What should you know about heat spots on fingers?

Sweat, heat, frequent handwashing, gloves, and contact with irritants can produce small itchy or red areas. Bumps around hairs are less typical on fingers, so a spot on the back of a finger may need a different explanation from tiny fluid-filled blisters on the sides. Location, symmetry, itch, burning, and scaling all help a clinician assess it.

Cool the hands with comfortable water, dry them well, and avoid picking or puncturing bumps. Use a mild cleanser and a plain moisturiser if the skin is dry or cracked. Wear protective gloves for cleaning, with a breathable layer underneath if sweating is a problem. Stop any newly introduced product until the skin is calmer.

Arrange medical review when spots recur, become painful, crack, drain, limit finger movement, or persist despite removing heat and irritants. Seek prompt care for rapidly increasing swelling, spreading redness, severe pain, fever, or red streaks. Sudden swelling with breathing difficulty is an emergency.

Ask whether the appearance fits irritation, eczema, infection, or another rash; what to apply; and how to protect your hands at work. Tell the clinician about soaps, sanitiser, gloves, jewellery, new medicines, and whether the spots itch, burn, blister, or ooze.