What does hand dermatitis look like?

In hand dermatitis, the skin is inflamed, red and swollen, with a damaged dried-out or scaly surface which makes it look flaky. There may be cracked areas that bleed and ooze. Sometimes small water blisters can be seen on the palms or sides of the fingers. Different parts of the hand can be affected such as the finger webs, fleshy fingertips or centre of the palms.

There are several different patterns of hand dermatitis, but these do not usually tell us its cause and the pattern can change over time in one person. Hand dermatitis may get infected with bacteria called Staphylococcus or Streptococcus. This causes more redness, soreness, crusting, oozing and spots or pimples.