If you have eczema on your hands, it can be difficult to protect this part of your body while also continuing your regular daily activities. Wearing gloves may help you reduce the disruption to your life and offer some relief.
Hand eczema can be uncomfortable and cause significant difficulties in carrying out normal activities. It can be hard to figure out how to go about your usual life without risking further damage to your skin.
Gloves may be useful for some people, but it’s important to know which factors to consider when choosing them. Additionally, they may not help everyone with hand eczema.
If you’re wearing gloves to protect your hands from dangerous chemicals, it’s also important that the gloves you choose protect you properly.
Gloves may help protect your hands from external irritants, but it’s important to choose them carefully, in case they contain materials that your skin reacts to.
In colder weather, gloves can help keep your hands warm and protected from dry air. However, scratchy materials may irritate your skin.
According to the UK’s National Eczema Society, choosing softer, seam-free materials can help. Additionally, it may help to ensure that any gloves that touch your skin directly are made of 100% cotton or as close to that as you can find.
Protective gloves may help prevent allergens and other irritants from coming into contact with the skin on your hands. This is particularly important if you have a known allergy to certain substances or if you’re in contact with potentially irritating chemicals at work or home. For example, gloves can protect your hands from detergent when doing the dishes.
Gloves can help retain moisture in your skin. You may want to use a moisturizing cream after soaking your hands in plain water and then layer cotton gloves over the top. This can help trap water in your skin, leaving it more hydrated.
This type of therapy is known as wet wrap therapy, and it may help some people. You can also wear vinyl gloves or use food wrap on top of the cotton gloves.
You may want to use an ointment-based emollient rather than a cream for increased effect, particularly if you’re wearing gloves overnight, when the greasiness is less likely to bother you.
If you’re prone to eczema, rubber or PVC gloves with a cotton lining may be useful if you’re likely to have contact with water or chemicals that could irritate your skin. Powder-free nitrile gloves are also recommended, as certain powders may be a trigger for some people. The insides of your gloves should be clean and dry before use.
If you can’t wear gloves, make sure to apply a barrier cream before coming into contact with potential irritants, such as washing up detergent.
That said, barrier creams may not protect against certain chemicals. For example, they don’t give protection against a type of nitrile called acrylonitrile. The National Eczema Society doesn’t recommend barrier creams to protect your hands at work.
Gloves may worsen hand eczema in some people.
For example, latex gloves can irritate the skin for some individuals. People sometimes choose nitrile gloves over latex gloves if they have a latex allergy. But even nitrile gloves can also cause problems in some people.
Gloves can also contain chemicals that may cause a reaction, even if the material itself isn’t the cause.
It’s important to monitor your skin closely in case your gloves are worsening your eczema.
According to the National Eczema Society, if you wear rubber, PVC, or nitrile gloves for over 20 minutes, they can cause sweating of the hands, which may worsen eczema for some people. In addition, the moisture trapped by gloves can weaken the skin barrier, leading to irritation, or the moisture itself may even cause irritation.
If you find that gloves are causing or worsening your eczema, it’s best to speak with your doctor to find alternative prevention and treatment options.
Certain materials may irritate hand eczema for some people. Latex and nitrile are commonly used materials in gloves, but even they may worsen eczema.
Make sure your gloves are hypoallergenic and not made from any materials that may cause a reaction. It can be helpful to choose gloves made of natural ingredients, such as cotton and natural fibers. They also shouldn’t contain any fragrance.
Seams may affect some people, so check carefully before choosing your gloves to make sure the seams don’t rub on any part of your skin. Silk gloves may be gentler.
However, alongside comfort to your skin, it’s important to make sure your gloves also provide the appropriate protection for your intended use.
Gloves may help with hand eczema in different ways. They can protect the skin from external irritants, or you can use them as part of wet wrap therapy to bring moisture to the skin and help restore the skin barrier.
It’s important to consider certain factors when choosing gloves. Different materials may affect each person differently. When wearing gloves, it’s a good idea to take note of any skin changes to identify a possible reaction or worsening of eczema.
Gloves used as part of wet wrap therapy may not help everyone, so be sure to monitor how your skin reacts. If you notice any worsening of your skin, stop using the treatment and speak with your doctor about other options.
