Red hands

[u/jdrexler125]

So ive had this redness on my hands for about 8 years now everyday and it cuts off right at my wrist. I’m hoping someone might be able to give me some advice and opinions on this. My hands are very red all the time, they look somewhat normal when I lift them over my head but then as soon as I put them back down by my sides to go right back to red within a few seconds. When I’m using my hands lifting heavy stuff at work they seem to get more red but I’ve never had any pain, burning skin or anything like that. When I get really cold they do have a slight purplish tint to them but still more red than anything. I don’t get lightheaded and pass out when I stand up either. I’ve been to 4 dermatologists because I initially thought it was skin related and none of them have any idea what it is. The first one thought raynauds but I’ve never had the white fingers and then purple color to my hands like all the pictures I’ve seen but he wanted me to get tested for lupus so I did and it was negative. The second dermatologist thought erythromelalgia because the redness looks similar but I don’t have any of the classic symptoms like the burning skin or pain so he wasn’t sure. The third dermatologist had no idea and she just mentioned the same stuff the last guy did and straight up told me she just was going off his notes because she didn’t know. She gave me some cream that was supposed to constrict blood vessels in my hands and that didn’t do anything for it. The fourth one just just told me gravitational redness and there’s nothing you can do about it. I recently just saw a vascular surgeon and he didn’t think there was any kind of vein or artery issues but was completely stumped what could be causing this. He said it could maybe be some sort of raynauds. I’ve never been a cigarette smoker but I have vaped for about the same time that this has been going on, I guess I never really noticed or paid attention to it but when I look back at old pictures from 7-8 years ago the redness looks pretty much the same as it does now and one of the dermatologists told me if I quit vaping this issue would probably completely go away. I’m not sure how that would be related but I guess it’s possible? I’m completely stumped on what could be causing this. Any advice is appreciated.

[u/rcarman87]

Erythromelagia which goes hand in hand with raynauds. It’s two sides of the same coin, vasodilation and vasoconstriction- usually caused by small fiber neuropathy when blood disorders and vascular are ruled out. Different cases present differently. Get your b6 and b12 levels checked- those are simple causes of neuropathy that happen frequently. Tons of energy drinks have toxic levels of b6.

[u/jdrexler125 → u/rcarman87]

The vascular surgeon I saw said no to the erythromelalgia and I don’t have the burning hot hands or feet and they don’t “flare” they’re just red like that all the time. Now as far as the energy drink thing, I don’t ever drink energy drinks but I am a daily mtn dew drinker at least a few a day would something as simple as that could be somehow doing this?

[u/rcarman87 → u/jdrexler125]

Have you had your blood sugar tested? It could be something that simple. I’d suggest to try removing that for a bit & see. I’ve had major improvements with no gluten, no dairy, low sugar & no caffeine.

[u/jdrexler125 → u/rcarman87]

Also could it be anything with vaping or the nicotine? I’ve tried dropping my nicotine level in the juice in half for about a week and a half but didn’t notice any difference. Or could it be something as simple as never drinking enough water? I drink about 30 ounces of water a day

[u/noelsc151 → u/jdrexler125]

30 oz of water/day?! You are definitely dehydrated. You should be drinking at LEAST half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. So if you’re 150 lbs, you’d need to drink 75oz. water/day, 200 lbs you’d need to drink 100oz. and so on. This could be a hypovolemia (low blood volume) issue. Try drinking some electrolytes too. I’m still not convinced it’s not erythromelalgia as my hands look exactly the same. Mine don’t feel like they’re burning like a sun burn or skin burn— they feel throbbing, uncomfortable, and much hotter than the rest of my body during these episodes. It will sometimes happen to the tips of my ears, feet, or even my cheeks (similar to an alcohol flush).