Weeping Eczema On Hands And Feet - Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Weeping eczema on hands and feet

Weeping eczema is a dermatological disease that develops against the background of impaired immunity and neuroendocrine regulation of the body. Its main manifestations are the presence of skin rashes in the form of vesicles (vesicles) with serous contents. Weeping eczema passes in an acute form, affects the arms and legs, but with a severe course of the disease with relapses, it can capture other areas of the body.

During weeping eczema, there are stages of erythema (redness and swelling of the skin), the vesicular stage, weeping and crusting. At the vesiculopapular stage, rashes form on the skin - papules with serous fluid, which, as the disease progresses, can either dry out or burst with the outflow of exudate, the formation of serous wells. In this case, point erosion is formed, a weeping surface, which is accompanied by itching and unpleasant sensations and creates a risk of infection. As the healing progresses, the oozing stage turns into cortical - crusts form at the site of skin lesions, the areas of the skin around them become dry and covered with scales, peel off.

The disease is characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation, the transition to a chronic form, in which the skin becomes denser, acquiring a bluish-red tint. It is impossible to become infected with eczema by contact-household means, since this disease is associated with internal disorders of the body, as a result of which the immune system gives an inadequate response to harmless chemical, physical and other irritating factors.

Treatment of eczema should be comprehensive, it uses external agents - ointments and lotions, immunomodulating drugs, hormonal therapy. The effectiveness of treatment largely depends on the patient himself, who must make changes in his usual lifestyle, follow a special diet and avoid contact with irritants.

Content:

• Causes of weeping eczema
• Weeping eczema symptoms
• Treatment for weeping eczema
• General recommendations for patients with eczema

Causes of weeping eczema

Weeping eczema is classified as true or idiopathic eczema, the cause of which is impaired immunity, immune deficiency, neurological and endocrine pathologies. Women suffer from eczema more often, which is associated with constant hormonal changes in their body; weeping eczema affects mainly people from 20 to 50 years old.

Eczema is a polyetiological disease, so it is impossible to name one specific reason for its development. Nevertheless, a hereditary predisposition to atopic diseases, endocrine system disorders and concomitant pathologies - diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, and diseases of the digestive system can contribute to the occurrence of weeping eczema on the hands and feet.

The mechanism of development of eczema begins with a pathological immune response to external stimuli, as a result of which the immune system attacks the skin, causing disturbances in the processes of keratinization, growth of deep layers of the epidermis and the release of the liquid fraction of blood into the intercellular space.

The immune system of patients with eczema differs from the norm - the number of B-lymphocytes is increased, while the number of T-lymphocytes decreases. This leads to a weakening of the body's defenses, which makes it less resistant to infection. Thus, untimely or improper treatment of eczema can lead to aggravation of other diseases, and weeping lesions on the skin increase the risk of infection.

Psychoemotional stress, post-traumatic stress, neuroses and overwork can provoke exacerbations of weeping eczema, as eczema refers to neuro-allergic diseases. Accordingly, a measured and calm regime helps to reduce the severity of negative symptoms of the disease and cure it faster.

There are four types of wet eczema on the hands and feet:

• True eczema is difficult to treat, characterized by acute spontaneous outbreaks that quickly turn into a chronic form. It begins with painful swelling and erythrema, after which the skin becomes covered with vesicular rashes. If the integrity of the bubbles is violated, weeping erosion occurs, which subsequently become covered with crusts.
• Seborrheic eczema - it is provoked by disturbances in the activity of the sebaceous glands, which are located in large numbers on the hairy areas of the body, where the rash is localized. Seborrheic eczema can affect the shoulder blades, the skin behind the ears, and the chest area.
• Microbial eczema - develops in the area of non-healing wounds, traumatic skin injuries when they are infected with pathogenic microorganisms. Eczematous rashes affect the edge of the wound surface on one side and gradually grow.
• Occupational eczema - develops in cleaners, workers in chemical and other industrial enterprises, construction workers and others who, due to their profession, often come into contact with chemical and physical irritants. A distinctive feature of this type of eczema is localization on the skin of the hands, on which irritating factors have a direct effect.

Weeping eczema symptoms

Weeping eczema is characterized by an evolutionary polymorphism of the course, that is, in one area of the skin, you can see all stages of the manifestation of the disease - vesicles, point erosion, weeping surface, crusts and peeling.

When the inflammatory process subsides, the disease becomes chronic - new rashes do not appear, but the skin darkens, thickens, over time, age spots appear at the site of the lesions, which spontaneously disappear.

All eczematous rashes are localized in typical places - legs and arms, in some cases - the face and neck. By the location of spots and rashes, one can judge the type of eczema. Thus, occupational eczema affects the skin of the hands and is the result of frequent contact with chemicals or physical irritants. If most of the rashes are localized on the feet and palms, then most likely they are provoked by dyshidrotic eczema.

Weeping eczema should be differentiated from pustular skin lesions, which are characterized by the formation of a continuous weeping surface. With eczema, the lesions are punctate with droplets of exudate that look like dew.

Treatment for weeping eczema

Therapeutic measures for eczema of the hands and feet include the use of topical agents and systemic medications. In view of the neurological component of the disease, eczema therapy is not complete without sedatives, among which are mainly used sparing drugs - drugs based on herbal raw materials (lemon balm, valerian, passionflower). It is also permissible to use daytime tranquilizers under the supervision of a specialist. Normalization of sleep and rest is of paramount importance for the correction of neurological disorders.

Among systemic drugs, in addition to sedatives, antihistamines are used, which can remove the negative manifestations of eczema caused by an allergic reaction - itching, swelling, rashes.

Therapeutic measures are aimed at desensitizing the body, include the use of enterosorbents, which absorb toxins and promote their elimination. Injections of sodium thiosulfate, calcium chloride and gluconate, and magnesium sulfate are also prescribed.

In addition, patients during the period of exacerbation of weeping eczema are advised to eat only neutral foods that do not provoke allergic reactions. Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits, chocolate, red berries and fruits, honey and other potential allergens are removed from the menu.

Topical treatment for weeping eczema

In the weeping stage of eczema, lotions with astringents are considered an effective measure of treatment. So, compresses soaked in resorcinol solution, silver nitrate are made on the affected areas of the skin. In the treatment of weeping eczema, birch tar, ichthyol ointment and naphthalan are also used.

External hormonal agents can achieve good results in a short time, significantly alleviating the patient's condition. However, they can be used only under the supervision of a doctor for short courses, otherwise there is a high probability of complications from the immune system.

In the acute stage of eczema, it is recommended to apply gauze compresses moistened with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or water with silver to the affected areas of the skin. With an exacerbation of weeping eczema, it is not recommended to use herbal decoctions, cucumber pickle and other folk remedies as lotions so that skin irritation does not occur.

The procedure takes place in several stages:

• Gauze folded in four is impregnated with a medicinal solution and wrung out, after which it is applied to the area with wetness; if weeping eczema occurs against the background of microbial skin lesions, the gauze compress is thrown away after the first application;
• After fifteen minutes, remove, wait until wet skin dries naturally; you can not stimulate the process by blowing wet areas in front of a heater or fan;
• Make another 3-4 compresses at intervals of 10-15 minutes to dry; if weeping surfaces occupy a large area of the skin, then it is necessary to do up to four procedures per hour every day;
• At the end of the procedure, the skin can be lubricated with a light cream or sprinkled with an emulsion containing hormones or other medicinal components.

The course of treatment with lotions is three days, during this time, cold compresses help to reduce inflammation and draw out excess moisture from the erosive surface.

When the disease passes from the acute stage to the stage of crust formation, the main task of treatment is to facilitate the removal of the crusts and the healing of the skin. You cannot remove them by hand and mechanically damage them, this process must occur naturally. It is allowed to use creams with uric acid, histane and fenistil gels, hormonal ointments, which can reduce itching and soften the crusts, facilitating their exfoliation.

Prevention of weeping eczema

• For topical application, lotions with ointment based on sulfur and petroleum jelly, ichthyol or birch tar are recommended.
• Wear comfortable shoes that do not squeeze your feet, hindering circulation; socks made of hypoallergenic natural materials that do not exacerbate eczematous rashes;
• Follow the general recommendations for patients with eczema regarding diet and moderate lifestyle, avoid stress, overheating and unnecessary stress on the nervous system, observe a sleep schedule.

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General recommendations for patients with eczema

Contact with water as little as possible, preventing the affected skin areas from getting wet; water procedures are limited to exclusively hygienic purposes. Avoid going to the sauna and bathhouse, where contact with water is combined with overheating of the body, both of these factors are triggers of the disease.

Follow a diet for patients with dermatological diseases, exclude already known and potential allergens from the diet. Avoid situations in which infection with pathogenic microorganisms, viruses, in particular, the herpes virus is possible. Timely treatment of dysbiosis and infectious diseases, giardiasis, pyoderma and parasitic invasions by pinworms and ascaris.

If eczema is complicated by an associated infection, the pathological process is aggravated, the treatment is delayed and rarely does without antibiotics.

Among the systemic hormonal agents for the treatment of weeping eczema, prednisone and other corticosteroids are often used, but they cannot be used for long courses.

After the transition of the disease to a chronic form and reduction of inflammatory processes, one can proceed to physiotherapeutic measures - cryotherapy, laser therapy, magnetic therapy, etc.

The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist

Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).