Palmar erythema, also known as red palms is a condition affecting the palms of your hands. As the name suggests, it causes the palms to appear red. This condition is commonly seen in pregnant women.
Palmar erythema is known to be hereditary in some cases. It can also be caused due to a number of underlying medical conditions. It is also called as liver palms, because the red rash is sometimes an indication of liver problem.
Symptoms
- You will notice the appearance of redness in both the palms.
- You may feel that your palms are a little warmer than other areas of skin.
- It doesn’t cause any irritation or pain. Some people may feel slight itchiness.
- The redness appears to go away when you press it.
- Red dotted spots usually appears on the palms, but may spread up to your finger nails also.
- In people with light-colored skin, it appears as red or pink spots and in people with dark-colored skin, it appears as dark spots.
- In some cases, red patches may extend to the soles of their feet also.
Causes of Palmar erythema
Palmar erythema is known to be caused due to elevated hormonal changes. The dilation of tiny blood vessels known as capillaries results in red palms. The redness of your palms depends on the severity of this condition.
In hereditary cases, palmer erythema can occur at the time of birth or appear at a later stage and remain so from there onwards. This is a very rare condition in which family members or individuals may be affected. It is not known to cause any adverse affects other than the redness.
In pregnancy, some women may develop palmar erythema because of rising changes in estrogen levels. You may experience many changes related to skin and blood vessels during pregnancy, which are common and usually go away on their own without causing any side effects.
What can you do?
- If you have this condition, try and limit the use of harsh chemicals, soaps, perfumed lotions, alcohol based hand sanitizers and detergents as these can worsen the symptoms.
- Limit your activities that tend to make your hands and feet hot.
- Avoid getting your hands in water frequently, like doing dishes or warm baths.
- It is better to use gloves, if you are doing any water related activities or gardening to minimise its severity.
