Dyshidrotic Eczema – How I am able to manage my Dyshidrotic Eczema and stay symptom-free

I’ll start with a basic definition, then immediately jump into my journey to get this under control, and then I’ll provide some additional descriptions and information for the people that may not know too much about what this condition is.

Basic Definition: Dyshidrotic Eczema is characterized by tiny little bumps that generally form on your hands, and sometimes, feet. These small bumps are described as tiny tapioca-like balls at times and can be itchy and painful. They seem to go through phases of a cycle which starts off with the formation of these bumps, then they subside slowly, break, or bursts. After that, your skin generally regrows. The cycle can last commonly between 2-5 weeks. Unfortunately, these bumps can potentially return even before your skin fully regrows and you can end up with multiple cycles or consistently having skin that is either flaking, bursting (or weeping), and bumpy. In general, it is quite inconvenient, uncomfortable, itchy, and painful. In addition, it is unattractive as it looks like your hand is rotting. It is believed to be non-contagious, however.

This is what my hand looked like at one point:

My personal journey to overcome Dyshidrotic Eczema:

One day after finishing up some antibiotics prescribed by a dental specialist, referred by my dentist, these small itchy bumps appeared on my hands. I was able to control my scratching since I’ve had atopic dermatitis most of my life (turns out about 50% of people with dyshidrotic eczema already have atopic dermatitis, which is simply having some type of skin allergy.) I was used to ignoring the itchiness that I felt. This can be harder for someone that may not have dealt with this before. I purchased a few fragrance-free hand moisturizers as well which helped. Although, initially, I wasn’t too alarmed by the new appearances of bumps on the palm of my hand, that changes shortly. The small patch of bumps on my one hand, subsided, the skin flaked a little bit, and then it looked like it was slowly getting back to normal again. I love it when problems go away on their own; that can sometimes happen. However, a few days or maybe a week went by and then the bumps seem like they were coming back. This happened once or twice, and every time it returned, it seems to be getting worse. By that, I mean it seems to be spreading across my hands. It started with one small part of the palm on one hand and then it grows to a large part of my entire palm. Later, it appears on the sides of my fingers and then eventually it is on my other hand with a similar progression. I became much more concerned and decided I had to try everything I could to see if I could combat this.

I think it is obvious that anyone would be alarmed. Although this condition isn’t life-threatening (thank goodness,) there are some inconveniences that one may not entirely think of until one has to experience this for themselves. For instance, when the bumps burst or weep, they are like open wounds and getting them wet causes pain, aggravates them, and dries them out further afterwards. So, the task of dishes becomes much more difficult. Every time you shower, it becomes a challenge. If you are accustomed to working out on a frequent basis, you may reconsider as you may need to shower afterwards. So, these are some examples of how it can disrupt your life. In addition, this condition isn’t commonly known so stepping out into the social world with your hands that look like they are rotting can cause a lot of questions and angst for yourself and maybe even for other people. Depending on your occupation, this condition can cause a lot of challenges. Luckily for me, I was able to work from home, so my necessary social interactions were minimized during the dyshidrotic eczema flare-ups. Nevertheless, I felt I had to find a solution if one existed out there. I bought organic hand moisturizers with honey (quite helpful), cotton gloves to moisturize and sleep while wearing, pre/pro-biotic to promote gut health in case this issue had anything to do with the antibiotics I took, tried to eat healthier with a strict diet change, bought additional gloves, and purchased a new mobile phone cover (random, right?)

I did the best I could to recall events and changes that I had made. I took an approach maybe like Sherlock Holmes would have done and I suspected everyone (or everything I should say for my case.) And luckily, there is this thing called the internet and google who may have served as my Watson to continue with the Sherlock Holmes analogy. I paid really close attention to my body and listened to it as well. Using google, I was able to find Dyshidrotic Eczema and find out what I had. Most of the websites described the condition but there was very little content that was truly helpful. The basics that I was able to gather from most of the websites were the description of the symptoms, some generic possible causes, and some suggestions in regards to drugs/creams/dermatologist visits in terms of help. Paying attention to my body one night while on my phone, however, I felt a slight tingling sensation on my hands as I was holding my phone. This happened on a few occasions and I felt like my hands didn’t want to touch my cell phone. I googled “allergy touching cell phone” and then shortly thereafter “nickel allergy” and some very important & pertinent information came up in my opinion for both those searches. Allergic contact dermatitis came up and it appears there is a decent percentage of the population that might be allergic to Nickel, Chromium, Cobalt, and other metals. This is why I purchased a new cell phone cover that completely encases my phone so I don’t have to make direct contact with the metal. I bought additional gloves for varying reasons like lifting my metal weights while exercising. There are also metal tests available for purchase to test if there is nickel on your sink faucets, doorknobs, keyboard, mouse, etc. It turns out that nickel/metal is virtually everywhere. I even bought a glass pot for cooking and a ceramic knife for cutting as well as wooden utensils. Armed with this new information, I was ready to be on my way back to normal health.

My hands did improve slowly over time. A couple weeks later, it was almost cleared and it looked like it wasn’t going to repeat the cycle again. I felt wonderful and wanted to celebrate with a few meals I haven’t had for a while! Life was good and I had a new appreciation for health & wellness and being able to have bump-free hands. Three days later, my eczema came roaring back with a vengeance. It was the worse it had ever been. It even started to go to the backs of my hands. I thought I had figured this thing out. I thought I solved my issues. What went wrong? I had to go back to the drawing board. I reflected and tried to trace what I did and touched. Was I not careful and maybe touched a lot of metal? That wasn’t the case. I even used my shirt or wore a glove when opening possible metal doors while I was out. What did I change? After reflection, it dawned on me that the one thing I recently did was celebrate (apparently, too early) my victory of getting this issue completely sorted. I celebrated with a change in diet compared to what I was eating more recently while trying to be health conscious. I thought about what I ate. I had a lot of shrimp! Seafood is a favorite food of mine! Some quick research informed me that shrimp contains high levels of nickel it turns out.

This is where I pretty much completed the last pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. For me, my allergen was nickel. A nickel allergy can come in the form of physical contact, through foods, or both. I believe, for me, it is both. I researched foods with high nickel content and went on an aggressive diet. Being traditionally “healthy” isn’t enough. Interestingly, leafy greens such as kale & spinach, and other commonly healthy vegetables can possibly contain high levels of nickel which is quite unfortunate. As a human being though, what can we do except to roll with the punches, right? There are plenty of other vegetables that are decently low in nickel such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, etc. I’ll cover some additional details about what you can/cannot eat a little later.

It took a little while and it wasn’t easy but for 5 days or so, I went on a very strict diet. I ate nothing but the safest foods possible and paid close attention to my hands & body. I would then slowly introduce additional safe foods after another 2-4 days and repeated with slight adjustments here and there. I introduced organic eggs, then other vegetables, then various fruits, and kept adjusting, then various meats. This was my way to figure out what was “safe” for me and what wasn’t. I believe everyone may be different and there would be things that are “safe” for one but not for another. I also found out that there are certain “trigger” foods that are low in nickel but for whatever reason can cause issues if you are susceptible. These foods can include: carrots, lemon/lime, citrus fruits, and various others.

All in all, my journey took about 4-6 months. I consider myself lucky. There were some helpful websites I did stumble across where people took 5+ years to finally conquer their dyshidrotic eczema. There was one person that streamed and regularly posted videos that seemingly had this issue and hadn’t quite figured it out at the time. I wanted to get in touch with him and let him know about what I learned in case he still needed help. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find his website again. There have been a handful of stories that I came across where people went from one health specialist to another to another and took a very long time before they were able to find the root cause. I’ve been able to help a couple people personally after learning what I’ve learned. I hope my post/website can be a resource and help others to get better and at a faster rate. And if anyone happens to come across the person that posts videos regularly, please tip him off about this information if he is still battling his issue.

The conclusion I drew from my experience is that I somehow developed a nickel allergy as I aged. It appears this happens to people mostly when they are between the ages of 20-40. For a year or so before this issue came up, I had attempted to be healthier with my diet. I would opt for vegetarian meals more frequently than I had previously. This is in general usually considered good for a person and also for the environment. However, if you happen to be a person with a nickel allergy, it can be quite troublesome as higher levels of nickel are found in vegetables than in meats. I believe my body probably has a threshold of nickel levels that it can take. If my intake of nickel becomes higher than my body is able to process out or is over that threshold, my body will show symptoms in the form of dyshidrotic eczema. When my body is in the higher levels of nickel content, trigger foods & physical contact with nickel will increase the chances of me having a reaction. When my body is well under the nickel threshold of having a reaction, I seem to be able to enjoy some chocolates, nuts, and some leafy greens without much incident. I understand I have to pay attention and manage that balance. If I see any indications of issues showing up on my hands, I immediately back off and go back to only consuming my “safe” foods for a few days. These strategies and information I cannot exactly prove but do whole-heartedly believe it from my observations and paying attentively to the details. However, I must say that everyone is different. And you will have to figure out your best strategy.

Tips:

· Try to find out what your personal triggers might be.

· Allergy testing is an option (research this).

· The allergen can be by physical contact or by ingestion (through foods) or both.

· Metals is a common allergen

If it turns out you have a food nickel allergy like me, you may want to avoid/minimize:

· Shellfish (Shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, etc.) – One of the worst offenders.

· Raspberries & Pineapple – One of the worst offenders.

· Canned foods and drinks even – Be really careful with.

· Most nuts

· Chocolate (unfortunately)

· Kale/Spinach/Most dark leafy greens have nickel

· Flour and grains such as Brown rice or Grain Wheat bread may have higher nickel

· Certain fish may also have higher levels of nickel

· Fried foods

· Beware of the cookware you or other people are using (metal/non-metal)

What was pretty safe for me to eat:

· Broccoli

· Cauliflower

· Brussel Sprouts

· Purple Cabbage

· Cabbage

· Bananas

· Grapes

· Watermelon

· Cantaloupe

· Blueberries

· Organic Eggs

· Organic Chicken

· Celery

· Cilantro

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