posted
Anyone had these tiny red pinpoint dots on the TOP of their hands? Not the palms, the tops of your hands.
My knuckles are so red and hurt so bad, they will actually start to bleed like a tiny red dot bleeding. I almost always have on leather gloves lined with cashmere to protect my hands.
The web-part between my fingers are very red, sore and dry. I have had sore spots on the very end of my fingers (in between the skin and the end of my fingernail.)
Once, they looked like clear, raised ulcers or burn blisters. The rest of the time they look almost like small calluses. Strange looking. I remember having some of these a while back & had no clue what they were.
All of this is coming and going. The Raynaud's is the most severe it's EVERY been. Frequent, intense color changes and very painful ---- sometimes I can't help but cry.
I don't have the pinpoint dots all the time on the tops of my hands, and the calluses on the tips of my fingers under the nail come and go as well.
I DO develop calluses very easily on the INSIDE of my hand ---- at the base of my fingers where the palm starts. That's even when wearing heavy-duty garden gloves and sweeping the sidewalk. I don't even TRY that anymore.
I just now discovered a red dot on my left wrist. It's about 2-3" down from where your wrist bends. It's on the top of my arm, and I just happened to notice it right now. It's the same size as the ones I've developed on my hands.
Yes, my hands have been dry (unusual) - but it's been cold/hot/cold/hot here in Houston. My face, lips and inside of my mouth have been REALLY dry.
Very strange for my face to be dry.......I'm very oily, plus you can imagine the humidity factor here! This is sooooooooo weird and tiresome and annoying and painful.
My hands burn and the Raynaud's gets way worse when I try to bath or do anything with water. And yes, I moisturize the heck out of my hands with everything, including cow udder ointment!
My sed rate is 40, which is not normal for me. The rheumatologist (who I saw for the 1st time almost 2 weeks ago) said, "yep, you've got Raynaud's.......blah......
Told me to keep warm, wear gloves, socks, etc. I ALREADY HAVE BEEN LIVING LIKE THAT FOREVER!!!!!!
Anyone have any suggestions???????? Questions, etc.? I've got just about every dx known.
HELP ME!!! It gets so bad, I can't use my hands!
Thanks from the bottom of my heart, terri3boys
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
| IP: Logged |
sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
You might need to try using a small amount of 0.5% hydrocortisone cream to help break the cycle of inflammation. Apply it 2-3x daily, for a couple days, to the red area on your knuckles and between your fingers.
You also mentioned a red rash on the tops of your hands, does your skin feel sore there? Does it burn or itch? If so, try putting the hydrocortisone on this area too.
Also, pay attention when you wash your hands. Use gentle soap and dry your hands thoroughly. This is extremely important. Not drying well is very irritating to your skin.
You might also want to think about switching moisturizers if your's isn't working well. I like "Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream". It is made for babies with eczema. It soaks in quickly and relieves the pain of terribly dry hands. This is good for the day.
At night I like to use Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula hand cream. It is thicker and leaves my hands feeling greasier but I don't mind because I put it on before bed.
Camille Beckman also makes a very good thick hand cream. This is probably my favorite night cream. Sometimes I have trouble finding it in the stores. Some Hallmarks carry it. Small gift shops and Cracker Barrels might have it too.
Another thought, I'm wondering if wearing gloves all the time is a good idea. Maybe the leather and cashmere combo is not letting your hands breath properly. Have you tried simple cotton gloves? Just a thought, I know, my hands are always cold too. I struggle with poor circulation and neuropathy problems. And yes, they change colors, they hurt and tingle and turn numb too.
You also said that your face, lips, and mouth have been really dry. Are you in the part of Texas where it has been cold lately? Have you been running a heater or fireplace? If so, you can try running a cool mist vaporizer (warm grows mold) or boil some water on the stove to add moisture back into the air. And try to drink more water to rehydrate yourself.
Fish oil supplements and coconut oil might also help your skin and overall dryness too.
Sorry this reply turned out to be so long. I hope that you find something here to help you feel a little better Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have it too, terri .. but pray it will never be as bad as yours! I'm so sorry to hear this!!
sammy has some good suggestions!!
Anything you can take as an anti-inflammatory would help. I take Cortef ( for adrenals and inflammation) and Xango for inflammation.
My Raynaud's is bad mainly when I handle cold items like frozen veggies or something. It gets very cold here, but I've had a pretty good winter, all things considered.
Do you have Sjogren's too? Sounds like a possibility.
How is your Lyme treatment going?? Could be that successful treatment would improve the Raynaud's??
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
You said your sedimentation rate is 40, which shows you have inflammation in the body.
Something that may help is pharmaceutical quality fish oil, 3000 mg daily.
OmegaBrite Omega 3 Mood Carlson's Lemon Flavored Fish Oil
This reduces inflammation and conditions the skin. My dry chapped hands and feet cleared up when I took fish oil.
Reducing inflammation in the body will ease joint pain, headaches, improve mental health symptoms.
Carol
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
Pinelady
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18524
posted
There is a new RMSF being reported in CA that they
do not know much about. I don't know if it could be
related....We do know lyme makes our system crazy.
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic