Sensitive hands

[Bendy]

I've been playing with a lot of nasty chemicals lately, and have managed to get a skin rash all over the palms of my hands. It's not that itchy but the skin's definitely not happy as it's a bit red and blotchy.

Trouble is, I can't pinpoint what actually caused it. I've been doing a lot of sanding of paint, filler and fibreglass (sometimes wearing gloves, sometimes not), got drenched in various oils and petrols (again sometimes in gloves and sometimes not) and I've also recently changed to powdered latex gloves instead of the non-powdered variety. I noticed it on Sunday but by then I'd been dabbling in all of the above.

My gut feeling is that it's the gloves, although I wore the same brand a few weeks ago with no ill effects, but for much shorter periods of time so they didn't get to the 'sweaty and clammy' stage.

Of course, I can't tell much until the rash goes away now.

So 2 questions...

- Does not-terribly-itchy but slightly lumpy and blotchy skin ring a bell with anyone? Sound like a latex / powder allergy?

- Any suggestions on a good barrier cream, handwash or other skin-protection ideas to stop it happening again?

Ta.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Not sure on what it is related to, but possibly worth trying some vinyl gloves instead of latex ones. About the same price as latex ones.

All the best

Keith
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[stinkwheel]

Sounds like you have fibreglass on your hands to me.

The powder on the gloves is usually starch so it is unlikely to cause a serious problem. If you are worried about a latex allergy, use vinyl gloves instead, they are much tougher than the latex ones too.
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[WildGoose]

had an issue at work with the gloves, they were non powdered and non latex but cant remember the exact material, were the green variety

anyway, when you did any work involving dexterity, it would make your hands sweat, thus opening the pores

that made your hands more susceptable to absorbing shite when the gloves came off, and my hands used to get all kinds of nasty conditions

lots of barrier cream and afterwork cream, and then regular moisturiser, which i still dont do enough, but it did help
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[Courageous T]

if the powder in the gloves is starch it could cause dermititus (spelling) used to get it real bad when i worked in a chip shop.

[Katie]

I think it's likely to be the fibreglass. My uncle works with it and it doesn't affect him anymore, but when I was a kid I got a load on my hands. It was slightly itchy, not very much at all. And it went a bit bumpy and blotchy. I'm not sure about what cream to use, obviously give your hands a really good rinse. I'd go to the Doctor if it doesn't clear up in a day or so.
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[yambabe]

I too suffer from sensitive, itchy skin on my hands that can be triggered by all sorts of odd things.

The best barrier cream that I am aware of is by Neutrogena, called Norwegian Formula. Vaseline Intensive Care is pretty good too.

If the itching is getting irritating, you should be able to pick up a hydrocortisone cream from your chemist, something like Dermacort.

One little tip for sensitive skin though, watch out for the E45/Hc45 range cos they have (or at least they used to have, I have avoided them for years) lanolin in them which is a well-known dermatitis trigger and can actually make your rash worse!
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[akaDAVE]

My votes for the fibreglass. Evil stuff that.
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[JodieWodie]

My brother has an allergy to those gloves

He works at Glaxo.
When he first started, he had to mix chems, so gloves were a necessity
The next week every single one of his fingernails just...fell off
Came off
Whole


ick

Fibreglass makes me very itchy
But maybe that's just me
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[Bendy]

Yeah, it may well have been the fibreglass. While I glove up when actually working with it, I was sanding down the paint and filler without gloves (get so sweaty in them) and there was probably a fair bit of glass dust in there. Tis also more on my left than my right hand, which makes sense.

I'm gonna get some of that Neutrogena cream that babyam mentioned and be more careful, see if it reappears with the gloves on.

Ta folks.

[stinkwheel]

[Yoshi]

Fibreglass is bastardy stuff! Someone at school pulled some out of a wall, didn't know what it was, and went rubbing it on everyones cheeks! Like the dickhead he is lol. Cue everyone having red and blotchy faces, and his nose somehow getting broken!
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[IronMaiden]

Cortizone cream is good for skin irritations. Over here it is called "Mylocort". Not sure if you can get a cream like this from your local pharmacy?

Cheers