My hand has been swollen for over a mont

Tonight, in this order: cool the skin, keep the hands covered while you sleep, and give the itch a substitute — press or rub the itchy patch with a finger instead of scratching it. This is symptom management for the itch, not a diagnosis, and it does not replace a clinician.

Why the itch is worse at night

Heat, warm bedding and a warm room are common itch amplifiers, and scratching briefly soothes and then sets the itch up again. So the plan is aimed at two things: lower the heat on the skin, and put something between the itch and the nails.

Tonight's sequence (roughly 15–25 minutes, including the house handover)

1. Cool the room and the skin. Lighter cotton bedding, a cooler bedroom, a lukewarm (not hot) bath. Pat dry, don't rub.
2. Moisturise while the skin is still slightly damp, then again in the evening and at bedtime. The NHS advises emollient "as often as possible (at least 2 times a day)" and to keep moisturising even when it improves. Use a spoon or pump, not your fingers in the pot.
3. Cover the hands for the night — clean soft cotton gloves or cotton socks over the hands, and keep nails short. This is the anti-scratch mitten trick the NHS recommends for eczema, applied to adult hands.
4. Give the itch a substitute: press or rub the itchy area with a finger, and hold a cool damp cloth on the itchiest patch for a few minutes.
5. Wash with the moisturiser instead of soap, and keep the last hours before bed free of new soaps, new detergents, fragranced products and rough fabrics.

What you've tried vs. the better version

Avoid list

• No scratching, picking, or hot baths; don't heat the room or pile on blankets.
• Avoid soap, fragranced products, new detergents, rough fabrics, and aqueous cream (the NHS says it can irritate eczema skin).
• Don't dip fingers into the moisturiser pot, and don't share it with anyone in the house.
• Don't start, stop, double or swap any prescribed cream or medicine on your own — that decision belongs to the clinician. Bring the list instead.
• Don't use anyone else's cream, don't buy miracle powders or prescription creams online, and don't change your diet on your own.
• Don't smoke or go near naked flames near moisturiser-soaked bedding or clothing — emollients aren't flammable on skin but can catch on fabrics.

When to seek care

Emergency help now: purple spots or patches that do not fade under a glass together with fever or feeling unwell; pain far out of keeping with a red patch; skin peeling off in sheets; swelling of the face or throat with trouble breathing; peeling skin with mouth or eye sores after a new medicine.

Same-day review (do not wait for the weekend): round "punched-out" painful sores or clustered blisters in the eczema, especially on the face — this is not ordinary eczema weep and needs prompt treatment; a spreading warm tender red area, and on the face or hands it counts even if you feel fine; eczema that is blistered, crusty, leaking fluid, has pus-filled spots, is painful/swollen/warm, suddenly gets worse or bigger, or comes with fever or feeling generally unwell. Eye involvement needs urgent eye review. If the itching person is the child or the frail elder in the house, move down a step — same-day, not tomorrow.

Book a routine review: the itch is wrecking sleep most nights and what you're using isn't controlling it. The NHS advises seeing a GP when treatments are not helping.

Decision tree

1. Is the person otherwise well, breathing and speaking normally? No → emergency help now.
2. Any punched-out painful sores, clustered blisters, pus, spreading warmth, or fever? Yes → same-day review (emergency if unwell or eye involvement).
3. None of those, and sleep is still destroyed? → do tonight's sequence, and book a review this week.
4. Better within a day or two? → keep the routine going and watch.

Scripts

To the other adult in the house tonight: "My eczema is flaring. I'm doing the plan: cool room, hands covered, moisturiser, no scratching. If you see spreading redness, weeping sores, or a fever — or I can't settle at all — wake me straight away, don't wait for morning."

To the clinic (phone, message or at the desk): "I've had eczema on [where] for [how long]. The last [how long] the itch is at its worst at night and it's breaking my sleep. I use [your moisturiser] after a lukewarm bath and moisturise twice a day, and it isn't controlling it. I'd like a review and to talk about what else is available."

Bring: where it is and when it started, what changed recently (soaps, detergents, clothing, heat, stress), how sleep is affected, any weeping or crusting, photos of the worst patches, and every cream and medicine you use with names and how often.

What a good next 24 hours looks like

Not a cure — eczema is a long-term condition that flares, and treatment manages symptoms. A good sign is: fewer scratching episodes, falling asleep without needing to scratch first, no new weeping or crusting, and skin not more red in the morning. If none of that has changed by tomorrow, that is a reason to book the review, not a sign the plan failed.

One check so I aim this right: is the eczema on you, or on the child or the elder in the house — and which country or city are you in? I have no place to work from here, so I can't give you a verified local urgent-care number or pharmacy yet; with your country and city I can point you to the right door.

Source: nhs-conditions https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/atopic-eczema/ (page last reviewed 6 September 2024, next review due 6 September 2027; checked 26 October 2026)