Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatment and Prevention

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Symptoms

Causes

Diagnosis

Treatment and Prevention

Eczema on the hands is a very common problem. It can appear dry, red, or inflamed—and it is often itchy. Chemical irritant exposure may cause some cases of hand eczema. Often, eczema will occur without any known irritant or allergen trigger, particularly when the skin is dry.

Eczema can affect one or both of your hands and it can develop on the back of your hands, on your palms, on the front or back of your fingers, in the creases that bend, or at the tips of your fingers.

Most of the time, eczema on the hands comes and goes as episodic outbreaks. But, sometimes it is present all the time. The spots that are affected may stay the same or they can change—lesions can develop on new areas as some areas appear to heal.

Eczema causes changes in the appearance of your hands and some people may become self-conscious about it.

Eczema on the hands can show any of the following characteristics:

Sometimes hand eczema doesn’t cause any other symptoms besides the rash, but it is usually itchy. The itching can begin before an outbreak, and it often worsens during an outbreak. Pain is not common, but you can have painful lesions with hand eczema, especially if your skin cracks or bleeds.

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Complications

Eczema is typically uncomfortable, but rarely harmful or dangerous. However, wounds and bleeding can occur due to severe skin breakdown or excessive scratching. This can expose your hands to an infection, which may require treatment with antibiotics.

One specific form of eczema isatopic dermatitis, and it can occur on any area of your skin and has many causes. Hand eczema in the absence of eczema elsewhere on the body may occur when your hands are exposed to a product that irritates the skin. It can take a while for the irritation to heal, and if you continue to have repeated exposure, the affected areas may not heal.

There are a number of common irritants that can cause eczema to develop on your hands, including:

Recurrent exposure to these substances can cause a breakdown of the skin.

Risk factors that increase your chance of developing eczema from exposure to irritants include:

Keep in mind that some people are more prone to eczema than others. And some products may trigger eczema for you, while other products might not. For example, you may develop eczema from using a certain shampoo, but you might not have problems with dyes that could trigger eczema in someone else.

You may notice that you have outbreaks on your hands when you are in certain situations or when your hands have been exposed to particular products. These patterns can help you and your healthcare provider figure out the cause of your eczema.

If you develop blisters on your palms and fingers, you may have a type of hand eczema calleddyshidrotic eczema—it is also called pompholyx.

Diagnostic Testing

Your symptoms and pattern of outbreaks may clearly point to eczema as the cause of your skin condition. However, when the diagnosis is unclear, you may need additional testing.

Tests that may be used in the diagnostic evaluation of eczema include:

Eczema can be treated so that the lesions are able to heal. Treatment is focused on protecting your hands from further damage and from an infection.

If your eczema has an external trigger, it is important that you avoid exposure to it as soon as possible.

What to Expect at Your Dermatologist Visit

While you are being treated for your hand eczema, protecting your hands will make the treatment more effective. Treatment options includemoisturizing cream, topical corticosteroids, ultraviolet light therapy, and antibacterial ointments. Your healthcare provider may prescribe a topical corticosteroid to treat hand eczema; this will typically also relieve associated itching.

Protecting Your Hands

When your hands are already tender and irritated, you should be gentle on them. Avoid rubbing with abrasive towels and don’t expose your hands to friction. It takes a great deal of self-control to avoid scratching when your hands are itchy or painful, but scratching worsens hand eczema and prevents it from healing.

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Some people who have eczema find that wearing gloves is protective and soothing, and it can help the healing process.

Treatment Options

Your allergist or immunologist may recommend a regimen for treatment of your hand eczema:

With treatment and avoidance of the triggering factor or factors, the eczema on your hands should heal, but it can take weeks for the lesions to completely resolve.

Prevention

Preventing additional outbreaks is particularly important so that your skin will be able to heal. Wash your hands with gentle, unscented soap if you have been exposed to an irritant. If your hands start to feel itchy while they still have some type of material on them, wash it off promptly. Pat hands dry instead of rubbing them with a towel (rubbing can further irritate an eczema rash).

A Word From Verywell

Most patients will never find one specific cause of hand eczema (allergic or irritant). The majority of hand eczema is related to hand dryness and not to any particular irritant. Irritants can certainly make eczema worse, but patients should focus on moisturizing their skin. Before you go to sleep, apply an unscented moisturizer and wear cotton gloves for better absorption into your skin. If this is not helping, allergy patch testing may be warranted.

2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Christoffers WA, Coenraads PJ, Svensson Å, Diepgen TL, Dickinson-Blok JL, Xia J, et al.Interventions for hand eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Apr 26;4:CD004055. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004055.pub2.Oosterhaven JAF, Voorberg AN, Romeijn GLE, de Bruin-Weller MS, Schuttelaar MLA.Effect of dupilumab on hand eczema in patients with atopic dermatitis: An observational study. J Dermatol. 2019 Jun 12. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.14982. [Epub ahead of print]Additional ReadingChristoffers WA, Coenraads PJ, Svensson Å, Diepgen TL, Dickinson-Blok JL, Xia J, et al.Interventions for hand eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Apr 26;4:CD004055. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004055.pub2.Oosterhaven JAF, Voorberg AN, Romeijn GLE, de Bruin-Weller MS, Schuttelaar MLA.Effect of dupilumab on hand eczema in patients with atopic dermatitis: An observational study. J Dermatol. 2019 Jun 12. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.14982. [Epub ahead of print]

2 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Christoffers WA, Coenraads PJ, Svensson Å, Diepgen TL, Dickinson-Blok JL, Xia J, et al.Interventions for hand eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Apr 26;4:CD004055. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004055.pub2.Oosterhaven JAF, Voorberg AN, Romeijn GLE, de Bruin-Weller MS, Schuttelaar MLA.Effect of dupilumab on hand eczema in patients with atopic dermatitis: An observational study. J Dermatol. 2019 Jun 12. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.14982. [Epub ahead of print]Additional ReadingChristoffers WA, Coenraads PJ, Svensson Å, Diepgen TL, Dickinson-Blok JL, Xia J, et al.Interventions for hand eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Apr 26;4:CD004055. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004055.pub2.Oosterhaven JAF, Voorberg AN, Romeijn GLE, de Bruin-Weller MS, Schuttelaar MLA.Effect of dupilumab on hand eczema in patients with atopic dermatitis: An observational study. J Dermatol. 2019 Jun 12. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.14982. [Epub ahead of print]

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Christoffers WA, Coenraads PJ, Svensson Å, Diepgen TL, Dickinson-Blok JL, Xia J, et al.Interventions for hand eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Apr 26;4:CD004055. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004055.pub2.Oosterhaven JAF, Voorberg AN, Romeijn GLE, de Bruin-Weller MS, Schuttelaar MLA.Effect of dupilumab on hand eczema in patients with atopic dermatitis: An observational study. J Dermatol. 2019 Jun 12. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.14982. [Epub ahead of print]

Christoffers WA, Coenraads PJ, Svensson Å, Diepgen TL, Dickinson-Blok JL, Xia J, et al.Interventions for hand eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Apr 26;4:CD004055. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004055.pub2.

Oosterhaven JAF, Voorberg AN, Romeijn GLE, de Bruin-Weller MS, Schuttelaar MLA.Effect of dupilumab on hand eczema in patients with atopic dermatitis: An observational study. J Dermatol. 2019 Jun 12. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.14982. [Epub ahead of print]

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