[Larken85]

I don't know what this is and its been getting worse slowly over the passed year (started about 10 months ago, just before I moved to my dads). I have little clusters of white bumps that develop on my hands. It started in-between my fingers and got worse there and has now (within the passed 3 days) shown up on my right palm. They itch like crazy. My first thought was dryness however moisturizers don't do any good (It seemed like they were working at first but I have discovered that they aren't doing anything for it.) Whatever it is, is spreading and very annoying. Also to add to this, (I believe this is totally unrelated because I have had this other issue for over 4 years now and there are no bumps that come with this one) my scrotum seems to be irritated by something although it doesn't seem to be an allergy because I have tried wearing all different types of underwear and it makes no difference. The reason I bring this up is only because its just about the same itching sensation but its even worse due to sweating. I have no clue about skin related issues and the dermatologist I seen told me it was dryness (which I know is not right). I was at one point treated for a fungus in my nether regions but still have no idea what she seen there and it never stopped the itching. (When she looked down there she immediately stated that there was a type of jock itch in that area and she could see it... (I have never seen any difference in my skin down there so I don't know what she was talking about.) Here is what I know of my issues thus far. For the hands... Benedryl gel burns like crazy but does dull the itching sensation, moisturizer does dull the sensation for a few moments but doesn't do any real good. The little bumps always show up in a small to medium cluster and cause itching before they show up on the skin. For my privates... washing with anti-bacterial soap holds the itching off until I wake up, moisturizer seems to help in that venture. Baby powder doesn't do much good but when I am sweating down there it does seem to help a little. I see no visible irritation on the skin of my scrotum or surrounding areas except for the scratch marks I have left. And for both areas (privates more than the hands) the urge to itch the areas is impossible to ignore and I keep causing scratches and scars to appear in both areas. The urge to itch these areas (if ignored) drives me insane, especially if I am tired. So any clues to what it is? I can attach a picture of my hand issues if need be. (my theory is that it may actually be jock itch that is spreading and was never fully cured and to test this theory out I am headed upstairs right now to spray some foot fungus medication on my palm to see if it does any good)

[joypulv]

Too dry? Too moist is the common reason. Try some Lotrimin in a tube for your hands and a spray for your crotch. Keep as dry as possible, no moisturizers. Cotton underwear, loose lightweight pants. Sit around the house naked if you can. I'm not saying it's a fungus, but that's a good guess, and itchy skin rashes, unless shingles, are not serious. You can Google lots of pictures of various conditions to see if you see your kind of bumps. Fungi can settle into any fold on the body, even the smile creases from your nose to mouth. Athlete's foot and jock itch of course are the most common.

[Larken85]

http://www.skinsight.com/adult/dyshidroticDermatitis.htm I found a picture here that looks almost exact to mine. The tiny little bumps are about the same and are described to show up on the palm and sides of the fingers (which is what this does.) it doesn't however say anything about hitting the crotch... It says it can affect your feet and hands. I'm sure though, that if you can get it on your skin at all then it can go all over the place. Also, a small update, I sprayed some tinactin for foot fungus on my palm and it almost instantly stopped the itching. Only time it is itching right now is when I touch it. And I am a little afraid to spray that stuff down there, it burns really badly if I do almost to the point of tears because of all the scratches and stuff. I will test it out when I heal up a bit down there. I can heal without causing a lot of damage for a short period. I know its far to soon to say conclusively that it's a fungus, but I can say that my palm hasn't not itched in 3 days and immediately after I sprayed that stuff on it just stopped itching so... I guess we will see...

[LadySam]

Regarding your hands, has your job or job description changed, Are you exposed to chemicals or cleaners that you weren't exposed to before? Is it possible to wear gloves if that is the case?
Has a dermatologist looked at your hands? Could be that an anti-fungal or hydrocortisone type cream could give you a little relief.
Moisturizers may act as an irritant if the skin is already damaged by scratching.
As to what it actually is only a Doctor may be able to tell you.
Regarding the problem "down south" I don't know what that could be either, but one thing you might try, along with the loose, cotton clothing.
Check your laundry products, detergents with additives have caused me skin irritations in the past, Maybe worth giving products free of frangrances and dyes a try, including fabric softeners, and dryer sheets.

[joypulv]

You could have two conditions.
Maybe try an ointment on your crotch instead of spray to help with the pain from scratching.
I have known a few people who were allergic to paper money of all things, and you could look into that for your hands. Especially since the cause is unknown.

[J_9]

Do you come into contact with Latex at all?

[LadySam]

Those pictures look very similar to something that I had on my hands years ago, My hands were always in chemicals or wet or both.
At its' worse I actually could not wrap my hands around my steeering wheel to drive.
I wound up at the dermatology clinic more than once and of course had to buy very expensive steroid creams, but they worked, not saying that yours is the same thing I had, just looks familiar to me.

[J_9]

Those pictures look very similar to something that I had on my hands years ago, My hands were always in chemicals or wet or both.
At its' worse I actually could not wrap my hands around my steeering wheel to drive.
I wound up at the dermatology clinic more than once and of course had to buy very expensive steroid creams, but they worked, not saying that yours is the same thing I had, just looks familiar to me.

Looks very similar to the latex allergies I see at work too!

[Larken85]

I never come into contact with latex, and the only chemicals I touch are soaps and anti-bacterial hand sanitizer. I do not believe these to be the issue. Especially considering that they help for a short while. And I have changed laundry soaps a few times, and there has been no difference due to that. My step-mother (not a doctor) insists it looks like an allergic reaction but I simply don't know what it is and an allergic reaction just doesn't make sense to me. I don't come into contact with the same things often unless like was previously stated Money. That's kind of odd but not only do I come into contact with that very often but also it has chemicals on it in the inks and the paper itself. That could be the issue but I don't see a way to avoid contact with money unless I wear rubber gloves to the bank (and they may get the wrong idea from that one lol. Also, I used to work in a hospital and got fired roughly a year ago (actually almost to the day now) and it was shortly after that that this started happening with my hands. I was unemployed for several months until March and have changed jobs once since then from a hardware store to a car parts store. But I don't really come into contact with chemicals at all and haven't in a while.

[J_9]

Dude, if you work at a car parts store you come into contact with latex constantly!

[joypulv]

Contact from products generally is from either chemicals (including inks) and proteins.
Some are white flour, cosmetics, and textiles/paper products (chemicals).
Latex rubber, saliva, meat, fish and vegetables (proteins).
It wouldn't be a big deal to wear some thin cotton gloves at work.

[J_9]

If you do have a latex allergy, you don't even have to touch it. Just being in proximity can cause an outbreak.

[Larken85]

I have worn latex gloves on several occasions and even condoms, latex doesn't bother me. But the deciding factor behind this all is, I wasn't coming into contact with any of these things (with the exception of household things) when it all started. I was unemployed and sitting around the house 9 times out of 10. More likely than any chemical reaction is something stress related but I'm just not stressed anymore so if I was stress you'd figure it would have stopped by now. Only thing I am stressing about now is getting a new car and that's not even that big of a worry for me. I am going to try treating it as a fungus, 2 hours after applying the fungal spray, the white substance it applies has faded away and the bumps in that specific area are now almost invisible and do not itch at all. Odd that it would work that fast though... I wonder if it is an excessive water content in the skin made worse by moisturizers and the tenactin spray sucked the moisture out causing the bumps to dissipate.. Does this sound plausible to anyone?

[joypulv]

It sounds fungal. Given that the bumps are whitish rather than red, that would make sense.
And yes to moisturizers making it worse.
Even dermatologists sometimes throw darts at the dart board when it comes to rashes.

[Larken85]

Well I wish she would have actually taken the time to test it and confirm what it was. I have been dealing with all this for years now and its messed with myself esteem. (I mean what girl wants to mess with a guy that has a skin condition and a vital area and doesn't even know what it is. I can see that being a huge turn off so I don't even try). I bet the entire problem is fungus considering it all started after a trip to Arkansas where my old fiancé and I expiermented sexually for the first and last time (totally another subject) but I came into contact with her feet in my privates (had totally forgotten about that until now or at least not considered it as a cause of this). It would be no hard feat for a fungus in myt privates to spread to my hands. I almost wouldn't doubt it is the same type of fungus affecting different body parts differently. And I have stratch marks around my inner thighs and there are little folds of skin that the fungus may have gotten into which makes me think that may be the reason those itch all the time too. (do stretch marks usually itch?) I am totally going for broke on this theory that its all fungal and not a skin disease or allergic reaction. Although it may be several things, I should take care of these things one at a time. And figure it out as I go. I am going to head to walmart tonight after work and pick up some cream and more spray and see what that does for me. If it acts like my hand at all it will be a totally welcome and overdue relief. Thanks for all the advice guys and gals, I will keep this post going until I figure out the entirity of the issue.

[joypulv]

Except that she did diagnose your crotch itch (fungus) correctly, and you didn't follow through on treatment, or call her back? Is she the one who also told you your hands were dry, and was this in person or on the phone?
I'm sorry you waited years for something so treatable. It could be gone in a week or less.

[Larken85]

Well I didn't believe her about the fungus cause I could not see it and the stuff she prescribed didn't do the job. I did the full treatment however I was never able to stop itching for it to work correctly. Now that I have a better handle on it it may work this time. She didn't tell me about my hands, actually I haven't seen anyone about the hands yet, I just figured it was dryness. Conversely though, it was moisture or even a fungal infection on my hands. I was being a little stupid about it but I thought I could fix it on my own without advice from other people. I was wrong I guess. And I thank you all for helping me find a solution even if it was an obvious one I should have retried a long time ago. Perhaps I just didn't treat it long enough the last time and it just made a comeback and stayed and recently gotten worse. I won't know until I treat myself for it again.

[joypulv]

It may not have worked the first time because you have folds in your skin. You are going to have to shower, dry really well maybe with help of a fan, lie down naked, and apply the ointment, and stay like the da Vinci man in the circle for half an hour a day. Once it's not painful, switch to a spray. Plus you really should get some cotton gloves for your hands for when you sleep. Antique dealers have them. Look on eBay maybe. Cotton socks maybe.

[Larken85]

Cotton gloves and socks?? What for? So I don't itch or something? I have some whool gloves and some mechanics gloves that are pretty soft and actually have a layer of padding on the fingers. Or is it to prevent moisture from getting to my hands and feet?

[Larken85]

K so any idea on how long it will be (using this anti-fungal spray) before I start, or rather stop itching? And why is it that when I spray it on one part of my body and temporarily stop the itching there it seems to start itching somewhere else. IE, I sprayed the previously mentioned areas and now all of a sudden I have this dang itch in-between my pinkie toe and the next one in line. I don't believe its all in my head, but perhaps it has always itched and I just didn't notice until my other itch spots were subsided. And I did spray the feet too and that itch seems to be less major. I don't get how this is all supposed to work... Shouldn't I see those bumps start to disappear?