Fever, itching hands and feet: what to know

Check whether the skin is red, raised, blistered, scaly, cracked, or peeling. Note whether the palms, soles, spaces between fingers, or the rest of the body are involved. Hives can appear suddenly and move, while contact irritation often follows a new soap, glove, plant, or medicine. Eczema and psoriasis tend to cause ongoing inflammation and scaling. Scabies often causes marked itching, especially at night, and may affect household contacts. Fever makes an infection or a broader illness more relevant, but the symptoms alone cannot identify one cause.

Keep the skin cool and use a plain, fragrance-free moisturiser if it is dry. Avoid scratching, hot showers, new creams, and fragranced products until the cause is clearer. Drink fluids and record the temperature, timing, new exposures, medicines, and whether anyone close to you is itchy. Do not apply a steroid, antibiotic, or antifungal product to a new rash without suitable advice. A clinician may need to inspect the hands and feet and review the full symptom pattern.

Get urgent help for trouble breathing, swelling of the lips or tongue, faintness, confusion, severe weakness, a rapidly spreading rash, purple or bruise-like spots, skin peeling, or severe pain. Seek prompt medical assessment when fever persists, the rash involves the eyes or mouth, blisters develop, or the person is a young child, pregnant, elderly, or immunocompromised.

Ask what the rash pattern suggests, whether testing is needed, which medicines or products should be stopped, and how to protect others if an infectious or contagious cause is suspected.