What are the symptoms of hand-foot syndrome

The cause of hand-foot syndrome is usually due to the side effects of long-term use of some chemotherapy drugs. What are the symptoms of hand-foot syndrome? Usually, people with hand-foot syndrome will have pain, redness, swelling, and ulcers in their fingers or toes. If not treated in time, infection may occur, causing great trouble to everyone's movements. Let's take a look at the detailed symptoms of hand-foot syndrome.

Hand-foot syndrome: also known as palmoplantar erythema, the main clinical manifestations are heat, pain, erythematous swelling of the fingers/toes. In severe cases, it develops into desquamation, ulcers and severe pain, affecting daily life. The occurrence of hand-foot syndrome is often caused by some chemotherapy drugs and targeted drugs. Today I will take you to learn about hand-foot syndrome.

1. Drugs that may cause hand-foot syndrome

Chemotherapy drugs: capecitabine, doxorubicin, liposomal doxorubicin, cytarabine, docetaxel, vinorelbine, gemcitabine, etc.

Targeted drugs: Sonitinib (Sutent), sorafenib (Nexavar), imatinib (Gleevec), erlotinib (Tarceva), apatinib (Apatinib)

Biologics: High-dose IL-2

What are the symptoms of hand-foot syndrome?

1. Itchy skin on the palms and soles, congestion on the palms, fingertips and soles.

2. Pain at the ends of fingers/toes, erythema and tension of the skin of hands/feet, dullness and numbness, and rough and cracked skin.

3. Blisters, desquamation, peeling, exudation, and even ulceration may occur, and secondary infection may occur. Patients may be unable to walk due to severe pain, which may lead to the loss of the ability to take care of themselves.

4. It is self-limiting, but it will recur after re-administration of the drug.

3. Precautions for patients with hand-foot syndrome

1. Try to avoid friction between your hands and feet and contact with high-temperature objects.

2. Patients are advised not to wear tight, ill-fitting shoes, and to wear slippers as much as possible. They should avoid friction and pressure on their hands and feet, avoid intense exercise and physical labor, and reduce the number of times their hands and feet come into contact with hot water.

3. Keep the skin of your hands and feet moisturized. Soak your hands and feet in warm water for 10 minutes, then wipe dry, and then apply skin cream, such as: Vaseline ointment, urea ointment, etc. This can effectively absorb moisture into the skin.

4. Avoid exposure to sunlight. When hand-foot syndrome occurs, you should apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 when going out.

5. Do not tear it with your hands when peeling occurs. You can use sterilized scissors to cut off the lifted part.