The tips of my fingers are getting cracks, which can be a bit painful but mainly annoying as it makes opening things awkward. Started with a little crack by the nail in one thumb, then both and now on the middle finger! Has anyone else suffered from this? Could this be something caused by the steroid medication?
Of course it may be down to dry hands due to washing them too often after gardening etc. but I just wondered if it's something else...
No Pred for 3.5 years but lots of cracks. My grandmother use to get them. I’m sure it means something constitutionally but don’t know what. Recently I had to have antibiotics for something unrelated and they cleared up in a week. The issue I had the antibiotics for is lurking still and a month later the fingers are back. I do know I’m asking for trouble if my finger tips get icy cold or I touch plants, particularly certain ones. It is definitely much worse since I’ve not been well since December when I had Covid and it kicked something else off that is 40 years old. Who knows!
Thank you - it’s an odd thing . A couple of years ago I had cracks on soles of my feet that no foot cream had any effect on led me to great podiatrist who thought it was some form of eczema and her simple and inexpensive treatment - Sudafed* + Vaseline at night then feet wrapped in cling film was successful quite quickly! Such a relief… have wondered about trying that in my hands but a bit more cumbersome!
Sorry I meant Sudocrem!
I have had them for a long time - pre pmr and pred. Hands bad when gardening even double gloved. Moisturising is the key - I do not always do it as often as would benefit! Our skin gets less compliant as we age and of course various meds probably don't help either.
Thanks - can you recommend an effective moisturiser? All the ones I've tried, called 'Working Hands' etc never seem to work!
I am not keen on the smell of some. Body shop hemp is my go to but it is probably just a case of finding one that suits you.
The most common cause is dry skin - and pred will make dry skin due to excessive hand washing even worse.
verywellhealth.com/painful-...
I find the Neutrogena hand and nails cream is easy to use and pretty effect - but not as effective as the Norwegian formula but my hands can't get that out of the tube now!!! And daft as it sounds, the urea-containing creams for dry skin on feet work extremely well - there are probably urea-containing handcreams too.
PS - Hand can be done by creaming them before bed and wearing cotton gloves if you can bear them. Same would work with the vaseline approach.
My fingers often develop cracks, especially when it’s a bit cold and I get itchy patches on my hands, which I have assumed is part of auto immune disease. I haven’t found any hand cream that helps even used after every hand washing. However, and this might sound silly, but when I was throwing away a partly used tube of “Golden Eye” ointment, which you throw away after five days, I thought I’d just try it on my hands first. It worked and cleared up itchy patches as well and now I buy it specially for my hands and use it regularly when cracks and itchy patches appear. It contains 1% anti biotic I think.
Chloramphenicol ...
Yes, that’s the one.
I’ll try that!
I do hope it works for you as well. It’s made all the difference to my fingers and what I can do with them!
Where do you buy golden eye? A pharmacist I asked said it wasn't available any more and my Mum wants some!
As PMRpro says it is Chloramphenicol. My local pharmacy looked blank when I asked for ‘eye ointment’, and produced a tube when I suggested golden eye. Good luck!
Have looked up Chloramphenicol online but it isn't clear if you can get it unprescribed but I'll try!
It is a pharmacy-only item and you may have to answer a questionnaire to be sure it is the right thing for you. If the first pharmacy raises eyebrows at needing it for fingers - try another and say styes or blepharitis which is what it is usually for. Or just go for a stye in the first place ... Only needs a prescription for babies under 2.
Successfully got Golden Eye from the pharmacy today so will use it tomorrow. I guess I just rub it in several times a day for the 5 days the tube lasts for. Thank you so much for this tip Toolie2
You may well need it longer - that is for eye use and using it on fingers is a bit different. Off-label as they call it for a start!!
I thought that would probably be the case.... Any tips on how to apply it to fingers, and how often?
I'd just put a tiny bit on a finger tip or thumb and then and rub the finger tips together much as you might making crumble the old fashioned way ... How often? 3 times a day???
Oh goodness...I've been getting cracked skin at the side of my nails and didn't relate it to pred. Makes sense now .....no end of moisturiser works tbh but if the cracks get really bad i put teatree cream on then plasters...very attractive 😂
Snap! Same here. I didn’t know whether it was just me or not. I also get cracks in each corner of my mouth (plus other areas) which I never had before. As I’ve reduced my dosage, these things have improved, but I’ve just had to go back up due to GCA flare so I am expecting a worsening of these annoying little side effects. I’ll be interested to hear other replies. Good luck!
I have been getting cracked fingers for some time. I just put it down to washing hands too much and forgetting to use hand cream. I also have nails that are very brittle and crack at the slightest touch, usually very low down where it is hard to trim them. I have started using more hand cream and trying a nail varnish called "Hard as nails" and a remover that is supposed to strengthen weak nails, I shall see if it works!
Hi I have suffered almost every winter with cracked fingers, even before PMR and prednisone I am sure it is from dry skin and having my hands in water and not drying them completely and not using hand lotion
I asked about this problem at a health food store and they put me onto Shea butter which is a very greasy plant product After lathering it on my hands at night I put on a pair of roomy socks on my hands almost healed in one night Amazing stuff!
Another good idea- will try that too! It’s not that the cracks are too bad at the moment but that they’d starting spreading to fingers not just my thumbs. During lockdown in summer 2020 I started getting dry patches on my palm & thumb of my left hand, which I’d never had before. It eventually went but I then got cracks on the soles of first one then both feet - another first! Eventually sorted by treatment from podiatrist - who suggested it could be excema-related, and also said she’sd noticed more problems like that since covid, which I thought quite interesting. We really don’t know what the mid- to long-term effects of the pandemic will really be do we! Meanwhile I’m sitting in my garden watching great tits feeding their young in the nest box and it’s very relaxing!
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