A: The diagnosis is contact dermamitis. It may not appear on the hands only but may also occur on the face and other body parts as patient may touch any of his/her body parts unknowingly.
As in this case, she works as a florist. She has been touching and packing flowers day in and day out for a prolonged period of time. The chemical or pesticides on the flowers act as the irritant inducing this chronic condition.
Initially, the skin feels dry. Later on, inflammation may set in with pain and rash occur in the finger webs and may spread to the palms and back of the hands. When the skin starts to crack, it tends to be quite sore.
The ultimate treatment aim is to identify and avoid the causative irritant substance. Creams are useful to relief itch and pain symptomatically.
Dr. Tan ♥
