Any idea what may be causing this skin problem on my fingers?

RainaProske

About 2.5 weeks ago, I started getting little slivers of skin splitting off my fingers -- not hangnails that are directly around the nails but from 1/8 of an inch to about 1/3 of an inch away from my nails.

I drinks lots of fluids.
I take quality vitamins.
I use a LOT of lotion daily.
I don't think I wash my hands too much.
I use the same hand soap I have used for years.

I tried to find this on the Internet, and it always assumes I intend hangnails as described above.

Any ideas?

LizXWP25

Consult your Family physician never know what you might have your physician might refer you to a dermatologist. That's the most and best advice I can give you.

RainaProske

My dermatologist isn't terrifically smart. I did have this happen years ago, then it was gone.
However, your suggestion spurred me on to look up more ideas on the Internet. I have PBC, and that may be causing it. Thanks!

RainaProske

Thank you for asking, Megsie. Looking closely at my nails, they are naturally pinkish, have light vertical lines, no "moons" at the bottom, the tops are white and never split, and I keep them as short as possible, because I have been in the itchy stage of PBC for several years. All my life, my skin has been very dry, and some places are flaky. I wear tights/leotards at night, to cut down on the itchiness. I use Dove Deep Moisture shower soap. I had used Aveeno, but it didn't seem to help my dry skin.

ponycyndi

My sister had something similar happen to hers. Not sure what caused it, but some anti fungal cream cleared it up.

KetoneKaren

Hmmm...maybe if I distract you with tales of my silly dogs...

No, seriously, I am not an expert, but I know a tiny little bit about skin stuff. One possibiity is that the itching is causing you to scratch your fingers, causing tiny abrasions that starts a scratch/itch cycle which perpetuates the situation. In this case, it would be important not to worsen the situation by peeling the slivers off.

Does your diet allow MCT oils? Since your PBC probably causes fat malabsorption, and your skin needs some fat, it might be that you need a little more fat if you can manage it. If not, coconut oil is fabulous for skin health.

Allergies to topical agents or foods is a possibility. If there is anything unique linking the two episodes together, you may be able to ferret out the culprit.

Finally, do you use any skin products that have a vitamin A analog (retinol or retinyl palmitate)? If you do, and you apply it with your fingers but don't wash your hands afterwards, it could cause minor peeling of the skin of the fingers. In this case, you would expect the peeling not to be symmetrical, but to be more prominent on the finger(s) you use to spread the cream on your face.

Now for my best suggestion, if you can't remedy the peeling: Avoid peeling the skin off. And buy a paraffin bath.

My dogs names are Farlely, Bailey, Mabel, and Molly. This morning they all behaved very admirably by sitting as I hand-fed them small pieces of steak and salmon. They all stayed sitting and didn't try to snatch the goodies intended for one of the others out of my fingers.

Have a lovely day, Raina!

RainaProske

Hee-hee-hee! You made me smile, @KetoneKaren . I do have coconut oil. I'm not sure about the vitamin A, but you reminded me of something that may be the answer. My dermatologist gave me a cream about 5 weeks ago, which I started using then, but decided not to use it anymore. I wonder if it could have damaged my hands, even though I washed afterward. . . . Hmmmmm.

KetoneKaren

Could be. What's the name of the cream? Delayed hypersensitivity reactions are common, so even if the skin slivers didn't debut until 2.5 weeks ago, it's still a possible cause.

RainaProske

The cream is Triamcinolone Acetonide. I kept having a feeling I shouldn't use it, so I stopped.

KetoneKaren

Not such a bad cream, it's a low dose steroid cream a little more potent than hydrocortisone which is used for lots of itchy skin conditions, doubt it would cause the skin slivers. I dunno...

KetoneKaren

Lip balm is a great idea, it's waxy...

RainaProske

Thank you, both of you! I appreciate all your thoughts and suggestions.

RainaProske

Thank you, all. My hands are better. Not through with this peeling, but better.

KetoneKaren