What to Do About a Hand Rash?

Too much hand washing can dry out the skin.
Put olive oil or coconut oil on the hands for naptime or over night and have him wear clean mittens - it will keep the stuff from getting everywhere while it soothes the skin.
Cortisone on hands where child might put them into his mouth is probably not a good idea.

One of my kids had a similar issue. The harsh soap that institutions (like schools, daycares) put in soap dispensers was really h*** o* his hands and his hands would break out in a rash. Our pediatric dermatologist recommended CerVae cream (not the lotion in the pump bottle, the cream that comes in a tub). Put it on the child's hands in the morning after breakfast and again before bed. It forms a barrier on the skin, and will actually stay on the skin to protect it through several washings. It really helped. You can buy it at any drug store like Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens or at Target (and probably many other places too).

Once the rash is under control, you can go to just once a day in the morning, to protect the hands from all those washings.

You really don’t want to regularly use a steroid on a large area... look into using aquaphor. During cold weather, especially low humidity, many of us suffer the same thing. Really no quick fix, other than something like aquaphor very regularly.

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You really don’t want to regularly use a steroid on a large area... look into using aquaphor. During cold weather, especially low humidity, many of us suffer the same thing. Really no quick fix, other than something like aquaphor very regularly.

Our son's hands get super dry from frequent hand washing during the winter. We use Gold Bond, and that seems to really help. You might give it a try.

Sounds very frustrating. However, I absolutely wouldn't put a lot of cortisone or any other steroid on a large area or for too long, especially in a young child who's going to get his hand near his mouth. It's just not a good idea to launch immediately into medications, especially if you weren't in the room and don't know what discussion the doctor had with the parent.

You can certainly call the doctor, assuming you are on the list as authorized to receive medical information. But I think I would try something natural and edible first - coconut oil is one but you could try others. He could sleep in a cotton glove if you can find one in his size and if he'll keep it on. That keeps the oil on the skin and off the sheets. You might ask what hospital staff use - they're always putting hand sanitizer on and scrubbing for surgery. See if there's something safe for children.

I second the coconut oil treatment especially at night before bed. Only issue is the oil can grease stain the sheets. If you’re concerned about that, I would go with an organic lotion.

My kids are fair skinned and red headed. Their skin is super sensitive/delicate. I switched to organic products, especially in skin care, for that reason. Burt’s Bees has a whole product line for babies/toddlers and none of their products ever caused the slightest irritation with my kids.

I’d also ask the daycare providers to treat his hands before nap and I would provide the product used.

Neutrogena hand cream is the best lotion I know of for dry hands. I’ve tried them all and this was the one that worked for me. You can get it in any drug store, Walmart or target.

Ask the daycare to frequently put lotion on his hands. They may ask you to bring some.

If you want to use cortisone, you don't need a prescription. it's offered on store shelves. However, I agree with others. He is likely to put his hands in his mouth. Another reason is that long term cortisone thins the skin.

Aquaphor or the store brand allows his hands to hold moisture. My granddaughter has eczema. Her mom used vaseline to trap the moisture after a bath. For your son, you could apply vaseline immediately after hand washing. It needn't stay on has skin a long time.

I think aquaphor and similar products have a lotion which does soak in so it won't rub off on other things.

Any hand lotion will take care of it.

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Any hand lotion will take care of it.

My sons have had that issue in the winter. Only one needed a prescription once when it got really bad. We used Aquaphor at night, and regular lotion, like Eucerin or something similar during the day. Make sure the day care has lotion for him. Also, he should stay away from using hand sanitizer, only mild soap and warm water for washing.

I'm thinking Arizona doesn't get cold, right? Where we are, it has also been important to never go outside in the cold without mittens or gloves, so if I'm wrong, and Arizona does get cold.....mittens!

If it's itchy, it could be eczema at this point.

The child might need to see a dermatologist at some point. My kids all have had it - it is worse in the winter months. One of my children has it very badly.

We've tried CerVae cream as mynewnickname suggests (recommended by our dermatologist) too - that is nice and thick and will stay on.

So cortisone gets rid of the red scaly itchiness, and you'd get a prescription (or at least we do). You might be able to get over the counter stuff, but likely not high enough a % to be effective. The thing is, you only use for 2 weeks twice a day to get it under control.

So we use a tub of this thick white paste which is just given out at pharmacy (no specific brand, they make it up) called 'hydrous emollient'. It's mostly water based, but thick white paste. You can ask them to make some up for you. You coat them in it and it's for kids with chapped, irritated or eczema skin. It creates a barrier and is soothing. My kids love it. It rubs in.

We also Aveeno lotions too for very dry skin.

We use lotion that is creamy and aloe vera based at home (not the clear gel) and nothing extra sanitizing. Or Dove unscented bars.

Sometimes eczema (if that's what it proves to be - if it persists or shows up anywhere else, like arms, knees, etc.) can be allergy related - as in the case of my son. Do you have a cat/dog? My son had it bad at that age because we had multiple animals.

Good luck :)

When I had problems with my hands from too much washing when my oldest was a baby the dr told me to get a bottle of Neutrogena lotion and squeeze a tube of cortisone cream in it. It helped some. Now when I have skin problems I use frankincense and peppermint essential oils with coconut old. That helps the skin heal and cleans it in the process.