Peeling of the skin on the arms and legs of a child is a phenomenon that causes well-founded excitement and anxiety in parents. The condition of the skin, as you know, reflects the condition of the whole organism, and many pathological internal processes manifest themselves externally through the skin. Why the child's skin peels off on the fingers and toes, on the palms and feet and how to treat the baby, we will tell in this article.
Desquamation - a disease or a norm?
Peeling of the skin in medical language has a name little known to the masses - desquamation... In this process, the scales of the epidermis - the outer layer of the skin - slough off. It should be noted that this process is provided by nature so that the skin can get rid of excess, dead cells, so that the epidermis does not thicken and the skin does not become rough.
The epidermis is composed of many layers. In the deeper layers, cells divide, the formed new cells move to the surface of the skin and die at the same time, since their life cycle is short. As cells move, they produce and store keratin. It is a strong protein that provides the skin with basic protective properties. On the surface, the exfoliating cells of the epidermis are exfoliated. Thus, space is made for new cells.
Desquamation is a completely normal physiological continuous process. However, sometimes peeling becomes pronounced in size and depth and becomes pathological.
Such desquamation occurs after inflammation, damage to the outer skin layer, and some internal processes. The death of keratocytes becomes massive, and less new cells are produced than they die, and therefore unsubstituted fragments appear in the skin, the very places of desquamation.
The detachment of epithelial scales during physiological normal desquamation is practically not noticeable. The skin gets rid of cells that have become unnecessary gradually, replacing them with new ones. If a child's skin on his fingers peels off and this is visible with the naked eye, then most likely we are talking about pathological desquamation, which requires the prompt identification and elimination of the causes.
Peeling itself is not dangerous. Its consequences are dangerous, because the skin, deprived of a protective layer, becomes more vulnerable to pathogenic bacteria, various fungi, which can cause quite serious infectious diseases. In addition, there is always a certain external or internal provoking factor behind peeling. If it is not eliminated, the negative impact on the body will continue and grow. Desquamation is often only an initial symptom of certain pathological conditions and processes.
Causes
There are a lot of reasons that can lead to desquamation. That is why it is recommended not to engage in independent searches, but to immediately visit a pediatrician and a dermatologist with the child. These experts will help you narrow your search and find the root of the problem.
Large-scale death of keratin cells of the epidermis can be caused by internal factors (occurring in the body) and external (aggressive external influences).
Internal reasons:
- Vitamin deficiency... The most common cause of skin peeling on the fingertips and palms is vitamin deficiency. At the same time, one cannot say that there is a lack of vitamins in the broad sense of the word. The child lacks very specific vitamins, which are involved in complex biochemical processes that make the skin elastic and strong. These are vitamins E and A. They are popularly called "vitamins of beauty and youth."
It is not worthwhile to independently prescribe to the child preparations with vitamins A and E, since uncontrolled intake of these substances can cause a severe overdose. It is better to entrust this to a specialist.
- Allergic reaction. The outer layer of the epidermis can also be damaged due to an inadequate response of the body to some antigen proteins. Allergy begins, the manifestations of which can be very different. Skin peeling, according to statistics, ranks second among all symptoms of allergic reactions. In this case, the child may be affected not only by the skin of the hands. Often with food or drug allergies, you may notice that the skin on the nose, chin, and forehead has peeled off.
- Fungal lesions... There are several dozen fungi that affect the epidermis. In childhood, the most common diseases are keratomycosis, pityriasis versicolor, erythrasma and actinomycosis. Superficial skin lesions can cause anthropophilic fungus, which causes trichophytosis. Most often, such a lesion is accompanied by additional pathological changes in the nail plates.
In the presence of a fungal infection, not only the hands are affected, but also the scalp and legs, often peeling and painful redness in the form of clearly delineated areas can be found on the sole and nails of the big toes.
- Bacterial infection... Most often, problems with the skin of the hands are caused by staphylococci and streptococci. In this case, peeling is only one of the stages, usually preceding the development of abscesses, papules, vesicles. The peeling itself quickly becomes deep, cracks can form on the skin.
- Stress. Severe or prolonged stress can cause a wide variety of diseases in children. Peeling of the skin of the hands and feet is no exception. By the way, the neurological factor of dermatological diseases can be the most difficult to detect, because even an experienced pediatrician is not easy to guess about the presence of stress in young children who are not yet able to express their feelings and experiences in words.
- Diseases of the digestive system. Desquamation of the skin of the hands can also indicate the presence of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Especially often, problems with the pancreas appear on the skin. This organ, responsible for the production of enzymes and hormones, in case of pathological changes, causes not only peeling of the epidermis, but also a change in skin color. Cyanotic fragments may appear, or red vascular dots in various parts of the body may appear.
- Pathological dry skin... We are talking about dryness caused by diabetes, hormonal disorders, atopic dermatitis. All these diseases and conditions reduce the production of lipids by the sebaceous glands of the epidermis, the skin is not moisturized, and there is a lack of fluid. Even the slightest traumatic effect can cause a violation of the skin with further peeling of fairly large areas.
- Worms. Many parasites that multiply and feed on nutrients through the intestinal wall cause skin problems. Desquamation occurs with prolonged helminthic invasion by pinworms, roundworms, and giardiasis.
External reasons:
- Contact dermatitis. The skin on the hands can peel off due to the fact that the child has been in contact with certain irritants, household chemicals, poisons, toxins, alkalis and acids. It won't be easy to recognize such a defeat, but nothing is impossible. The defeat is limited only to the contact zone and does not extend to other parts of the body. There is slight or pronounced redness, as well as slight swelling and "glossiness" of the skin. Peeling usually does not begin immediately, but several days after contact.
- Exposure to temperatures... Heat or hypothermia can cause metabolic disturbances in the skin. If a child played snowballs for a long time the day before, then the next day there may be a slight peeling of the skin on the tips of the fingers and on the palms. After a bath or sauna, the skin may peel off due to steaming and exposure to high temperatures. If the child often walks without gloves in the wind, desquamation occurs from dehydration caused by exposure to air currents.
Frequent contact with water, such as when playing in the pool, also affects the condition of the skin, and can lead to excessive scaly separation of epidermal cells.
- Improper hygiene... For children, it is not only the lack of hygiene that is dangerous, but also its excessiveness. Thus, frequent hand washing with soap and water can lead to dryness and desquamation. It is also dangerous to use adult detergents, which aggressively affect the child's skin, upsetting the acid balance. Children with particularly sensitive skin may react this way to chlorinated tap water.
- Taking medication... Desquamation often begins when the intestinal microflora is disturbed, which can be provoked by prolonged use of antibiotics, especially drugs of the sulfonamide group. Also, peeling can accompany the intake of hormonal drugs.
Symptoms
Even before the first characteristic signs of desquamation appear, the child may experience itching. Often, parents notice already peeled skin only because they simply did not notice the previous stage. Not all children themselves pay attention to the fact that their hands are itching, and even more so they can inform mom and dad about it.
By the time of peeling, the skin looks somewhat edematous, although this, like redness of the integument, is not an obligatory symptom. With a fungal infection, instead of redness, there may be light, almost whitish spots, and with diseases of the digestive system, light blue fragments of the skin. If a child actively scratches the skin, then it is injured and cracks, pustules form, a white or yellowish crust appears. It can be dry or weeping.
Most often, peeling begins on the tips of the fingers or toes, and on the feet (for example, due to tight and uncomfortable shoes), and then, with continued negative impact, the skin ailment spreads further - to the palms or heels.
It is important to evaluate associated symptoms... Peeling and digestive problems should be the reason for visiting a gastroenterologist. Desquamation and simultaneous respiratory phenomena (runny nose without snot, dry cough) can be a clinical picture of allergy and a reason for contacting an allergist. Large-scale skin lesions may indicate contact dermatitis or fungal infection, this is a reason to visit an infectious disease specialist and a pediatrician.
Treatment
It is categorically not recommended to treat such a seemingly simple problem as peeling of the skin on the hands or feet with folk remedies, because the real reason can be quite dangerous, and the time required for competent therapy will be lost.
The best place to start is with a detailed medical examination. To find out the reason, the child will need to pass a general and detailed blood test, which will determine the presence of inflammatory processes, and also find out if the baby has a deficiency of certain vitamins.
It is imperative to pass scraping of epidermis samples for microscopic examination, which will detect fungi, as well as scraping for bacterial culture in order to look for pathogenic bacteria.
An allergist, if an allergic reaction is suspected, will conduct a study with special test strips to determine the specific allergen that caused the changes in the skin. If a lack of vitamins A and E is found, vitamin complexes will be prescribed, most often children are recommended "Aevit", in which both vitamins are present in a certain amount. One by one, these vitamins are ineffective and poorly absorbed, so they should be taken in an extremely complex manner. The doctor will advise you to include foods rich in vitamins A and E in your child's diet:
- carrot;
- pumpkin;
- cabbage;
- plums;
- apricots;
- prunes;
- tomatoes;
- fresh herbs;
- high-fat dairy products;
- unrefined vegetable oil (olive, sunflower);
- oatmeal and buckwheat porridge with butter.
It will be useful to apply ointment locally to the affected skin "Radevit", "Aekol".
When treating an allergic disease, you will need to eliminate any contact with the suspected allergen. If it was not possible to find it, then the child is isolated from contact with all potential allergens, which are traditionally considered household chemicals and chlorine, house dust, pollen, a wide group of food products (nuts, milk, chicken eggs, sugar, red berries, etc.), medicines. Together with a change in lifestyle, antihistamines are prescribed, and topically on the skin with severe damage and extensive desquamation - ointments and cream based on glucocorticosteroid hormones.
Fungal skin lesions are the longest and most difficult to treat. Such treatment requires a mandatory targeted prescription - the doctor must know which of the existing fungi is "guilty" of skin peeling for the choice of drugs. Antifungal therapy in babies is often carried out in a hospital setting. Treatment includes taking topical antifungal agents in the form of ointments and gels, as well as taking similar agents inside.
After the first course of treatment, after waiting 2-3 weeks, a second course is prescribed to avoid new growth of fungal colonies.
Bacterial lesions are treated with antibiotics. There are a large number of antimicrobial ointments. Depending on the belonging of the microbe to one or another species, the treatment of the skin with ointments and antiseptics is prescribed, as well as immunostimulating therapy, and the intake of vitamins. Treatment usually takes 7 to 14 days.
For diseases of the digestive system, the gastroenterologist prescribes specific treatment, including sorbents, enzyme preparations, agents that increase or decrease the acidity of gastric juice, as well as choleretic drugs. For the affected skin, ointments with vitamins are used. Dryness and flaking in diabetes mellitus, HIV infection require the advice of narrow specialists who will tell you how to adjust the basic drug support that children are on so that skin manifestations are minimized.
In all cases of pathological desquamation, regardless of the reason, the child is shown:
- observance of the regime of work and rest;
- normalization of the psychological background in the family, elimination of conflict situations;
- sufficiently humidified air in the room (relative humidity - at least 50-70%);
- washing without the use of soap and other detergents, including baby products;
- moisturizing the skin with vegetable oils approved for use in children (peach, apricot, olive, sunflower, vaseline);
- careful cutting of the baby's nails, since the bacteria and fungi contained under them can infect new wounds when scratching, if desquamation proceeds against a background of severe itching;
- avoiding aggressive effects on the skin - heat, cold, chemicals.
From the arsenal of traditional medicine for desquamation, you can use hand baths with a decoction of chamomile. The water for the procedure should not be hot, but warm. It is useful to make lotions with calendula broth.
But experts do not recommend using honey for smearing the skin of the hands - all beekeeping products are highly allergenic and can worsen the condition of the baby's skin.
Useful baths with a series and celandine, adding a decoction of oak bark to the bathing water. The baby's skin should be gently exfoliated with a special baby mitt for washing. Rubbing the affected skin is prohibited, this prohibition also applies to hard towels.
Prevention
Desquamation can be avoided if you follow the basic rules for preserving children's health:
- You should take care of your baby's skin without overdoing it. Bathing with soap is best done no more than 1 time a day, while for children up to six months it is better to use a soap solution made from baby soap. Children after a year should only buy hypoallergenic bath products. It is not necessary to wash your hands after walking or before eating with soap, it is enough to do it with ordinary running water for at least 30-40 seconds.
- Strengthening immunity from birth will help prevent many childhood illnesses, including skin problems. The best means for building strong immune defenses are hardening, walking in the fresh air, playing sports, active games and a balanced diet rich in vitamins and microelements.
- Should not be used for a child products with a strong drying effect - alcoholic lotions, a large amount of talc. Everything should be in moderation, and alcohol and all the products in which it is contained are contraindicated in children up to adolescence.
- It is important to protect your child's hands from temperature influences - in winter, you should definitely warm them with mittens and gloves, preventing hypothermia, and in summer - lubricate them with sunscreen if you plan to stay in the open sun for a long time. In the off-season, when the wind is a danger, you need to lubricate your hands with protective creams ("Rescuer", "Bepanten") before going outside and carefully wash off the protection with warm running water after returning from a walk.
- All diseases must be treated in a timely manner, first of all, this concerns colds and viral ailments, as well as helminthic invasions. In treatment, you should definitely consult a doctor, do not trust the child's health to traditional medicine, since not a single medicinal plant is capable of killing all pathogenic bacteria, fungi and certainly does not act on viruses at all.
For information on how to avoid skin problems in a child, see the next video.
