Prednisone for hand eczema? Any experience?

[Amethyste]

Hello Ladies...

Well I am going to try to make this post short... I have finger eczema - really bad on my right index, left thumb and slowly spreading to both of my middle fingers. I went to see my DR and she told me to use mild soap, moisturize often and prescribed me a REALLY weak ointment. well, needless to say, it didnt work. So I call her back and told her that it slightly got worse and then referred me to a dermatologist. I went to see him. Shows up 1 hour late, talked to me for 5 mins. Basically, he told me to "stop doing nails" cause I am clearly allergic to the products. I told him I have been doing nails for 12 years and My eczema suddenly appeared, almost overnight, so I have a hard time believeing that I have that, especially I wear non latex gloves when i do nails and my hands are exposed to gel/acrylic dust. He said "Then you could be allergic to anything" meaning, he didnt know what could cause that. He prescribed me a tube of Fluoccinonide and I then asked him if that would help me somewhat and he said "Probably not". I was a little surprised at his attitude, but I went to the Pharmacy and got the tube anyway. After putting that stuff on, it burned and really did NOT help me any with my skin condition. so I stopped using it. I have been using "Udder" cream and that worked the best. It keeps my skin moisturized, but its not doing anything against the inflammation and itching.

I then sided with the Dermatologist, that perhaps I have become allergic to my nail products. As i was soon leaving to Germany for 2 weeks and be away from my normal nail routine, I was looking forward for my skin to clear up a little bit. On the contrary! My skin got WORSE on my trip, and spread even more on my right index finger than before I left

So, that leaves me with the conclusion that i am NOT allergic to my nail stuff, something else but I cannot find what it is

Last week, one of my client came for a pedicure and told me that she had a rash like mine on her thumb and on her middle finger and decided to go see her doctor and she immediately prescribed her an 8 day supply of Prednisone ( tapering doses ) and it went away!!! Why can''t my doctor prescribed me something like this? i need some relief!!! I cannot touch anything without my thumb cracking and bleeding and living in bandaids 24/7 is not something I want to do for the rest of my life

i have spent so much money on natural hand creams etc and nothing is working. I am aware of the side effects of oral steroids, but I am at the point where i don''t care anymore... i need something else than foo-foo creams and "let''s try another gentle approach"!

 

[Amethyste]

Ok.. THank you - but I think the eczema that I have on my fingers is pretty severe, I cannot bend really my index without feeling pain and tightness due to the inflammation...

i''ll ask my doctor about it...

 

[KristyDarling]

Just saw a derm yesterday for my eczema, which is on my neck, trunk, and arms (and often my hands, too). He said that eczema usually doesn't respond well to prednisone. For skin indications, prednisone is usually used for things like contact dermatitis or other severe allergy-related skin disorders. Prednisone is a "big gun" -- it's a heavy duty steroid and generally you want to avoid that unless you absolutely need it. I've used it 3 times in my life, when I was covered head-to-toe in a burn-like allergic dermatitis rash.

I get eczema flare-ups a few times a year, and the standard treatment is to use topical steroid ointments and oral antihistamines to help dull the itch and allow you to sleep. In between flare-ups, we're instructed to use special skin products (by CeraVe, or Aveeno Advanced), i.e. body wash and body cream, that are formulated for eczema. CeraVe and Aveeno Advanced both contain ceramides, a class of lipids that eczema patients apparently lack.

Just passing along the eczema info I got yesterday. HTH!

 

[MagsyMay]

I have had a few bad eczema outbreaks over the years, mainly on my neck. I used many OTC lotions, including Aveeno and Sarna, amongst others. I never tried it, but I had a friend who swore by Emu Oil too.

My eczema was pretty severe, cracking, oozing, red, painful, etc. and the only thing that really made it go away was a presciption for Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream.

I was put on Prednisone once for a full body rash, but it seemed as that was mainly because of the large surface area affected and that is would be difficult to treat it with topical creams.

I''m sure there are plenty of other topical medications your dermatologist can try before resorting to something like Prednisone. Good luck and I hope you find some relief soon!

 

[PinkTower]

I''ve got several creams from my dermatologist for eczema. The gentle one is something for yeast. That one was not strong enough, so I also have a steriod one to use sparingly. My Dr. told me yeast is part of the cause of eczema. Like you said, I tried that for a month, and it did not help. She added the steriod on my second visit, but told me to keep using the yeast cream. So, you might check and see if the first cream is for yeast, and, if it is, use them both. Still, neither one of them works wonders.

I also have another autoimmune disease, and my feelings on both of them is that there is a cycle of:
stress=anxiety=body response=stress=anxiety=body response. Only when I stop the cycle do I see any results from my medications.

 

[Ara Ann]

Eeeek! I was on prednisone for Bell''s Palsy in December and you do not want to take that if you can help it...I had horrible side effects and never want to take that stuff again.


About eczema, my son had a severe case when he was an infant (asthma too), but was actually allergic to cow''s milk/protein...I was breastfeeding him, but because I had dairy in my diet, he got it through my milk. Once I cut out dairy, his skin and asthma totally cleared up. Don''t count out a food sensitivity....and any kind of allergy can flare up at any time in your life, it doesn''t matter if you never had it before.


Also, do not use any anti-bacterial soaps! I get terrible rashes under my rings and between my fingers if I use anti-bacterial soaps of any kind...DH has that reaction too. Took me a while to figure it out, but I avoid it like the plague! You have to read every label to avoid it too...even liquid dish soap can have anti-bacterial products in it!


Hope you can find some relief!

 

[setell]

I''m not a doctor but have siblings and my FI has bad eczema all their life. You can get a RX for a high dose of hydrocortisone but in the meantime you can always run to the nearest pharmacy and try out the weaker OTC (over the counter) version instead. For moisturizers I would recommend using one with urea in it so that it’ll keep your hands moisturized for a long period of time vs the typical ones like Aveeno etc. Brands like Eucerin have urea in the OTC moisturizers that you can try. It’s a pain to have eczema but it is very controllable by using different moisturizers (can’t go out and buy nice smelling stuff etc.) and prescription hand creams. At least your outbreaks are in your hands as my sister used to get outbreaks on her face!!! If your hands are cracking even with the slight movement then I really suggest you lather them up with cream and wear those gloves to trap in the moisture. Hopefully doing that at night will help….it’s not really for beauty but more so for keeping your hands moisturized.

 

[JulieN]

I use Elocon (mometasone) or hydrocortisone for the itching. Dryness, I use oils like jojoba and olive oil. I''ve had it since I was a kid, and it''s not going to go away.

 

[MissGotRocks]

The key to treatment is to determine if you have contact dermatitis or eczema. They are two different things and are treated differently.

I had what was believed to be contact dermatitis on my forearms when I was a child. Problem was no one could ever identify what I was coming into contact with to cause it. As time went by, it was interesting to note that it was always worse in the fall and that was when my allergies to ragweed would rage. Correlation or coincidence? No one could ever tell me with certainty. I was given several different ointments but nothing that really helped. It eventually went away on its own. As a teenager, I developed something very similar on my hands. It would swell, itch (I would wake up in the middle of the night with the sheets wrapped around individual fingers to scratch them) and then it would ooze. I would end up with open cuts on my hands. Really awful. I saw one dermatologist that told me I was missing a layer to my skin (only on my hands?) but at any rate was prescribed prednisone several times. It will definitely end the inflammation but there is no guarantee that it won''t come back. Prednisone can be a wonder drug but it does have side effects and they generally want to try topical creams before resorting to that.

I found that the best course of action was to try to prevent it before it happened - or nip it in the bud before it got bad by using cortisone cream at the first sign of the telltale bumps. I have to be very careful of dishwashing liquid, ammonia - anything but mild hand soap. I use rubber gloves alot but find that my hands perspire in them and that sometimes brings on the symptoms. As I''ve gotten older, the problem has gotten better but I am still careful.

It may be necessary to take a course of steroid to end the current inflammation. Be careful with any lotions or creams that have any sort of perfume in them. They are drying and extremely irritating to hands like ours. I use the Neutrogena hand cream (unscented) as it works better than anything else I have tried. Most hand and body lotions have some fragrance to them. Your line of work probably doesn''t help either but you still have to work so correct treatment is important for you. When my hands were at their worst, I could not on my own break the horrible cycle of inflammation - hence the steroids. It doesn''t surprise me to hear that even though you left work and took a trip that your hands did not improve. It''s almost as though once it gets started you can''t stop it.

Different dermatologists take different approaches with something like this so you might have to go to a couple to find someone to work with you. All you can do is try what they give you and if you get no result, go back.

I am sorry to hear about your problem - brings back lots of bad memories. It doesn''t have to be a forever thing though so just keep trying with your doctor.

 

[Amethyste]

THank you all so much for your replies...
The Doctor came in and then looked at my
fingers and listened to my concerns. She agreed to
prescribe me a supply of Prednisone. 40 mg a day for 7 days. She said
that it would make my hands heal and with the help
of a more efficient ointment, I'd be able to contain it. She doesn't
want to prescribe me Prednisone for ever, but doesnt mind to
prescribe it once in a while if my hands gets bad to break the cycle.

I then talked to her about "Protopic". She said she
never prescribed it and then went to get her book to read
about it. Since its an ointment, she said it would be better to apply
it at night and cover my hands so it can really absorbs while I
sleep. She said she wasn't sure if my insurance would cover it, but I
then told her that i'd pay out of pocket to try it. So after the apt, I went
to my pharmacy and got the Prednisone but they didnt have the
Protopic available. I'll have to go back tomorrow after work to pick
it up. hopefully, it will not be $200. lol But anything to break the
cycle, contain it and have somewhat of a normal life without bandaids
sounds like a good plan.

 

[princessplease]

I have it mildly on my elbows. I''ve never used prednisone, but since it''s a steroid, there are some serious side effects that can occur. Personally, I would never use a steroid unless I had some sort of pneumonia because of the possible side effects. I would make sure my doctor went over all of the possible risks and side effects that come with such a strong medication.

My best advice, after years of searching, would be to visit a dermatologist who has experience with eczema. I use Clubex (a spray which works wonderfully) and Talconex (a topical cream).

 

[Amethyste]

Here are some pictures of my fingers I took tonight, i'll take a picture a day to measure the progress for the next 7 days...

 

[Amethyste]

Another one of the thumb... The crack is so sore...

 

[Amethyste]

THen my right index finger... the affliction is more spread...

 

[Amethyste]

Last one of my index...

 

[MagsyMay]

I hope the steroid works to speed up the healing initially, and then after it can be managed with a topical! Your poor fingers look so sore!!

Best of luck to you!

 

[MagsyMay]

Date: 9/16/2009 11:47:50 PM
Author: Setell

At least your outbreaks are in your hands as my sister used to get outbreaks on her face!!!

Poor thing, I had it on my eyelids too (so random?!) and it was awful! Couldn''t wear any eye makeup for ages because it would just highlight the flaking and cracking on my eyelids! UGH!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Those images are so familiar! Prednisone isn''t a drug that you would want to use all the time but it is there for cases when inflammation can''t be contained any other way. Taken in a short cycles, it won''t cause real long term harm and in these cases, it is almost like a miracle drug.

People with acute bronchial asthma have to be prescribed a short course of steroids to reduce the inflammation at time as do those suffering with other inflammatory processes. If you haven''t had one of these conditions, you don''t understand how terrible the condition is or how much benefit you can receive from taking it - with caution.

Good luck to you - it will start to clear up and you will start to be more vigilant about your hands. Hopefully from here on out you can keep this at bay.

 

[TooPatient]

If the eczema treatments aren''t working you should look at fungal infections. I know it sounds crazy, but they are out there and most doctors don''t know to look for it.

doctorfungus has great information and pictures.

FF has stuff that looks like eczema on him. (elbows, legs, knees, etc.) None of the treatments worked. We tried randon OTC stuff and found that an anti-fungal cream helped a little. Researched online and found pictures that looked just like what was on him.
Found a doctor who agreed to test the theory and prescribed Lamasil for him to take orally. It has been a couple of years on that prescription, but it is getting better. His skin is clearing. The swelling that had been all over is declining. And so much more.