Peeling skin can occur as a result of direct damage from external factors or as a sign of an immune system disorder or other medical condition. Understanding the causes and treatment of peeling hands will help you quickly improve this uncomfortable condition.
1. Causes of peeling skin on the hands
Many people often experience this condition and wonder: ”What disease causes peeling skin on the fingertips?”. Generally, peeling hands is an unintended injury that removes the outer layer of the skin. There are several causes of peeling hands such as:
- Washing hands too frequently: Washing hands too often with soap can unintentionally remove the skin’s protective oil layer. When the oil is lost, the skin can no longer retain moisture, leading to peeling hands. Therefore, you should only wash your hands when necessary, moisturize, and avoid drying your skin with rough paper towels.
- Harsh weather: Extremely cold, dry weather or the humidity in the air is lower, which can cause the skin on the palms to peel or crack. The peeling condition may worsen if you don’t wear gloves when going outside.
- UV rays: The harmful effects of UV rays can cause sunburn, pain, swelling and redness before peeling occurs. To minimize the damage caused by UV rays to your skin, you can wear thick, dark-colored gloves, avoid going outside between 10 a.m and 4 p.m (when UV rays are the strongest), and apply sunscreen, etc.
- Children sucking their thumbs: Thumb-sucking is a common habit among young children and can lead to peeling hands. This occurs because saliva comes into contact with the fingers, causing moisture loss from the skin. In addition, some adults may chew on their fingertips when stressed, which can also lead to skin peeling hands.
- Exposure of hands to chemicals: Household cleaning products such as: soap, detergent, dishwashing liquid, ect., can directly damage the integrity of skin cells, causing peeling with frequent contact
- Vitamin imbalance: Both vitamin deficiency and excess can lead to peeling hands. A lack of vitamin B3 or excess of vitamin A can result in skin peeling. If you have a vitamin deficiency, you should supply more green vegetables, fruits and other nutritious foods.
Moreover, peeling hands can also be caused by factors such as soaking in hot water, excessive sweating of the hands, nail and skin fungal infections, eczema, dyshidrosis, psoriasis or Kawasaki disease…
2. How to treat peeling hands:
In addition to the treatments for hand peeling caused by the reasons mentioned above, you can try the following methods:
- Honey: Honey is a natural moisturizer that helps attract moisture from the environment to the skin’s surface. Apply honey to the affected areas and leave it on for half an hour, then gently rinse off, repeat this three times a day. This method is quite effective in helping to treat peeling hands.
- Oats: Add oat to a large bowl of warm water and wait for it to soften. Then soak your hands in the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes. The oat mixture helps to provide moisture and nourish the skin on your hands.
- Skincare with cucumber: cut the cucumber into thick slices and rub them on the peeling areas of your hands for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, wash your hands with warm water and massage with a good moisturizer or vitamin E oil
- Apply coconut oil or olive oil: apply coconut oil to the peeling skin several times a day. You can also moisturize at night and wash your hands the next morning. If you don’t have coconut oil, you can substitute it with olive oil, applying it 1-2 times a day. This method is effective in softening the skin.
- Drink enough water: To prevent peeling hands and other areas, you should drink enough water daily. Especially on dry days, you should drink more water. On average, you should drink 200-300 ml of water every morning upon waking up and aim to consume 1.5 - 2 liters of water daily.
- Shower correctly: Avoid taking hot showers, as this can strip away the protective oil layer on your skin, making it drier. However, don’t shower with cold water either; warm water is best. Shower for a reasonable amount of time and avoid staying too long. Be careful while washing and avoid scrubbing harshly.
- Use moisturizing cream: Some moisturizing creams rich in vitamin E can help treat peeling hands. You should consult a doctor to choose a suitable hand cream for your skin.
- Betel leaves: Betel leaves are useful for conditions where hand peeling is accompanied by pus, blisters, or yellow discharge. Wash the betel leaves, crush them, and squeeze out the juice. Apply the juice to the affected areas 3 times a day, and wash it off with clean water after 60 minutes. Repeat this daily for 3-4 weeks, and you’ll notice a significant reduction in peeling and small blisters on the fingertips. Combining this with nightly moisturizing will make the skin on your fingertips much smoother.
If after following some simple remedies as mentioned above, your skin does not heal or if you experience fever, increased yellow discharge, cracking, pus, or worsening symptoms, you should see a doctor for treatment.
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