourage you to increase your water consumption and use a fragrance free hand lotion for sensitive skin a couple times each day.

Good luck.

It appears to be, based on what