UGLY Hands, and Foot

[Manders]

Pix of my right hand and foot, am I just a baby? or does this look at all bad?


Manda

[MikeK]

Oh, Manda! That looks so painful! You're not being a big baby, you're trying to deal with one of the worst forms of psoriasis in the best way that you know how!

Feel better!

I hope and pray that you find something that works for you.

Mike

[Manders]

Awww... Thanks!

I didnt get a very good one of my hand, it doesnt look half as red and peely on the pix, I had to take it w/ my phone cam cause my b/fs using the Digital.

And to be honest I just didnt know if it was bad or not, I mean, I have never met anyone w/ psoriasis, so I have NOTHING to compare it to.

I would really love to see everyone elses Poriasis, is that gross? But like I said I've never seen anyone w/ P but me. So Pix welcome!

[bratsareus]

You are not being a baby, because if you are then I am too. Yours look like mine. It sucks. Here are some links to some people with this kind of P.
http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9939&page=100&pp=20

http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16816&highlight=keflex+ppp

on this one my post is number 8. pics of my feet and hands
http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16844&highlight=pics+feet

If you read some of these posts, it tells about how some people have had success with using antibiotics for a extended period of time with our type of P. Its something you might want to talk to your doctor about. Hang in there girl.
Patty

[femaletrouble]

No, you are not being a baby! That looks like it would be so painful, I totally feel for you.

[grannyfranny]

Manda,,,I know what you are going through. I have had pppp for 41 years.
I have been to a million derms and tried a gazillion meds,,,,nothing worked.
In 2003, I got mad and took matters into my own hands. I said I have had enough of this. I bought a wheelchair and stayed off my feet. I quit using my hands,,,in other words, I went on a strike!
I got a lot better. Went through my insurance to get a scooter to do my walking at stores, malls, etc. I believe any stress to the skin,,,walking, shoes, even touching things with my hands would make me get new places. Once I drove from Ohio to Colorado and my palms broke out really bad,,,after the trip, I got better. I use to ride my bike a lot and my palms stayed bad,,,,after I quit riding, they got better.
Buy some CROC shoes,,,,,ugly but so comfy. I bought a pair about months ago and that is all I have worn since then.

I still kept trying medicine. The newest one were Enbrel, Soriatane and MTX. These meds do nothing but make me worse and I flared every time I got off them. I do use Dovonex and Clobetasol, alternately. It wasn't until I got a staph infection that I found out that an antibiotic is very helpful. Then my husband's derm told him that about 25% of people respond to an antibiotic. No derm has ever told me that. Even this one,,,I went to him and he wanted to do Kenalog injections. I told him I would rather have p as I had already been through injections in the palm of my hands,,,,ouch,ouch,ouch! Don't ever let a doctor do that!

I am still on Keflex. Getting better is slow but it's working. Ask your doctor to give it a try,,,,Keflex, 500mg 2xdaily for 2-3 months. Two weeks will not do it.
I would suggest that you NEVER NEVER take oral steroids like Prednisone.

I hope you find something soon because I know how miserable this can be.

[jennab711]

As Granny said, NO prednisone. It will clear you, and KILL you. Not literally! I had gotton to a bad point with my placque psoriasis. So my derm decided to try kenalog, then prednisone. That is when I found out what PPPP was. OH MY GOD. I feel for you. It hurts SOOOOOOO freakin bad!!!! Mine was, I believe, just a response to prednisone. I went to Boston Medical Center, and my wonderful NEW derm put me on cyclosporine. God I LOVE HIM!!!!Once I popped all the blisters, all 10,000 of them, not infectious puss btw, cut away all my thick dead skin on my palms and soles, the pppp hasn't been back. Cyclosporine knocked it on its be-hind. Thank god. Hang in there and let granny be an inspiration to us all. Jen

[sabsmako]

I don't think I could ever live with P on the palms of my hands and the bottoms of my feet. Definately makes you a stronger person for having to deal with it.

[jennab711]

Agree, I have become a much, much, so much stronger person after dealing with tis disease. We have no choice........xoxoxoxox

[grannyfranny]

As Granny said, NO prednisone. It will clear you, and KILL you. Not literally! I had gotton to a bad point with my placque psoriasis. So my derm decided to try kenalog, then prednisone. That is when I found out what PPPP was. OH MY GOD. I feel for you. It hurts SOOOOOOO freakin bad!!!! Mine was, I believe, just a response to prednisone. I went to Boston Medical Center, and my wonderful NEW derm put me on cyclosporine. God I LOVE HIM!!!!Once I popped all the blisters, all 10,000 of them, not infectious puss btw, cut away all my thick dead skin on my palms and soles, the pppp hasn't been back. Cyclosporine knocked it on its be-hind. Thank god. Hang in there and let granny be an inspiration to us all. Jen


Jen,,,prednisone can kill! It was a cause of my brother's death.
Prednisone camouflages symptoms. My brother had very bad asthma and got an infection. The doctors kept giving him more Prednisone. The infection spread to his heart. Before the doctors found where it had spread,,,,he died.
38 years old!

[Manders]

Can people die from psoriasis?!

Manda

[MikeK]

Hi Manda,

There's two VERY serious but fortunately very rare forms of psoriasis -- Erythrodermic (http://www.psoriasis.org/about/psoriasis/erythrodermic.php) and Von Zumbusch psoriasis (which is also known as generalized pustular psoriasis) (http://www.psoriasis.org/about/psoriasis/pustular.php) which can sometimes lead to fatal complications. Those complications are usually secondary infections. About 250 people die each year.

Fortunately, both forms of psoriasis are so rare that most people never have to worry about them.

I hope that this helps.

Mike

[JillyBean]

Hi Manda,

No, you are not being a baby at all. My feet and hand look a lot like yours and I know how badly it hurts. This is very hard stuff to deal with. When I'm flaring, nothing helps the burn/itch. When I'm not, vaseline and wrapping my feet in desitin and saran wrap at night keeps they well moistured and stops the pain of the air hitting my tender spots. Hang in there!

Jill

[jennab711]

I did the same when I was that bad. Except I was told for about a week to use my clobetasol instead of vaseline when It was still pustular. Every nite, I slathered it on, wrapped in saran wrap, white "inspection" gloves, and TRIED to sleep. My hands and feet would get so sweaty though. and ITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! soooooooo bad. I took ambien to get to sleep and get thru the nite. It was a good sleep aid. This keeps coming up, but I highly rec. this drug, it is very nice, no sleepyness. It just allowed your eyes to close when they were ready. No drowsiness inthe am either. My mom works in a dr office so she got me surgical scissors. It is VERY importaint to cut away all that dead skin, it will feel a lot better. But dont cut too close to the edge, then you will cause fissures. Good luck. I was very fortunate so far, once that initial layer was gone it did not come back. The pppp anyways........lots of luck....Jen

[jdeldrid]

Your foot looks very much like mine.

I've been on soriatane for about a year. The side effects aren't pleasant -- lost a great deal of hair, but I had a lot to start with, and had very dry skin, which I dealt with by using Cetaphil cream religiously -- but it works pretty well for me. I still get blisters, but only on my hands, and they clear up within a week. I also use Tazorac and, occasionally, clobetasol, which is a strong steriod.

However, I developed PA over the summer and just today started Enbrel. I'm hoping that I can ditch the Soriatane once the Enbrel kicks in.

[electriccafe]

Well, here's a pic of my hands... like your pics, the redness isn't really showing up, but you can see the swelling and rash.

I'll try to get pics of my feet for you, but they are so much worse than my hands, my husband gags when he sees them. I'm actually afraid he won't touch me again until I get this solved!

I've been using Clobetasol for a week. Things seem to be getting better, but I can't believe how slow it is.

It hurts, itches, and is embarassing. My feet are bloody and the only saving grace is that my patches are limited to the arches, so walking around is fine. I haven't left the house except for essentials, but am not sure how long I can live like this.

[grannyfranny]

Linda,
I just posted to you in the thread that you started.

http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17989
I will add that my husband helps me all he can. You need to educate your husband,,,,,get him to read about this and help him understand that this is not your fault and you are still the same person as before. We just had our 47th anniversary and all but the first 6 years have been with psoriasis. He helps with meds in places that are hard to reach,,,even when I was "sick and tired" of ointments, he would put them on. He has cut the dead flakes from the side of my left foot because I can't cut on that side.

Ask, him, does he think you would not help him if he has a problem? That is one thing that marriage is all about,,,helping each other, through the bad times as well as the good ones. I helped him through 2 serious surgeries and he has helped me through 6. He even had the nerve :) to get the mumps when he was 28 years old and I was pregnant and had a 5 month old child. Yes,,,I took good care of him through it all.

[summerr]

My feet and hands look like that too! I have taken tons of pictures and provided them to my derm. He says it's textbook pustular psoriasis. Mine seems to be related to an allergy with Cobalt - diesel exhaust....It hurts so bad to walk sometimes.

[RichJ]

hi summerr,
sorry i can't help much but welcome to the p family. you have met some of the wonderful people on here and will find alot of great info. welcome and nice to meet you, sorry to here you have a hard time walking. maybe some one will come through and help you

have a good night all

richard

[RebeccaSK]

I just found this thread (thanks for bumping it up!) and I can't believe how my similar my feet and hands look to everyone elses -- right down to it being in the identical places.

I'm fortunate that it doesn't hurt though -- I'm a tough old broad. My hands, especially my fingertips do hurt from time to time and I did have a nasty crack on the bottom of right little toe (right in the crease) that hurt like hell if I touched it, but for the most part, the pain from this is minimal. Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself.

I've been out of the hospital for about two weeks -- I was hospitalized with an infection in a psoriasis plaque on my right leg. I am taking massive doses of antibiotics (levaquin 500mg 1x/day and clindamycin 450mg 3x/day) to this day and have another week to go on them. Despite having two IV antibiotics running for 7 days in the hospital, I'm still not rid of this infection and if you ask me, I think a new one has popped up in the same general area.

My PPP, particularly on my palms, got so bad in the hospital that I grabbed my hospital doctor by his tie and dragged him right in my face and said, "GET ME A DERM STAT!" He did. LOL

I have been plagued with not being able to find a decent derm. I was admitted to the hospital on a Friday night and doctor actually laughed when I said I wanted a derm the first time. For the most part, the derms here in Houston want to treat the pretty side of dermatology -- they aren't interested in diseases. There are some good ones, but you generally have to wait months to get into to see them or they aren't on my insurance. I'm now seeing the derms at the University of Texas Health Science Center and I think I'm finally at the right place.

I'm going off on a tangent... sorry. Those pictures really amazed me though. I'm sorry that we are all having to go through this. And I'm really sorry for all your pains.

[bratsareus]

Rebecca, I'm almost sure you have found the right place. I see a derm and rheumy at The University ofTexas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and this is the best treatment I have ever had. So I wish you the best of luck.
Patty

[crustysurfa]

Ugly hand club member myself .

[SuzanneT]

Oh, darn! I didn't really want to join the Ugly Hand and Foot Club!!!

[kkellogg]

I'm a Member Too... love and hugs to everyone and a re-post of my cold compress procedure - it helps me so very much when I am really bad and just can't keep going:

"When I have bad flares, my mom or my bf help me with these and they are so soothing for my feet and hands and my fatigue from literelly walking around on my p and losing serious amounts of sleep from the pain. We use milk for mine - but you could certainly just use water if allergy is a worry. You really do need someone to help you - the loving care is as important as the cooling relief.

For the milk wraps you will need a large bowl or bucket filled with ice, milk (preferably skim - two gallons), tea towels (not terry cloth - too irritating on raw skin), bath towels, a nice calm place (bed), a blanket and someone to help you.

Soak the tea towels in the ice milk (the smaller size is easier to deal with - you will need several). Wring them out (not too much). Wrap your feet and hands. Then wrap the dry bath towels around the wet towels. Find a comfortable position, place one more wet wash cloth on your forhead (or your whole face), have someone cover you with a blanket and relax until all the cold is gone. Repeat. I usually go through three or four rounds in a session. Then pass out.

It is really cold at first - but very relieving for me. The key is to have a bit of time, be sure the next thing you do is sleep, and have someone help you - it sort of defeats the purpose otherwise. Oh - and don't forget to wipe down with fresh (no milk, just water) washclothes when you are done - so you don't go to bed all sticky. Moisturize (aquaphor healing ointment is nice) while your skin is damp.

Don't forget over the counter pain relievers (tylenol, etc.) on a regular basis (if you can tolerate them and they don't interfere with anything else you may be taking). Keep on a good regimine to get a handle on the pain and inflammation. And keep hydrated."

[lulu'smom]

OH how totally painful! I'm sorry for what you are going thru, and you totally are not a baby. I can't imagine being able to do just about anything with palm or foot psoriasis.


Crustysurfa (I think I wrote that right)...my hands looked a lot like yours. I'm on Humira now, and I just have some lingering redness.

[crustysurfa]

OH how totally painful! I'm sorry for what you are going thru, and you totally are not a baby. I can't imagine being able to do just about anything with palm or foot psoriasis.


Crustysurfa (I think I wrote that right)...my hands looked a lot like yours. I'm on Humira now, and I just have some lingering redness.

Thanks !
I just don't want to go that route .

Clobex spray is my next treatment .
I'm pretty much resigned to just living with it though .
Cs.