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Blisters on Hands

What Causes blisters on hands?

Having blisters on your hands can be a problem for anyone of any age. Before discussing what can be the causes of blisters on hands it is important that you know what a blister is. This is basically an injured area of your skin that has a developed a bubble-like appearance because of fluid that has accumulated between the layers of your skin. Some of the common causes of having blisters on hands can include:

Dyshidrosis

This is a type of eczema, which is a skin condition, will frequently cause multiple blisters on hands that can cause pain and itch at the same time. When these blisters break open they can be prone to developing an infection.

Friction injuries

This is the most common cause and can occur because of any type of movement that is repetitive like sweeping the floors, shoveling snow, raking the leaves, etc.

Burns

This can come being in a fire, touching a hot object, etc.

Some uncommon causes of blisters on hands can include:

Hand-foot-mouth disease

When having this medical condition you can develop small blisters with red borders and white centers that are painful on the palms of your hands.

Pompholyx

This is a chronic skin condition that can cause itchy blisters on the palms of your hands and the sides of your fingers that are normally red and scaly. They also ooze fluid.

Blisters on Hands Treatment

What treatment should be used depends on what causes your blisters on hands. If you have certain medical condition like diabetes, you should let your physician check it out to make sure that there are no complications from the blisters. One thing that you should not do is pop a blister because that could cause an infection. When you pop a blister the lower layers of your skin are exposed to the elements having an infection most likely to develop. Popping a blister does not make it heal faster. If the blister does need to be popped it should be done by your physician under conditions that are sterile in order to prevent an infection from setting in.

The best treatment for blisters on hands it to leave them alone and do nothing and try to not put any pressure on the blisters while it is healing naturally. You should keep it wrapped to help protect the blisters on hands from accidentally being popped and if they are popped the bandage or gauze you have wrapped around it will help to prevent something from getting into the opened blister.

If the blisters on hands were caused by any of these you can treat them by:

Friction blisters

You should cover it with a piece of gauze or bandage and let it heal naturally

Dyshidrosis blisters

You should apply an antibiotic ointment to the open blisters and cover with gauze or bandage. This type of blister is hard to self-treat so you should contact a dermatologist to make an accurate diagnosis of whether it is or is not Dyshidrosis.

Blisters from burns

Gently wash the blisters on hands with hydrogen peroxide or sterilized water and pat the area dry with done. Make sure that you avoid rubbing the area. You should then cover it very loosely with a piece of sterile gauze or bandage so bacteria cannot enter the blister. Depending on the degree of the burn you may want to see your physician for further treatment.

Hand-foot-mouth disease

There is no specific treatment for these blisters and normally the infection that is causing these blisters of hands will resolve itself within a week or less.

Pompholyx

To help these blisters on hands heal you should use compresses that have been soaked in Burrow’s solution or potassium permanganate. You can also use topical steroids to help decrease the itching and inflammation. When you see your physician or dermatologist they may give you antibiotics or use light therapy on the blisters to help them heal and to help prevent infections.

If the blisters on hands have not healed within four days you should see your physician because sometimes blisters on hands can be an indication of other illnesses and diseases like chicken pox, eczema, herpes, etc.