Treatment for Pompholyx
IMPORTANT: Please get medical advice if you think you have this illness. The advice on this page is provided following internet research and should not be used as an alternative to consulting a doctor or dermatologist.
What treatments are available for Pompholyx?
Treatments for Pompholyx vary for individuals depending on what stage they are at. There is no instant cure for Pompholyx; it often takes a combination of treatments to bring relief.
It is vital to note that everyone is affected differently and that not all treatments will suit all sufferers. Take medical advice before trying any treatments yourself.
Cool compresses can be used to relieve and dry up the blisters. These soaks can be a solution made of vinegar and water. This needs to be done at least four times a day, and for at least quarter of an hour.
A moisturizer can be constantly applied to the inflicted area, this might help to reduce the itching and soften the skin, which can harden as a symptom of the ailment. It needs to be applied liberally up to three times a day.
A topical steroid is also at times prescribed to use at night to help with the inflamed area, and the itching. It is usually given at the later stages of the skin disorder. Antibiotics are also given to help combat any secondary infection that may develop but they are not used to treat Pompholyx itself. Also, individuals may have to wear gloves on the hand to prevent any further irritation, especially if the hands are often in water. In extreme cases, medications such as methotrexate and botulinum toxin are prescribed by a doctor for this condition.
All sufferers should remember that their skin is the most exposed part of your body. Every day it is attacked by an array of different elements: from the sun and the weather to chemicals that we use and the food that we eat. If you develop any sort of strange growth or rash, you should speak to your medical doctor or dermatologist about it. Pompholyx is a non life threatening aliment, but it is always better to make sure that it is properly treated.
It is vital to note that everyone is affected differently and that not all treatments will suit all sufferers. Take medical advice before trying any treatments yourself.
Cool compresses can be used to relieve and dry up the blisters. These soaks can be a solution made of vinegar and water. This needs to be done at least four times a day, and for at least quarter of an hour.
A moisturizer can be constantly applied to the inflicted area, this might help to reduce the itching and soften the skin, which can harden as a symptom of the ailment. It needs to be applied liberally up to three times a day.
A topical steroid is also at times prescribed to use at night to help with the inflamed area, and the itching. It is usually given at the later stages of the skin disorder. Antibiotics are also given to help combat any secondary infection that may develop but they are not used to treat Pompholyx itself. Also, individuals may have to wear gloves on the hand to prevent any further irritation, especially if the hands are often in water. In extreme cases, medications such as methotrexate and botulinum toxin are prescribed by a doctor for this condition.
All sufferers should remember that their skin is the most exposed part of your body. Every day it is attacked by an array of different elements: from the sun and the weather to chemicals that we use and the food that we eat. If you develop any sort of strange growth or rash, you should speak to your medical doctor or dermatologist about it. Pompholyx is a non life threatening aliment, but it is always better to make sure that it is properly treated.
Medications for Pompholyx
Use only the prescribed medicines (usually cortisone ointments) and lubricants such as Cutemol Emollient Cream. Do not use other lotions, creams, or medications without medical advice, they may irritate your skin.
Most Pompholyx attacks sort themselves out spontaneously within 1-3 weeks, but since the rash can be intensely itchy, the following medications may be used to speed healing or control the itching:
The following treatments have been used by Pompholyx sufferers. These are listed purely to show you that the symptoms can be addressed. You should not self-diagnose or self medicate. Please get medical advice if you think you might have pompholyx.
Cool compresses: Soaks or compresses using weak solutions of Condy's crystals (potassium permanganate), aluminium acetate, or vinegar in water, are applied for 15 minutes four times a day. This will dry up blisters. Compresses are not suitable for dry eczema.
Emollients: Emollients or hand creams, eg. dimeticone barrier cream, should be applied liberally and frequently to keep the skin soft.
Topical steroid: Potent topical steroids should be applied to the affected areas nightly. They help reduce inflammation and itching. The more potent products should not be used for more than two weeks unless your doctor advises otherwise. Steroid creams are used when the skin is blistered or weeping. Steroid ointments are used for the chronic dry stage.
Antibiotics: Antibiotics such as flucloxacillin should be prescribed by your doctor for secondary infection.
Systemic steroids: Sometimes cortisone preparations are prescribed by tablet or injection for severe cases. The condition clears dramatically but may recur just as severely after the medication is stopped. Long term treatment with these systemic steroids is rarely advisable because of undesirable side effects.
PUVA therapy: PUVA stands for Psoralen and UVA treatment. PUVA therapy can be useful in selected cases. This is a special kind of ultraviolet (UV) treatment. Several times weekly the affected areas are soaked in a special solution (psoralen, the P in PUVA), before exposure to long wave UV light. Psoralen also reduces the amount of UV light that is required. Treatment is usually continued for several months. Usually the measures described result in satisfactory control. Sooner or later the eruption subsides and disappears. This is an interesting description of PUVA here on Patient.co.uk.
Source: http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/pompholyx.html
Doctors tell us that the mainstays of treatment are topical corticosteroids or preparations containing corticosteroids plus antimicrobials, with or without an occlusive dressing to aid penetration, but the response to treatment can be unpredictable and only partially successful
Most Pompholyx attacks sort themselves out spontaneously within 1-3 weeks, but since the rash can be intensely itchy, the following medications may be used to speed healing or control the itching:
- Aluminium sub acetate, or Burrow's Solution, is a drying soak that can be used if the lesions ooze.
- Large blisters can be drained by a health care provider.
- Antibiotics may be needed if the skin is broken and infection is suspected.
- High strength topical steroids are often used to control itching.
- Severe cases may be treated with oral methotrexate.
- Aluminium chloride 20% (Drysol) may help in cases made worse by sweating.
- Oral anti-pruritics such as Atarax or Benadryl may alleviate itching.
- Hand creams or emollients can also provide the required results, but not for everyone.
- One commonly reported treatment is a product called Epitrex which can eliminate flare-ups in some cases.
The following treatments have been used by Pompholyx sufferers. These are listed purely to show you that the symptoms can be addressed. You should not self-diagnose or self medicate. Please get medical advice if you think you might have pompholyx.
Cool compresses: Soaks or compresses using weak solutions of Condy's crystals (potassium permanganate), aluminium acetate, or vinegar in water, are applied for 15 minutes four times a day. This will dry up blisters. Compresses are not suitable for dry eczema.
Emollients: Emollients or hand creams, eg. dimeticone barrier cream, should be applied liberally and frequently to keep the skin soft.
Topical steroid: Potent topical steroids should be applied to the affected areas nightly. They help reduce inflammation and itching. The more potent products should not be used for more than two weeks unless your doctor advises otherwise. Steroid creams are used when the skin is blistered or weeping. Steroid ointments are used for the chronic dry stage.
Antibiotics: Antibiotics such as flucloxacillin should be prescribed by your doctor for secondary infection.
Systemic steroids: Sometimes cortisone preparations are prescribed by tablet or injection for severe cases. The condition clears dramatically but may recur just as severely after the medication is stopped. Long term treatment with these systemic steroids is rarely advisable because of undesirable side effects.
PUVA therapy: PUVA stands for Psoralen and UVA treatment. PUVA therapy can be useful in selected cases. This is a special kind of ultraviolet (UV) treatment. Several times weekly the affected areas are soaked in a special solution (psoralen, the P in PUVA), before exposure to long wave UV light. Psoralen also reduces the amount of UV light that is required. Treatment is usually continued for several months. Usually the measures described result in satisfactory control. Sooner or later the eruption subsides and disappears. This is an interesting description of PUVA here on Patient.co.uk.
Source: http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/pompholyx.html
Doctors tell us that the mainstays of treatment are topical corticosteroids or preparations containing corticosteroids plus antimicrobials, with or without an occlusive dressing to aid penetration, but the response to treatment can be unpredictable and only partially successful
Find out more
This site provides you with some basic information about Pompholyx and the issues that arise from living with the ailment. If you want to do more research or if you want to know about treatments for Pompholyx and eczema we recommend searchig on Google.
2010