Peeling skin on your hands or fingers can cause much discomfort when going about your daily activities. Red rashes, flaking skin, and blisters on your hands can also make you feel self-conscious and embarrassed in social situations. When skin peels from your hands or fingers it can also cause pain and leave your skin open to infections.

Jun 30, 2020 Oftentimes, dry skin is the cause of peeling fingertips. It’s typically more prevalent during the winter months. You may also be more susceptible to dry skin if you bathe or shower in hot water. “Peeling skin is unintended damage to and loss of the upper layer of your skin (epidermis)Rash, itching, dryness and other irritating skin problems may accompany peeling skin”. Mayo Clinic The problem of peeling fingertips is a common yet not painful situation.

There are a number of factors that can cause the skin on your fingers or hands to peel. For example, blisters caused by burns, dry skin, or the cold weather can leave your palms and the back of the hands feeling raw as the skin begins to peel. Sometimes, skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, fungal or bacterial infections can all damage the skin on your hands and cause it to peel off in flakes.

This article examines the various reasons for peeling skin on your hands or fingers. You will also find helpful home remedies to soothe your skin condition and help repair the dermal layer on your hands. Segoe print font free.

Causes of Peeling Skin on Hands or Fingers and What to Do About It

Sometimes the causes of peeling skin on fingers or hands are quite obvious if they have been injured. Usually, once the skin has healed after a burn or other injury, the peeling should stop as the skin renews itself. However, other skin conditions are chronic and need regular care and moisturizing to prevent flaky, dead bits of skin peeling off.

Sunburn

Sunburn is a common reason for skin peeling off your hand or fingers. In fact, Dr.Melissa Conrad Stöppler on MedicineNet says that sunburn is a “classic example” of a condition that causes peeling skin.¹

If your hands are not protected in the bright sun, the sun’s harmful rays can damage exposed areas of the skin on your hand. The sunburned area will be red and possibly warm to touch. After a few days, the skin may start to peel off. Usually, the peeling is painless because the shed skin is dead.

Depending on the intensity and extent of sun damage, sunburn may take a few days or weeks to heal completely. During that time, you can help repair your skin by using a natural treatments for sunburn.

Home remedy:

To help repair skin that has been damaged by sunburn, you should apply pure aloe vera gel. The journal Phytomedicine reported that aloe vera gel can help repair skin damaged by burns, reduce skin inflammation, and help speed up the healing process.²

All you have to do is apply aloe vera gel to the affected skin on your hands throughout the day. Continue to apply the aloe vera remedy until you no longer have skin peeling on your hands and fingers.

You can find more natural remedies in my article on how to get rid of sunburn and sunburn blisters.

Cold weather or other environmental factors

On the other extreme, cold, dry weather can also cause peeling skin on your hands and fingers. Very often, factors like cold weather, warm dry indoor air, and frequently washing hands with warm water and harsh soaps combine to dry out the skin on your hands causing it to peel and flake.

Dr. Brunilda Nazario on WebMD explains that winter-dry skin can cause patches of skin to become flaky and itchy.³ Depending on the type of skin a person has, the dry skin can start to crack and peel.

There is also a rare condition called Keratolytic Winter Erythema that, according to the Primary Care Dermatology Society, causes the skin from a person’s palms to peel which worsens during cold, dry climatic periods.⁴

Home remedy for dry flaky skin:

Oatmeal is an effective home remedy to alleviate the symptoms of dry skin on your hands, including flaky, peeling skin. A study published in 2007 found that applying an oatmeal remedy to skin helps to lock in moisture, reduce any inflammation and irritation, and soothes itchy skin.

To help repair skin on your hands and fingers that have been affected by cold weather, you should put a handful of ground oats in a bowl of warm water. Soak your hands for 10 minutes and every so often, gently rub the oatmeal on the affected patches of dry skin. This also has an exfoliating effect of removing dead skin from your hands. Use the oatmeal remedy daily to keep your hands and fingers well moisturized and free from peeling skin.

Burns

Any kind of burn on your hands can damage the outer layer and cause the skin to eventually peel off. Burns to any area of your body can leave you with sore patches of red skin that is tender to touch with fluid-filled blisters and a possible skin infection.

As the burn starts to heal, you may notice that the skin starts to peel. You should try to avoid peeling off skin that doesn’t come away easily. Rather than trying to peel off dead skin from your hand, you could try some of the many natural treatments for burns to repair damaged skin.

Home remedy for peeling skin

Honey is an effective home remedy for burns that cause the skin to peel from your palms, fingers, or backs of your hands. The journal Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters reported that honey is an effective natural burn treatment because it is antimicrobial, reduces inflammation, and repairs damaged skin cells quickly.⁵

All you need to do to help stop skin peeling on hands and reduce redness around the burned skin is to apply a little raw honey to the affected skin on your hands. You can also mix equal amounts of honey, aloe vera, and plain yogurt to make a honey treatment for repairing skin damaged by burns.

Allergic reactions

Some people have very sensitive skin on their hands, and certain irritants can cause allergic reactions or contact dermatitis that result in peeling skin. According to doctors from the Mayo Clinic, allergies often cause skin peeling along with itching and a rash.⁶ In some cases, the allergen could trigger an outbreak of hives on your skin.

If you think that an allergen is causing itchy patches of skin on your hand that start to peel, you should try to identify the trigger and then avoid it.

Bad manicure

Sometimes skin peeling occurs around the nails and cuticle on your fingers. There are a number of reasons causing the skin at the tips of your fingers to start peeling.

Dr. Laura J. Martin on WebMD explains that if your cuticles get dry, they will start to peel and flake. Also, redness and peeling skin can occur after a manicure if the manicurist has cut the cuticle or pushed it back too vigorously.¹⁴

Dr. Martin recommends using a good moisturizer to keep your hands and the skin around your fingernails hydrated to prevent peeling. You should also make sure that your manicurist doesn’t cut off the cuticle around your nails.

Hand eczema

One of the symptoms of hand eczema is very dry skin that starts to peel and flake off. There are various types of eczema that can affect different parts of the body. Because we use our hands for most daily activities, irritants and allergens can trigger eczema outbreaks on your hands.

According to the National Eczema Association, some of the other symptoms of hand eczema are itchy skin, redness, cracks, and blisters. They recommend applying moisturizers to your hands to help manage eczema flare-ups and stop skin on your hands from becoming cracked and peeling.¹⁵

Home remedy for hand eczema

Virgin coconut oil is a great natural moisturizer for eczema that can nourish your hands and fingers to reduce its symptoms. A study published in the journal Dermatitis reported that the antibacterial and emollient effects of coconut oil are effective to treat dermatitis. Coconut oil also kills off bacterial and fungal skin infections.⁷

To use virgin coconut oil to soothe cracked and peeling skin caused by hand eczema, you should gently massage a little oil into the affected area several times a day. This will help to relieve itching, flaking, and reduce redness from your hands.

You can find other natural remedies in my article about 13 natural remedies for eczema (backed by research).

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease that is characterized by patches of red flaky skin that come and go. Psoriasis can affect any area of the body including the hands, fingers, and fingernails.

According to doctors at the Mayo Clinic, some of the symptoms of psoriasis are red patches of dead skin with silvery scales. These scales may flake off like dandruff. Along with the skin peeling, the skin lesions may be itchy, sore, and bleed if the skin becomes dry and cracked.⁸

If psoriasis affects your fingernails, you may find that they become discolored, peel, and become crumbly.

Although there is no cure, you can manage the symptoms of psoriasis with natural home remedies. These natural treatments help to reduce redness and scaling, give you relief from itching, and help moisturize dry cracked skin.

Home remedy:

Raw unprocessed apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a great home remedy to help relieve the discomfort psoriasis causes. The high pH level of ACV helps to reduce itching and kill off any bacteria that may cause infection and help remove dead skin from your hands.

You can make a solution of raw apple cider vinegar by diluting one part ACV and 3 parts water. Apply the apple cider vinegar remedy to the affected skin on your hands by soaking a washcloth in the liquid. Squeeze out the excess and hold on the psoriasis-affected skin for a few minutes. Repeat several times a day until the flare up has reduced. After washing the ACV, apply some soothing coconut oil to your skin to moisturize it and prevent peeling from the inflamed patch of skin on your hands and fingers.

You can find more home remedies in my article about 12 natural ways to relieve psoriasis.

Fungal skin infection

A fungal infection on your hand or in between your fingers (Tinea Manuum) could be to blame for peeling and flaking skin. According to Dr. William Blahd on WebMD, the symptoms of fungal skin infections are flaking or peeling skin, red patches of itchy skin, and possibly red blisters.⁹

Fungal skin infections often occur between your toes (athlete’s foot), in your groin (jock itch), or cause a rash in the moist, warm folds of the skin. However, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, these fungal infections can also spread to your hands and fingernails.¹⁰

Home remedy for skin fungal infections:

One of the best natural ingredients to kill off fungal infections from your skin is tea tree oil. When combined with virgin coconut oil (also antifungal) it makes a powerful moisturizing ointment to treat fungal skin infections on hands as well as other body parts.

The Journal of Applied Microbiology reported that tea tree oil has antifungal activity against a wide range of fungi.¹¹

To help get rid of fungal infections between your fingers and on your hands, you should add 3 drops of tea tree oil to a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil. Apply to the affected skin on your hands 2-3 times a day until the signs of the fungal infection have gone for good and you don’t have peeling skin on your hands or fingers.

Tinea manuum

Ringworm is another fungal infection that can affect your hands and fingers and cause patches of scaling skin that flake off. Ringworm infections on your hand are called tinea manuum. According to the American Academy of Physicians, tinea manuum causes scaling and flaking skin on the palms of the hands, between fingers, and on the back of hands.¹⁰

Ringworm is very infectious and you can help prevent it infecting your hands by washing your hands after playing with pets and avoiding sharing clothes or towels with someone who has ringworm.

You can treat fungal infections on the skin with a tea tree and coconut oil homemade salve or use these other natural remedies for ringworm.

Scarlet fever

A bacterial infection can cause scarlet fever and can actually cause the skin on your hands and fingers to peel. Although scarlet fever usually causes a sore throat and rash, peeling skin where the skin rash occurred is quite common.

Doctors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that scarlet fever can cause a rash on the hands. When the rash starts to disappear, you may have skin peeling around the finger tips.¹²

The signs of scarlet fever, such as red tongue, sore throat, enlarged glands in the neck, high fever often with chills, nausea or vomiting shouldn’t be ignored as it can lead to other health complications. If you think you have scarlet fever, you should see a doctor promptly.

Exfoliative keratolysis

Another skin condition that can cause peeling skin on the palms of your hands and ends of your fingers is exfoliative keratolysis. This hand skin-peeling condition is different to hand eczema, psoriasis, and fungal infections as doctors don’t know what causes it.

According to dermatologist Dr. Amanda Oakley, exfoliative keratolysis starts off as blisters on the fingers of palms. When these blisters burst, the dead skin starts to peel and the skin may become red, dry and cracked. Dr. Oakley recommends using effective emollient hand creams containing urea or lactic acid to manage the symptoms.¹³

Home remedy:

One way to treat the symptoms of exfoliative keratolysis is using a cream that contains natural ingredients. For example, urea is a natural ingredient and creams containing it are very effective in treating peeling skin conditions. Although not entirely natural, urea cream is a good and cheap way to quickly soothe irritated itchy and flaky skin on your hands.

You could also use virgin coconut oil to naturally moisturize your hands and help to lessen the outbreaks of peeling skin on your palms.

Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease is a rare condition that can affect young children. It can result in swollen glands, a rash, red fingers and toes, and cracked lips.

According to doctors at the National Health Service, during the middle phase of Kawasaki disease, you may notice peeling skin on the fingers, palms of the hands, toes, and soles.¹⁶

Kawasaki disease is a serious health condition that requires professional medical supervision.

Read my other related articles:

Article Sources

1. MedicineNet. Peeling skin.
2. Phytomedicine. 1996 Jan;2(3):247-51.
3. WebMD. Dry skin. Soothing the winter itch.
4. PCDS. Peeling skin conditions.
5. Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2014 Mar 31; 27(1): 22–30.
6. MayoClinic. Peeling skin.
7. Dermatitis. 2008 Nov-Dec;19(6):308-15.
8. MayoClinic. Psoriasis.
9. WebMD. Fungal infections of the skin.
10. AAFP. Tinea infections.
11. J App Microbiol. 2003 Oct;94(4):853-860.
12. CDC. Scarlet fever.
13. DermNet. Exfoliative keratolysis.
14. WebMD. 6 Ways to Care for Your Cuticles.
15. National Eczema Association. Understanding hand eczema.
16. NHS. Kawasaki disease

What does dry skin around nails mean? Get more insights on causes including during pregnancy, as well as thick, peeling, sore, rough, dry skin around nails and cuticles, and how to get rid of this peeling and dryness.

Meaning

This usually implies that there is inadequate water supply in the body of an individual despite other underlying causes.

According to Bhupinder Kaur, MD, a dermatologist based in India, this condition – and on any other part of the body – means that there isn’t “enough water in the stratum corneum for it to function properly”.

Causes

Causes of dry white skin around toenails or fingernails include:

Winter period (harsh weather)

Dry weather conditions make the atmosphere to have low humidity in air may cause skin dryness, cracking, peeling and other symptoms including around your toe and fingernails.

Yeast infection

They may develop fungus growth that may also cause dryness This is typically characterized by yellow discoloration of the affected finger or toenails.

Washing detergent and sanitizer

Harsh soaps do not moisturize your skin while protecting it against harmful pathogens but instead they strip it of its invaluable moisture and rank among the most common reasons why the skin in the nail area dries out.

Exposure to moisture removing substances

Do you have a beauty shop where you spend long hours working with nail polish removers? They could be the major cause of the drying. Other occupations that involve work constantly with paints, solvents, detergents, and other chemicals could also a victim of this nail problem.

Health conditions

Dry skin may be a sign of medical conditions such as diabetes, atopic dermatitis, hypothyroidism, and psoriasis, says the WebMD. If due to conditions like atopic dermatitis tends to be itchy and have a characteristic hard and scaly (rough) texture.

Age of a person

The hormonal level changes that go hand-in-hand with this natural aging process set precedence for a thin, parched skin that is less capable of holding in moisture and thus prone to drying and cracking. Although you cannot turn back the hands at a time, moisturizing frequently can help to keep the dryness at bay.

Daily washing

Even if you don’t use harsh detergents, washing your hands too much could as well make the skin around this areas dry out. Fisiologia linda costanzo pdf en.

Vitamin deficiency and minerals

Actually, the deficiency of these minerals only cause dryness directly, which is most likely to flake and it may then peel off in the end. People believe that vitamin or calcium deficiency might be the reason for the dry skin around nails.

Biting and picking at the fingernail

This sounds a warning to those individuals who love to biting the skin around your nails or and picking them and they have made it like a habit. This also is a cause of dry skin around them.

Finger Skin Peelinglasopasuper Causes

The damaged or wounded skin might also be caused if the hangnails are ripped off instead of being clipped gently at the bottom using a sterile tool.

Skin Diseases

The peeling around nails can be caused by skin diseases too. Psoriasis, eczema, and dyshidrosis are among the common diseases which can cause this problem.

During pregnancy

Hormonal imbalance in pregnant women has a positive effect towards the skin in most occasion since their skin glows during this period resulting in dryness of nails, hair fall, among other changes related pregnancy.

According to George Kroumpouzos, MD, Ph.D., a dermatologist at South Shore Medical Center in Norwell, Massachusetts, “The body goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy including hormonal fluctuations that can affect the skin, the hair, and the nails.”

But, you can reduce this problem during pregnancy by using a good moisturizing lotion always and protecting them when working with water and detergents by wearing rubber gloves.

A thick dry skin around toenails

Finger Skin Peeling

The thick skin under the toenails, often caused by a fungal condition known as onychomycosis, can make the toenails themselves appear thicker than normal and even take on a yellow or brown discoloration.

Onychomycosis can cause it to thicken along the outer edge of the nail and directly underneath, according to Columbia University.

Other causes include:

• Yeast or fungal infection
• constantly exposed induced elements when in sandals.

Dry and peeling

The skin around nails peeling off due to:

Allergy

Various form of allergic substances can stimulate various serious skin reaction. Exposure to nail polish, use of too much soapy water, being allergic to nickel and latex or irritation caused by solvents and detergents can all cause peeling fingernails.

Skin infections

A low-level chronic infection, which is usually caused by the moisture of yeast, can lead to the peeling of skin around the cuticle.

Sore with hangnails

Finger Skin Cracking

One annoying situation that even the most carefully groomed hands experience is the dreaded hangnail. They may seem rather insignificant in the grand scheme of health problems, they can become infected and lead to a handful of other issues such as being painful.

When the skin around your fingernails peels off, it opens up entrance for infection, especially when you consider all the bacteria your hands are exposed to every day, not to mention dishwater, cold weather and all the other things that dry out your hands in the first place.

Treatment of hangnails: Antibacterial lotions can often do the trick, and in more serious cases, a prescription antibiotic might be in order.

Dry and rough

According to HealthTap, the hard skin around nails of the toe or fingers could be due to the exertion of more pressure, especially by the shoes. It can also cause contracture of the toe and hardening at the tip of the toe

Dry cuticles

Your hands do a lot of work through a minefield of irritating substances and conditions. Dry skin around the fingernails, in form of scraggly cuticles or rough fingertips, can be more than just an aesthetic annoyance if cracks let in harmful bacteria.

Substances that trigger this condition include:

• Drying Elements
• Polish Pitfalls
• Bad Habits
• Poor diet

How to get rid of this dryness– remedies, and cures

Some of the common cures that have proven effective include the treatments and home remedies we are going to discuss below:

Take Multivitamins Tablets

Drying and peeling caused by vitamin deficiency can be removed by taking daily multivitamin tablets. Your pharmacist will recommend the appropriate dosage for you.

Use a humidifier in your house

A humidifier helps to raise moisture levels in your house and thus keep your skin moist. This helps to treat and prevent this problem on nails and other parts of the body.

Adopt the best Nail Care Regimen

Your beauty parlor shop manicure attendant will give you specialized nail treatments to ensure adequate miniaturization of your nails and cuticles and reversal of the dryness in the skin. At the very least, try to get one manicure session each month.

Sleep with a Pair of Socks Overnight

For if on toenails, apply Vaseline (or any other petroleum jelly) or a moisturizing cream, then put on a pair of socks before bedtime.

Home remedies

Some of the natural remedies you should give a try to heal this problem include the following:

Apply Honey

Due to its natural humectant, it draws moisture to the skin when applied to it. It also has powerful natural healing properties that can help keep it moisturized.

Warm Water

Rinse your hands with warm water to make it supple.

Cucumber

Wash the skin where you had been applying the grated cucumber with lukewarm water and repeat this exercise daily.

Apply Aloe Vera

Apply this gel over the affected part multiple times in a day. This will reduce the dryness.

Olive Oil

Olive oil has powerful moisturizing properties and goes a long way in treating dry, cracked fingertips, and even peeling skin around the nails at home.

Treatment

If you are looking for more treatments, better see your dermatologist or doctor for diagnosis and effective treatments.

References

1. https://www.quora.com/Peeling-skin-below-finger-nails-What-could-be-the-problem
2. http://www.footvitals.com/toes/fungus.html
3. http://www.enkivillage.com/skin-peeling-around-nails.html