In the winter, many people will face the problem of "hand peeling".
Today, let's talk about what causes hand peeling and how to deal with it.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
Many people wonder if peeling on the hands is related to the lack of which vitamin?
Theoretically, it is indeed a bit of a relationship, vitamin B is an indispensable raw material for our skin to maintain normal keratosis.
But don't worry about supplementing B vitamins.
Because if it is only the peeling of the hand, and the other skin on the body is normal, it is most likely not caused by a lack of vitamin B, and there is no need to blindly supplement a certain vitamin (if you are seriously partial to eating or unable to eat normally, it is another matter).
In fact, many people's hand peeling is a "normal" physiological phenomenon.
In winter, the skin of the whole body is dry, and the stratum corneum of the hand is particularly thick, which is more likely to be dehydrated, especially around the nails, which is the most obvious.
For example, "long barbs" is a symptom that manifests very early, when encountering this early warning signal, quickly apply hand cream.
Of course, there is a special case, which is more common in children, that is, - their own nibbling.
If you find that the problem of children biting their fingers is more serious, this may be related to anxiety or some emotional cues, in fact, you can go to the hospital to check it out.
Here are a few diseases that can cause hand peeling (crumbs), which is convenient for everyone's preliminary assessment, but it should be noted that the theory is only theory after all, if you suspect that you are sick, you must go to the hospital to let the doctor diagnose.
1. Eczema / dermatitis
This is one of the most common groups of diseases in which hand peeling is found.
Many patients will be accompanied by similar lesions in other parts of the body, manifested as symmetrical erythema, scales, acute attacks are somewhat similar to tinea mandibular, may be more swollen, and even exudative, chronic recurrent attacks will appear local skin hypertrophy infiltration, and even lichenization, the palms will become thicker and harder.
The biggest problem is that the itching is unbearable, and the recurrence rate is too high, like a dog skin plaster sticking to you.
As for the cause, it is difficult to define, and it varies from person to person, some may be seasonal, and some may be related to local contact.
Treatment will vary from person to person and from condition to condition, but in short, the medication should be used correctly under the guidance of a doctor [1].
2. Ringworm of hands and feet
Tinea pedis is a common superficial fungal infection.
Fungi are a kind of microorganism similar to bacteria, harmful fungi provoke people, the surface of the skin will have problems, infected to the foot called "tinea pedis", infection to the hand is "tinea pedis" [2].
Because the fungus feeds on the keratinocytes of the epidermis, just like herding sheep, after eating this piece, eating that piece, where to eat, where it will peel, people are miserable.
Therefore, tinea mandibular ringworm will appear erythematous spots, scales, blisters, etc. on the lateral edges of the fingers, palm surface, back of the hand, etc., and the area will gradually expand with the development of the disease.
However, it should be noted that fungal infections of the hands are often caused by the self-transmission of tinea pedis or onychomycosis, and are rarely the first to occur, and often occur in a single palm.
Therefore, if you want to check for fungal infections, you can see if you have peeled the skin of one hand, and then check whether you have tinea pedis or finger/toenail damage and discoloration.
Of course, a more reliable way to judge is to go to the hospital for a mycological test.
3. Sweat herpes
Sweat herpes is a season-related disease [3].
It mainly occurs in the summer, or in the summer, and some people have more sweaty hands in the winter.
The main manifestation is the small blisters in the deep stratum corneum, symmetrical distribution, because the stratum corneum in the palm of the hand is too thick, the blisters are not easy to break, can be slowly absorbed by themselves, dry up after the formation of peeling, revealing the red bright new epithelium.
It often feels painful because it is too thin and tender, but soon new blisters will grow and repeat itself. The whole process will be accompanied by varying degrees of itching and burning sensations, but not as severe as tinea mandibularitis.
Sweat herpes heals itself when it gets tired of playing, so if the diagnosis is sweather, and the symptoms are not serious, it is recommended to live in peace with it.
Treatment is mainly protective agents, and topical hormone ointment can be used when itching or peeling, salicylic acid preparations are added to severe symptoms, or short-term oral hormones, which are very effective. The specific treatment plan varies from person to person, follow the doctor's guidance.
4. Exfoliative keratin release
The problem may appear to be more severe, initially a bit like sweaty herpes, but later the area gradually expands, with large areas of tissue paper-like scales and exfoliation.
The reasons are also very complicated, some people really can't explain it clearly, because it is easy to recur in the warm hot season, often combined with local hyperhidrosis, so it is also called laminate dyspersia.
Although self-healing, recurrent episodes are very common, and topical low-concentration keratin peels or mildly moisturizing protectors may be used to restore normal keratin metabolism, and doctors may also consider short-term hormone therapy in particular cases [4].
5. Progressive palmar horn dermatosis
The name sounds very mysterious, but it also has a special grounded nickname called "housewife hand", although it is called so, but the disease is really not limited to women, many family cooks will also be recruited.
Mainly because of the contact with various substances such as dish soap and laundry detergent that cannot be avoided when doing housework, it irritates the skin and causes symptoms.
It is typical of symptoms: the end of the finger and the front half of the palm, dry wrinkles, fine scales with broken glass shallow cracks, long-term lesions can make the fingers look thinner, fragile, painful after water, and even limited movement.
In addition to the symptomatic treatment of topical drugs such as urea cream, salicylic acid ointment, and polysulfonic acid mucopolysaccharide cream, the best way is to protect and avoid contact triggers as much as possible.
6. Other systemic skin problems
There are also some systemic skin problems that are also accompanied by peeling of the hands, such as drug rashes, psoriasis, etc., which need to be considered comprehensively.
So the question is, what situation does it take to go to the hospital? Under what circumstances can I handle it myself for the time being?
Dermatologists believe that if there is any problem, you need to first go to the hospital to ask a doctor for a clear diagnosis, and on this basis, you can clarify the direction of treatment.
Most hand peeling problems can be a chronic process, so follow-up treatment can be handled at home as appropriate.
Of course, if the treatment effect is not satisfactory, or accompanied by new symptoms, then it is also necessary to follow up in time, let experienced doctors help you judge, do not blindly take chances, but delay the condition.
In addition, it also reminds everyone not to believe too much in the so-called folk remedies and "panacea", as a doctor, the most worrying thing is that inappropriate treatment methods may make the disease worse, and methods that have not been verified by evidence-based medicine are unreliable after all.
Contributing Author: Xu Nan
Deputy Chief Physician of department of Dermatology, Shanghai Dongfang Hospital, Associate Professor of Tongji University
bibliography
[1] Sehgal VN, Srivastava G, Aggarwal AK, Sharma AD. J Dermatol. 2010. Hand dermatitis/eczema: current management strategy. Jul;37(7):593-610
[2] Ely JW, Rosenfeld S, Seabury Stone M.Am Fam Physician. Diagnosis and management of tinea infections. 2014 Nov 15;90(10):702-10
[3] Wollina U.Am J Clin Dermatol. Pompholyx: a review of clinical features, differential diagnosis, and management. 2010;11(5):305-14
[4] Hausauer AK, Cohen DE. Keratolysis exfoliativa. Dermatol Online J. 2015 Dec 16;21(12):13030
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