I know this is a relatively minor issue, but I have severe and chronic hand eczema. I believe my latest flare was stress-induced when my now ex cheated, but I also know horse keeping isn’t helpful. I’m looking into TCM and acupuncture, but wondered what other horsey folks found helped - from meds to best gloves, etc. I was also lucky enough to be a victim of the Camp Lejeune water contamination disaster, and online it appears eczema is very common in that population. I’ve seen some threads in Off Topic, but thought I’d come here. When my hands are so cracked I can’t function to do barn chores, I wondered if others found ways to keep going and minimize damage. Thanks!
Do you see a dermatologist ?
Yes but not quite ready for next step of drugs. Hoping for something with fewer side effects…
I feel for you. I just went through a bout (well, still going through, but the worst is behind me) that was triggered by a case of poison oak. I have had gross looking “lizard skin” hands for the last two months.
Tried oral corticosteroids (Dr was adamant about that, even though the actual dermatitis from the poison oak was minimal) which totally screwed up my sleep cycles and did nothing for my hands. Tried topical corticosteroids, which helped a bit with the itching and redness, but didn’t help the look and feel of my hands.
Not sure if it will work for you, but this is what works for me.
Coconut oil and shea butter. I’ll use coconut oil like lotion several times throughout the day. At night I use shea butter instead, because it is super thick and seems to really soften. Definitely wear light cotton gloves though, or you’ll leave greasy marks on your bedding.
Avoid excess wetting/drying of hands. For things like scrubbing out water buckets, a pair of lined vinyl gloves is great to keep your hands dry and they aren’t as likely to exacerbate the problem as regular dishwashing gloves.
Avoid cold. If it is jacket weather, it is glove weather. This one is actually hard for me, but it does help.
Avoid heat. No super hot showers, and if you are working outdoors and sweating either skip the gloves entirely or wear very breathable gloves.
Sunscreen, if you can find one that doesn’t make things worse. I pretty much cover the backs of my hands and wrists. It isn’t so much to help with the eczema itself, but to help protect the new skin where you’re healing.
I’m a chronic eczema sufferer. What makes a big difference with my hands is gloves. I always wear gloves when working in the barn and/or around the horses. Always. All year round. Then, when I go back into the house I immediately wash my hands and apply Eucerin cream. NOT the lotion but the thick stuff that comes in a tub. Every time.
I use triamcinolone ointment (prescription). It takes such a tiny amount and I only use it once a day every other day. For me it works a lot better than OTC hydrocortisone which, even using 4x per day every day, did nothing for me.
I feel for you. It’s a miserable thing to have to deal with.
I forgot to add that I wear Schmidt ladies work gloves. I love them (they come in pink, too) and buy them at Tractor Supply. I toss them in the washer and dryer when they get dirty.
Thanks guys! I’ve ridden for almost 30 years, but just moved the horses home in the last two years, and doing barn chores with itchy, cracked hands is tough! I find some gloves make it worse if they overheat. I have issues in summer and winter, and really just can’t seem to get it under control for some time! It started getting bad when I suspected the affairs of my ex - which is weird. Reading on it, though, it seems like stress can be a trigger. Ugh. But I’m happy now, so just want this under control!
I think I need to go looking for some natural materials for my gloves. I do have the cotton gloves and sometimes use those as liners, but wondering about other options before winter really kicks in this year - I’ll check out the Schmidt gloves!
I’ve been using the triamcinolone ointment, but my dr advised 2 weeks on (am/pm) then 2 weeks off, and in the 2 weeks off, it’s horrific! And I worry I’m weakening the skin and creating a vicious cycle. I use Vaseline at night, the tub of Eucerin, I also found tallow oil helped a little, I bathe with coconut soap, and I do use coconut oil too - great on my legs, but nothing is really stopping the eczema on my hands - definitely tired of lizard hands! I am going to try acupuncture- a google scholar search showed actual scientific studies that had good results, so worth trying. I’ll let folks know what I think of that - thanks again for the inputs!
Eczema a life-long reality for me. not every product works for every user, and usually non-scented products are best.
For me I need to have a certain amount of moisture in the dry skin e.g. following a shower or run warm water over my hands followed by “fragrance Free Glysomed” in the white tube. Glycerine is water binding and is the second ingredient following water. I’ve been using this for years. Also goats milk soap from the health store works too. It’s super fatted not scented.
I also apply a wet band-aid to the cracked areas on my knuckles and finger tips. Every time my hands are in water I apply Glysomed to my damp hands–that’s the best time.
Hope this helps.
I don’t know how it would work for some of your symptoms, but I use Gramp Lyford’s Vermont Salve. It totally cured the dry cracked hands I was dealing with many years ago. I walked around with band-aids on half of my fingers. Winced every time I put skin glue on. It is available in some stores in this area, or at gramplyford.com. Great stuff!
I’m new to eczema and by no means an expert, being diagnosed this year after treating what I thought was a wart on the lower part of my thumb. I’d been burning the crap out of it with those wart band-aids you can buy :eek: before I got it properly diagnosed. My doctor prescribed mometasone cream and it’s been a lifesaver for the itching. Have you tried that one? It really helps, and I’ve had no side effects when using it.
Sometimes, when eczema is suddenly hard to control, there is a bacterial or fungal infection on top of the eczema. Oral antibiotic like cephalexin, sometimes antifungals, will make it better. The usual eczema remedies are thick creams like Eucerin or Shea butter, steroid creams, and oral antihistamine, like Zyrtec, at bedtime for the itch. It is time for a trip back to the dermatologist.
I get these horribly painful cracks on my knuckles sometimes. The cure is superglue. I don’t entirely know why, but it seals the crack, so it stops hurting, and somehow gives it enough time to start healing. I find I get these cracks in groups - and they just will not heal without the superglue treatment. But it works very well for me.
The pain reduction alone is worth it!
I was trying to find the study about the effectiveness of petrolatum compared to topical steroid treatments. I came across this, which deals with cleaning:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15153888
If you google you can probably find the study I mentioned above; basically, the conclusions are to use Vasoline.
Here is an Indian study with more than you ever wanted to know about eczema:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4037938/
My conclusions after barely reading that article: make sure you are not anemic.
Another one:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16426292
My conclusions: Vaseline is good; gloves are better.
This is a really good article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3449106/
My conclusions: Coloidal oatmeal is scientifically proven as a skin treatment and petrolatum is a good barrier protectant (beeswax is too).
Good luck and good healing!
I have very little experience with eczema, but one of my ex’s daughters had it and one thing I found helped when she came for a visit without her prescription cream was an aloe based cream. I couldn’t believe how much it helped it was amazing. She went from scratching herself raw to just a little pink in less than a week. I hope you can find something to help, just watching this poor little girl tearing at herself was heartbreaking!
I have had eczema since I was a wee one and I also have Lupus that for the most part is limited to discoid lesions.
Sun exposure and stress seem to be the biggest triggers for skin issues for me.
A few things that I’ve found helpful to prevent problems:
- drinking more water! I know it sounds so easy but seriously…helpful!
- I have a great steroid cream that i start using the minute a lesion starts showing up.
- Moisturizer and gloves at night–cotton gloves.
- gloves when doing any outdoor work–to protect from sun AND irritation
What gloves, summer and winter, do you prefer for barn work?
Have you tried Tamanu Oil? It is one of those amazing nut oils that has many restorative/healing powers for skin ailments. It is supposed to be very helpful for eczema.
You can buy it on Amazon. I buy mine at Mountain Rose Herbs: https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/tamanu-oil/profile
[QUOTE=LilyandBaron;8390253]
What gloves, summer and winter, do you prefer for barn work?[/QUOTE]
I use deer leather gloves for hard work and then my nylon/combo for riding. My hands are aLWAYS covered.
Beer Soap. really
