my hands... advice please

[Aleesha Sattva]

Oh man I sure would like to find a cure for this. I had this happen when I was younger... around 21 and the skin specialist tried to find the cause to no avail. No allergies etc as I was tested for everything. Then one day... it simply cleared up and went away.

A few years ago it came back and has not left for any length of time. Getting my hands wet repeatedly brings it back (so I'm guessing that cleaning the juicer and my old blender didn't help... thank goodness for my new Vita-Mix as it cleans itself!) Putting my hands into the earth causes it to get really bad (I'm guessing it's because the earth can be drying on the skin?)

So, my hands have been pretty good lately but alas, it has started again! Thought I'd show a pic of the beginning stages. When it progresses (which hopefully it won't this time) my skin peels all the way down past the pads of my fingers, sometimes over to the other side (but seldom) and even my palms have peeled (but never as bad as my fingers).

My pinkies almost never peel and my thumb, index finger and ring finger are always in the worse shape.

Arrrgghhhh. Hopefully I'll find a solution soon.

[queenfluff]

did your doctor give it a name?

not sure what it is - but my advice would be at avoid ALL chemicals (for everything - dish soap, bathing, shampoo, laundry detergent, bleach)- when you wash your dishes use the non-toxic dish liquid AND wear gloves.

Don't use any soap on your hands if you can help it and if you have to use something like Dr Bronners Baby Formula and use sparingly. Don't use hot water on your hands.

Is the earth that you put your hands in been possiblly exposed to fertilizer or pestitisides?

Have you tried shea butter or coconut oil? Put a heavy lather or either and wear gloves to bed. The shea butter is heavier moisturizing than the coconut oil. Don't use anything that has alcohol in on your skin.

If I were you I would take careful inventory of what sort of things come in contact with my hands - just because something has been approved for use doesn't mean it is safe to get all over your skin.

Not sure if I help or not.

[PixieLed]

I'm not sure. My boyfriend has something similar happen to him in the winter. It doesn't happen if he's not in Canada, we were in California last winter and his hands were fine. But basically a whole lot of skin comes off of his fingers and sometimes his palms too.

I don't know what to say... he usually applies more lotion and he can make it better. Swimming or washing his hands too much generally make it worse too. I hope this helps somehow.

[maui_butterfly]

interesting! Hawaiians use this stuff called Kukui Oil... http://oilsofaloha.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=11 I used to work at a store that sold it and people would call from all over the world to order it, saying it was a miracle and the only thing that ever worked for their eczema, psoriasis, etc. I used it during my pregnancy to prevent stretchmarks (rampant family history) and it worked great.

good luck!

[Aleesha Sattva]

queen,

what's weird is it will clear up and be fine... then WHAM it breaks out again... and i'm not changing anything i'm using or doing to cause it. although swimming and soap are no no's... so i never do either.

jenn,

thanks for the link. i'll order some and see if it helps!

:D
Aleesha

[CrazyDelicious]

My close friend has something that looks similar in the early stages. He has a condition that is similar to psoriasis (I will ask what it is), but causes an overgrowth and breakdown of skin. The more he uses his hands, the more the skin will callous and wear down. For him, it is worst when he is working with his hands alot. When it is not bad, it looks similar to your hands, but when it is bad, the skin will build up and peel, crack and fissure and bleed. It is mostly on the first few fingertips and thumb - less common on the palm. Do your hands get like this? I know he doesn't use a natural remedy though - he has a prescription for some kind of ointment which does work. However, If anyone has a natural remedy for this, please pass it along! I will let him know. :)

[Aleesha Sattva]

i have no remedy... although i think i figured out what may be causing this particular outbreak.

i started going to the gym. they spray everything down between each person - i think it's probably the spray!

so i'm going to just use the cardio machines for a few weeks... wiping it down with water before i do... and see if this helps!

and yes... mine do get as bad as his. i feel for him... it friggin' hurts :( this is my first bad outbreak since going raw though! :D

[greenday]

I had something similar once but localized to my thumb. It lasted for many months, would heal and keep peeling in cycles, but finally it went away. I'm pretty sure mine was related to home remodel stuff - it was during the time we were laying lots of tile. Yep, thinset mortar is pretty caustic! I tried to keep it off my hands as much as possible, but it still made contact. The best thing I can think of to soothe and moisturize is Coconut Oil! Right here on Alissa's site at the Store (Raw foods link to the left) check out the comprehensive description of the healing benefits to the skin. Awesome stuff...I use it all the time now.

[Aleesha Sattva]

thanks greenday! i'll go give it a read...

[Aleesha Sattva]

Suggested Uses:
Eating virgin coconut oil helps to promote healthy, rapid, weight loss. Adding coconut oil daily to your daily diet will help you to lose weight quicker and easier. Coconut oil is known to have enormous benefits for people with thyroid issues. It also reportedly rejuvenates the skin and protects against skin cancer, age spots, acne and other blemishes, its occlusive and antioxidant characteristics make it superb for rejuvenating dry, stressed and aging skin as well as delicate skin.
Use coconut oil on your face your moisturizer for soft smooth skin. It is an antiseptic so it won’t clog pours and make you break out! Use it in your hair and it will be soft and shiny.

Coconut oil is said to disinfect cuts, promote wound healing, improve skin health and hair condition, deodorizes whatever it touches (some use it to brush their teeth or use it as an underarm deodorant), clears up warts, moles, psoriasis, eczema, dandruff, precancerous lesions, athlete’s foot, jock itch, diaper rash, ringworm, vaginal yeast infections, and toenail fungus.



WOW i had no idea!!!

[RAWorship]

I used to get the same thing. No rhyme or reason to it. Don't get it anymore. :confused:

[Aleesha Sattva]

how long have you been raw? is that when it stopped or was it like me 20 years ago... it just vanished?

[Rawmommie]

I got something similar to this last fall on my thumb and middle finger. It was EXACTLY at the same time that the neighbor girl came over (I babysat her) and was talking about how she had all these warts on her feet/hands. Well, at the same time, my daughter also got a round ring on her knee (looked like ringworm mostly)...SO...I started researching and found that the warts, ringworm, & fungal skin infections are all caused by something similar and it is my belief that this is why we all had skin issues at once (b/c they are contagious too). So, I treated my fingers/daughters knee as I would a fungal infection and I used Grapefruit seed extract on them, coconut oil, and also fungal treatment (athletes foot medication from the store). It got better slowly and then after going to the beach for a week TOTALLY cleared up (I think it was the salt water!). This could have no correlation with what is going on with you, there are so many different kinds of skin issues, but thought I might throw it out there for you. It looks a LOT like what mine looked like.

[MrMike]

my hands are way worse then that and have been since I was a little kid, I recentely bought a creme called psoriasalve that works really great. It's 75% organic which is great because usually lotions are so refined with lots of chemicals, but at the same time, things like coconut butter are a little crude for my situation. Psoriasalve is a good mix..

[Aleesha Sattva]

thanks karen and mr mike!!!

[maui_butterfly]

warts, ringworm, & fungal skin infections are all caused by something similar and it is my belief that this is why we all had skin issues at once... It looks a LOT like what mine looked like.

This is definitely worth checking into. In October i broke out with pimples all over my chest -- had never seen anything like that before. I thought it was detox for sure, but my ayurvedic practitioner took some pulse readings and said "you have parasites". She gave me some herbs to address it and it cleared right up.

[RAWorship]

I've only been raw for a couple of months. My peeling hand was a problem for me many years ago so raw had nothing to do with it. I really have no idea what caused it or why it stopped. It was isolated to my right hand, from my thumb through the curve toward the index finger and would wrap all the way around my thumb to the cuticles of my nail bed. It would happen a couple of times a year although I didn't notice it being associated with any particular seasonal change.

[Aleesha Sattva]

well mine has started clearing up since i stopped touching the equipment at the fitness centre.

[fruitandveggies]

I get the exact same thing. I will often have to wear bandaids on each finger for weeks. I've chocked it up to my eczema (which I have, badly) along with any other skin thing that comes along.
Same as you, nothing topical from the docs seemed to help and moistness made it terrible! There is one thing (aside from a raw diet) that has worked wonders for me and that is acupuncture. If you haven't tried it, do! It took about 2 or 3 sessions to see an improvement and after about 8 sessions it has totally subsided. An added bonus is the process totally gave me a colon cleansing and less headaches and hot flashes. :D

[Portia2012]

I have it myself. The funny thing is I just developed it a few years ago. My hands every winter will crack open and bleed from it. I wonder what does cause it?


~Portia~