Hand Dermatitis/ Eczema: Is it irritant or contact dermatitis?

I'm sure there are a lot of my readers who know someone with hand dermatitis. The question is, is it contact or just irritant dermatitis? How do you distinguish them?. Irritant hand dermatitis (eczema) is predispose by frequent hand washing. Most common among health professionals, hair dressers and people that works in the catering business. The natural protective barrier of the skin is strip off due to frequent washing leading to dry and irritated skin. It is advisable to avoid soap but instead use your non scented emollient as soap substitute. Use gloves when handling harsh chemical or washing dishes but bear in mind try to use non latex gloves.

Contact hand eczema is cause by being allergic to the things that your hand is in contact with. This could be cause by latex allergy, or component of your cream. Cream as an emollient is water base and contains preservatives. These preservatives can cause allegic reaction leading to contact dermatitis. Most dermatology department offers patch testing, where a series of battery are use to test if you are allergic to certain chemicals. Face and hand series includes different chemicals that are commonly use on these areas, it could be an active ingredient use in most cosmetics, soap, its preservatives and others.

If after patch testing you are positive to certain things, then you need to avoid them. Otherwise your hand eczema will flare again. For irritant hand eczema, try to use regular moisturiser after washing your hands, avoid any harsh chemicals and strong substances from perfumes/aftershaves. Speak to your health practitioners if patch testing will be beneficial for you. They can assess you clinically, if they suspect contact allergy then patch testing is needed. When your hand dermatitis is bad, your doctor will prescribe topical steroids to control the symptoms. Use it only when your hand eczema is red, itchy and the moisturiser does not control it. Seek medical advise if your eczema is not controlled with the prescribe treatment. I will keep my article short but informative. Avoiding medical terminolgy if possible but instead use common words. Happy new year..