How hand eczema affects people’s lives
The hands are one of the most common parts of the body to be affected by eczema.
As well as having a physical effect, hand eczema can also have a psychological, economic and social impact on people’s lives.
Because we use our hands so much every day, the itching, painful blisters and cracks in the skin can make doing even the simplest tasks difficult. If you suffer from hand eczema, even preparing food, washing dishes, or using a pen can be a challenge. This can make looking after yourself, looking after your family and holding down a job extremely difficult.
In a Danish study, almost a quarter of hand eczema sufferers were so badly affected that they reported losing their jobs during the previous 12 months.
In the workplace
Irritant contact hand eczema is the most common work-related skin condition. This is because some jobs expose the people who perform them to irritants, and some of these are impossible to avoid.
The Health and Safety Executive is an organisation dedicated to protecting people against risks to health or safety arising out of work activities. According to them, of 3600 newly-diagnosed cases of work-related skin disease by specialist physicians, 80% (8 out of 10) were contact eczema. The good news is that the estimated number of cases appears to be going down. You can help by protecting your hands during activities that might trigger eczema flare-ups while at work.
Some professions are at higher risk of hand eczema, so if you work in one of these, you should take special care. You might like to try the tips we’ve listed in Tips for managing hand eczema in the Treatment section.
Some of the high-risk professions are:
Your Employer
Your employer has a duty to protect your health, safety and welfare whilst you are at work, and must take reasonable measures to achieve this.
This means making sure that you and others are protected from anything that may cause harm, including hand eczema ‘triggers’. If you find that a substance at work is causing or aggravating your hand eczema, you should tell your employer about it so that they can take reasonable measures to prevent it from happening.
If you work in a job that is recognised as being at high risk for hand eczema, your employers should already be taking some precautions. In particular, the ‘Health and Safety Executive: Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992’ requires employers to provide appropriate protective clothing and equipment for their employees.
At home
However, hand eczema doesn’t just affect people at work. Because chemicals in cleaning products and frequent exposure to water can be linked to it, even cleaning your home could result in hand eczema.
For mothers
The same factors can result in hand eczema in women with young babies. Constant cleaning up and washing of the hands, which are common when you are looking after a baby, can lead to hand eczema.
Your hobbies
Some hobbies may also be associated with it. Gardening is commonly associated with hand eczema because plants themselves can cause allergic contact eczema as can the chemicals used in gardening. Certain gloves that you may wear while gardening can also cause allergic contact eczema, as can the drying effects of dealing with soil and frequent exposure to water.
Sleep
The pain and discomfort caused by hand eczema can also affect sleep, which can lead to exhaustion.
Social embarrassment
Some people get very embarrassed by the way their hands look when they are suffering with hand eczema. This may mean that they avoid going out in public, or wear gloves to stop people seeing their hands.
In depression
Not being able to easily manage day-to-day life can be very upsetting and can cause some people to feel hopeless, especially if their hand eczema has developed into chronic (long-standing) hand eczema. It’s not surprising that a number of people with work-related hand eczema also suffer from depression.
"It was so bad, I couldn’t sleep"
"I was constantly in tears because I just couldn’t move my hands"
There is good news…
There is some good news though. No matter how helpless you may feel, there are ways of managing and treating hand eczema that can help you. Your hand eczema may come and go, or you may be fortunate and only have one attack. The severity of your hand eczema may also vary. Everyone’s experience is different. Even those who suffer from more severe or chronic hand eczema find successful ways of dealing with their condition.
"You can still see where it was, especially on my palms, so it’s slightly red still, but it’s much better than it was"
"Out of the 6 years, I’d say maybe 5 months have been really severe"
"I can go for months and you wouldn’t know that I had it; and I go through a spate when it is really bad"
The trick is spotting and treating your hand eczema early, before it becomes worse, and finding a treatment and management strategy that works for you. This website contains information about managing and treating hand eczema, but it is no substitute for seeing a healthcare professional. Only they will be able to diagnose you properly, and advise you on management techniques and treatment specific to your hand eczema. Work with your healthcare professional to find the right strategy for you.
"Some of it, I know, was triggered by latex at the beginning...various hand creams...citrus is a no go. I can’t put citrus on my hands because it will flare up"
"I think it flared up worse when I was a bit stressed"
If your hand eczema is having a psychological, economic (affecting your ability to work) or social impact on you visit your GP to discuss treatment options or to ask for a referral to a Dermatologist/skin specialist