Dyshidrotic eczema (dyshidrosis)

Dys­hi­dro­tic ecze­ma pres­ents with small, ten­se blis­ters on the palms, sides of the fin­gers and soles of the feet. It runs in fla­res and is asso­cia­ted with inten­se itching. The name is his­to­ri­cal; the con­di­ti­on has not­hing to do with a dis­or­der of the sweat glands.

Cau­ses

An ato­pic pre­dis­po­si­ti­on is fre­quent­ly pre­sent. Reco­g­nis­ed trig­gers are cont­act all­er­gies, par­ti­cu­lar­ly to nickel, as well as wet work, stress, heat, hea­vy swea­ting and fun­gal infec­tions else­whe­re on the body. In many cases no sin­gle trig­ger can be iden­ti­fied with certainty.

Sym­ptoms

Cha­rac­te­ristic are deep-sea­ted, sago-like blis­ters that do not burst imme­dia­te­ly. After a few days they dry up, the skin peels in a col­lar-like pat­tern and may crack pain­ful­ly. The itching often pre­ce­des the visi­ble rash.

Tre­at­ment

In an acu­te fla­re, dry­ing com­pres­ses and anti-inflamm­a­to­ry pre­pa­ra­ti­ons help. After­wards, inten­si­ve emol­li­ent care is important to res­to­re the bar­ri­er. In addi­ti­on, pos­si­ble trig­gers are inves­ti­ga­ted and avo­ided; in case of fre­quent rel­ap­ses pho­to­the­ra­py or fur­ther tre­at­ments are an option.