Hand and foot dermatitis

What is hand and foot dermatitis?

Hand and foot dermatitis, also known as hand and foot eczema, is an inflammatory dermatological condition affecting the hands and/or feet. It can be caused by contact dermatitis or atopic dermatitis, fungal infections, photoinduction, or environmental factors.

Common questions about hand and foot dermatitis

What are the symptoms of hand and foot dermatitis?

Symptoms include erythema, scaling, and skin thickening, which can progress to pruritic vesicles or bullae (dyshidrotic dermatitis or pompholyx, proposed as a subtype of hand and foot dermatitis). It commonly first manifests as small, pruritic, deep-seated, 1–2 mm fluid-filled vesicles on the hands and feet.

How prevalent is hand and foot dermatitis?

Hand dermatitis affects 14.5% of the general population. The prevalence of chronic hand dermatitis is approximately 1–5% of the population and is higher in females. Foot dermatitis frequently presents in combination with hand dermatitis but understanding of it is lacking.

What is the burden of hand and foot dermatitis?

Hand and foot dermatitis can cause both physical and psychological complications, including adverse effects on the ability to work, negative impact on quality of life equivalent to psoriasis, social stigma, and feelings of shame. The total annual cost to the USA of dyshidrotic dermatitis is $11,738,985.

How do you diagnose hand and foot dermatitis?

Hand and foot dermatitis is diagnosed by clinical evaluation, inferred from the location and appearance of skin lesions, and patient history, and when other causes are excluded. Skin scraping, patch testing, or skin biopsy may be used during clinical evaluation.

Are there any differential diagnoses of hand and foot dermatitis?

Differential diagnoses of hand and foot dermatitis include fungal infection and palmoplantar psoriasis. It can be difficult to distinguish hand and foot dermatitis from palmoplantar psoriasis. However, vesicles are possible with hand and foot dermatitis, but not with palmoplantar psoriasis.

What treatments are available for hand and foot dermatitis?

The standard of care for hand and foot dermatitis includes cleansing, topical moisturising creams or emollients, topical steroids, systemic agents, or physical therapies, such as phototherapy. As the underlying mechanisms of disease are further understood, new therapeutic targets have been identified, and emerging therapies are being investigated in clinical trials, including interleukin (IL)-4/IL-13 inhibitors and Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors.

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