45 minutes. That’s how long it took me to process my hands
just a few minutes ago. 30 minutes of pickling my hands in a bowl of vinegar,
followed by rinsing, slathering on a balm, and carefully pulling on my new
cotton gloves while trying not to wipe off too much of the balm. Now I am
typing in this condition. It’s not easy.
Why would I try to pickle myself? Well, as I’ve mentioned a
few times, I am desperate for relief from this dishydrosis thing. In my
research, I found multiple mentions of using a vinegar compress or soak in
order to get relief and promote healing. So I tried it. 3 nights now, I’ve
doused my hands in eau de salad dressing.
Vinegar Compress vs
Vinegar Soak
I opted for the compress the first night and I used apple
cider vinegar. It gave good coverage and allowed me to be a tad more mobile. I
put plastic bags over the compresses to retain moisture and prevent the vinegar
from getting all over the house. But, the process of preparing the compresses,
applying them, then having to take them off was a bit much, so I decided to
give the soak a try.
Soaking is definitely less time consuming in terms of prep
and finishing, but it does require you to sit with a bowl in your lap, scared
to move and unable to scratch an itch should one hit you. And one will hit you, be sure of that. I used
regular old white vinegar for the soak. There were two reasons for this. First,
I just don’t have that much apple cider vinegar on hand, but I do buy white
vinegar in gallon jugs. Second, they seemed to work the same and white vinegar
is cheaper. I’m sure apple cider vinegar may offer some other benefits, but for
this purpose, either will do.
The Experience of
Applying Vinegar to Open Wounds
It burns. There’s just no way around it. Any place the skin
is just the tiniest bit broken will sting for a while and then turn to a milder
but constant burn. Toward the end, it seems to let up. I think it’s because you’ve
pickled the nerve endings and they no longer function, but that’s just me. No
really, it isn’t unbearable, though it certainly isn’t making my list of top
things to do on Friday night.
The Effectiveness of
Vinegar Soaks for Dishydrotic Eczema
The jury’s still out on this one. Immediately after the
soak, my hands look positively horrendous. Every single blister has turned
stark white and is dry and hard. After an hour or so, the color goes back to
some semblance of normal, but they’re still incredibly dry and hard. It seems
to be helping the broken skin heal, which it wasn’t before, but it’s not
stopping new blisters from popping up. I’ll keep at it for a while—at least
till I start the cleanse—and see what I think of it then.
Did this ever work? I want to cut off my wrists and ankles because of this. I get this every year when I'm stressd out and it seems that once I think I've found a cure it doesn't work the next time I have a breakout. I've tried oxy pads, desitin, , caladryl, cortizone, cortaid, benadryl, allegra, aloe vera.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry that you are going through this, too. The vinegar soaks did seem to help a little, but it was not a cure. I have found great success, however, in taking 2,000 IUs of Vitamin D daily. I have one spot between my ring and pinky fingers on my right hand that stays a little irritated most of the time, but nothing close to the misery that I was having before. The rest of my hands and feet are generally clear. It sounds like such a simple, far-fetched idea, but I encourage you to try it. Vitamin D is inexpensive and can't hurt you as long as you aren't taking ridiculously huge doses, and it's been a miracle for me. I wish you all the best!
ReplyDeleteHow are your hands now? I've been suffering on my finger and it is seeming to be spreading. I'm learning to keep my hands out of water and to continually add oil. I'm taking GLA oil internally and externally, fish oil, probiotics, vita c,b,d, and a detox...hoping something will help. I keep my finger bandaged now through the day to remind me not to get it near water, as I'm always washing my hands. I haven't omitted coffee, but did switch to a paleo diet last year, using it loosely now and maybe should return. I've searched everywhere for a cure, and am hopeful that as I've started to add vita D that this will go away. My friend had it too, on her feet and hands, she detoxed and quit smoking and they cleared up. I don't smoke, but have a lot of stress...Just thought I'd share what I'm doing for it, and hope you have more good news?
ReplyDeleteMamabear: My hands are fairly clear for the moment. They seem to by trying to dry out somewhat since the weather changed, but I'm hoping to keep it controlled. I've been taking vitamin D, and LOTS of it....2,000 IUs daily. This seems to have been the only thing that truly helped in the long term, as I haven't had a major breakout since I started it. I have a couple of small patches on my feet that don't seem to want to go away completely, but they are so small that they don't bother me too bad. I keep meaning to do a new post updating, but can't seem to find the time. Maybe soon. Best wishes to you in your battle...this truly is a miserable condition and anyone who has never experienced it simply cannot imagine how much so.
ReplyDeletePoOr the acv in to a latex glove put the glove in seal the end with string. Works way better then a bowl
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI've just found your blog and felt like sharing my experience because I'm too desperate now.
My skin has always been sensitive and I got small eczemas on my feet years ago, but it was never too itchy or out of control, so I would just scratch and apply lotion and it was okay.
Two years ago, after I moved to a new job, I started having a lot of stress because of my new funcions and got these small blisters on a finger on my right hand. It was super itchy, but it was just on that finger. In the Summer, I went to the beach and it completely went again, but a few weeks later it came back and started spreading.
I visited a doctor and they gave me these corticoid with antibiotics because the blisters started to get infected. This kind of got rid of the infection, but I was never cured 100%.
Three weeks ago I got a horrible outbreak on my both hands and feet. Now I'm also getting rashes on my legs and elbows. I had no stress lately, so I have no idea why this is back and so bad.
I've tried several oinments, and nothing helps. I mean, they do help during the day, but at night when my feet are warm under the sheets the itch gets really bad. The last couple of nights it was so bad I scratched my feed on my sleep and when I woke up I was scratching myself...
I'm going to try the vinegar soaks. I for one know that sea water helps (but not just water with salt, it has to be water from the sea).
The main problem now is that I can do stuff that helps me through the day (lotions mostly), but at night when I'm sleeping with warm feet it gets really bad and it won't stop unless I scratch... I'll share my experience in a few days...
Sorry for the long message, I just needed to share this with someone who understands what I'm going through. I avoid talking about this with my family because it worries them and there's nothing that can be done about it.
I'm soaking my left hand with ACV as we speak, (left finger got blisters all over and slowly spreading) how did the vitamin D work out for you?
ReplyDelete