Connect with

Friday 5 June 2026

Peer Reviewed

Dermatology clinic

Painful eroded blisters on the hands

Andrew Lee, Gayle Fischer

Recent articles on:
Skin conditions

Chemical peels – controlled injury, clinical gain

A patient with painful mouth ulcers and itchy skin lesions

Topical therapies for psoriasis: selection, education, escalation of therapy

Acral lesions of recent onset and aphthous mouth ulcers

Acral lesions of recent onset and aphthous mouth ulcers

Recent articles on:
Hand injuries and disorders

A nonhealing ulcer on the hand: a sweet case

A bilateral scaly eruption on the palms and soles

Taking a grip of thumb osteoarthritis

A child with severe wrinkling of the skin of the palms

Recurring swelling on finger

Abstract

Test your diagnostic skills in our regular dermatology quiz. What is this ulcerating rash affecting an elderly woman’s hands?

Key Points

Case presentation

An 80-year-old woman presents after developing painful eroded blisters on her hands (Figure 1). A culture of a skin swab has been performed and returned negative results for bacterial and fungal species. At presentation the patient is afebrile; she has recently been well, but she has been diagnosed previously with acute myelocytic leukaemia.