Painful Peeling Hands and Feet After Diving

[Germie]

In France, when cavediving, the skin of my hands dries out because of the water. There are other minerals in the water than here. Maybe it is this? The skin is not hurting, but you see a dry skin after a couple of days.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hello and thank you so much for your time. Something very similar happened to my feet as a synchronized swimmer 15-18 yrs ago. I was in chlorinated water 3-4 days a week for a few hours at a time, my feet didn’t have this reaction until about 2 years into my career. Doctors assumed it was from the chlorine, once I quit swimming it subsided and I didn’t see it again until this year. (I worked on and in the ocean in 2011 and take dive trips often)

The dives in the cenotes this year were only 10-20 min longer than my deco dives last year which were also in the cenotes. The cenotes are a mix between fresh and salt water which you probably know.

I am going to see a dermatologist at Upenn, but I’m afraid they don’t see many divers.

I do seem to be special when it comes to weird things like this! Thank you again for your time. I will definitely update this post if I find out what it is.

I wonder what would happen if you tried some sort of barrier. This sounds like more of a hypersensitivity reaction than a true exposure to a noxious substance so you probably don't need anything elaborate; what if you tried some form-fitting dishwashing gloves, taped to your forearm with Blenderm or other non-porous medical tape, under your drysuit cuff? Just an idea. I ran this past one of our attending physicians who's an expert on marine life and water-related injuries and he was puzzled as well.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Jack56]

I wonder what would happen if you tried some sort of barrier. This sounds like more of a hypersensitivity reaction than a true exposure to a noxious substance so you probably don't need anything elaborate; what if you tried some form-fitting dishwashing gloves, taped to your forearm with Blenderm or other non-porous medical tape, under your drysuit cuff? Just an idea. I ran this past one of our attending physicians who's an expert on marine life and water-related injuries and he was puzzled as well.

Best regards,
DDM

This sounds like a great idea. Thank you again for your time!

I have been racking my brain lately and it dawned on me... I realized that during the last two trips I was getting cold towards the end of each dive. I did purchase a new hood before my March trip that may not have been snug enough, although I wasn’t getting as cold then as during my most recent trip. Which may explain why my hands fell apart once I got home to a colder climate. My new hood seemed to have stretched even more and I had a lot of water flushing in and out that was trapped at the base of my neck. I had to even turn a dive because I was getting cold. I’m not sure if this contributes to my skin problem, but I am wondering if it is a circulation issue due to the cold... it could be a combination of things .

I am looking into a semi dry, I have been diving wet and haven’t entered the dry world just yet. Although I think I must if I want to continue diving in such climates!

I will look into a thin barrier for my hands just to keep them from ripping, and someone here mentioned dress socks in booties. So thankful for everyone’s knowledge here, it has been a dark place wondering if this could keep me from doing what I love!

 

[Valyngar]

Dermatologist and diver here. Maybe hand eczema? Bit sweaty hands and handling lots of rope (cave diving) might explain this. When you use hands like thin rope ect it cause eczema easier to develop. Did your foot get sweaty when diving or was it wetsuit? Pictures don't look like dyshidrosis.

edit:
Here found you good article about your eczema
Irritant contact dermatitis | DermNet New Zealand

 

[Jack56]

Dermatologist and diver here. Maybe hand eczema? Bit sweaty hands and handling lots of rope (cave diving) might explain this. When you use hands like thin rope ect it cause eczema easier to develop. Did your foot get sweaty when diving or was it wetsuit? Pictures don't look like dyshidrosis.

edit:
Here found you good article about your eczema
Irritant contact dermatitis | DermNet New Zealand

Thank you for your response. This is possible, I may occasionally touch the reel and it’s line while tying off up until the main line. But, not with both hands, my fingertips are continuing to remain cracked and raw. Been out of the water since 8/6.

I don’t have sweaty palms or feet, I am diving wet. My feet become very pruned and soft in my boots while underwater, the soles of my feet have been hard like plastic since the trip and they just started to shed today after my shower. Very odd and very raw/painful underneath the peeling skin.

 

[JohnnyC]

I had an ex-gf that changed birth control and started to peel (although not as badly) about a week after her first pill. She had also gotten some new sheets and thought maybe that was the cause. Turns out she just had a reaction to some ingredient in her new pills. Anyway, it took a bit to find the correlation.

Any chance you've introduced something new? New medication, etc.?

 

[uncfnp]

Maybe its one of those medical Zebras...

Acral peeling skin syndrome | Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) – an NCATS Program


General overview of lots of causes...

Peeling skin Causes

 

[aquacat8]

Here’s something to try: there is a type of tradional manicure where they dip your hand in paraffin. At a good beauty supply place you may be able to buy the paraffin and warmer although you may have to get a cosmetologist to purchase it for you. Or you could make your own with a hot plate it’s just melted wax but don’t burn yourself! I think they put some oils in the paraffin to soften it. Anyway if you manicured your hands and feet ahead of time with wax, wax is an excellent water barrier, does not wash off in water, and does not make things slippery for example you holding your cave line, in fact it might help you grab a little better. Wax is nature’s water barrier hence earwax. There are also beeswax-based hand creams out there. My inclination is to trust your intuition that it is excess water soaking, this fits your experience of it happening in a pool at a totally different time and place. Maybe you are just more sensitive to this at this time in your life than others.

 

[aquacat8]

Don’t get it in your mask though when you’re doing the D fog

 

[aquacat8]

Our skin makes its own waxy protecting moisturizers, possibly your skin is under producing that. Also actually excess soap and washing could be removing it. Also it is not produced on the palms and soles of feet.
Sebaceous gland - Wikipedia