Skin Fissures (Fingers and Feet)

Posted , 4 users are following.

My husband has had severely cracked (skin fissure is the closest thing I can find on the internet to this) on his fingers and feet for about a year. He's tried all kinds of treatments (creams, soaking in apple cider vinegar and epsom salt etc). If he keeps the skin moist at night he wakes up feeling better with no pain, but throughout the day, its starting to severely affect his life as it's painful. He's been waiting for a referral to a dermatologist but he's desperate . Anyone have experience with this? So he can have some ammo when seeing the doctor? Side note - he's been on Lithium for many years and not taking it is not an option, but I was curious if this could cause it. He's been on it for much longer than he's had the skin issues and is on the very lowest dose so it cannot be Lithium toxicity. Please give your advice if you've dealt with this. We worry the doctor will pass it off as dry skin. But it is severe and has NOT gone away in over a year..

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0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Posted

    Yes it could be the Lithium.Even small doses can cause skin problems. I do hope the dermatologist can give him some useful help.

  • Posted

    From what I have heard, lithium carbonate can cause severe drying of the skin. In terms of treatment, there are a few, but most consist of just keeping the area moisturized. You have a few choices of moisturizing products, but oils such as jojoba, grape seed, and almond oil usually work very well.

    Besides oils you can try butters (especially shea butter), products based on ammonium lactate, urea, or hyaluronic acid, as well as glycerin and lanolin.

    It is worth remembering that skin contact with detergents and alcohol-based products tends to worsen dryness, so remind him to always apply a moisturizing solution after such contact.

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