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"Why are the palms of my hands red?"

ZocdocAnswersWhy are the palms of my hands red?


The palms of my hands are redder than they usually are. Don't know why this is going on. What happened to my hands? They've been like this for two weeks about.


Usually redness of the palms of the hands is a sign of skin irritation. The most common forms of skin irritation that occurs on the palms of the hands are contact dermatitis and atopic dermatitis (commonly known as eczema). Contact dermatitis occurs when you come into contact with some irritating chemical that your skin reacts against. Common offending chemicals are soaps and detergents. If you have recently started using a new cleaning product or personal care product, this might be the culprit Atopic dermatitis occurs when the skin becomes dried out, often due to cold weather, frequent hand washing, etc. It is often made worse by high levels of stress or fatigue. Both atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis will usually have some itching and also some degree of skin cracking, blistering, or flaking. If you have these symptoms, you should see your doctor. They will be able to provide you with a prescription for a steroid cream to help get the symptoms down. Also you will want to use a good hand moisturizing cream to keep the skin supple and well hydrated. If these descriptions don't sound like what is going on, see your doctor regardless to help you consider alternative diagnoses. Good luck.

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