Palmoplantar Pustulosis - Pain Relief

You can get DuoDerm dressings from Amazon, I have linked the image to the page where you find them.

If you're suffering with the chronic skin disease Palmoplantar Pustulosis and find it painful to walk and wear shoes due to the severe pain from when the pustules (blisters) opens up turning in to fissures and starts bleeding, please continue reading.

​​​The worst part of having Palmoplantar pustulosis aside from the itchiness and the fact it doesn't look very pretty, has to be the discomfort and the unbearable pain. Specifically the pain whilst walking, and particularly if there are deep fissures (cracks in the skin) which are also bleeding.  

I remember days when I could hardly walk and just moving the foot around without putting it down, was extremely painful. Nothing seemed to work whatever the lotions I was putting on which had been prescribed to me. This severe pain combined with the intense itchiness would be enough to drive anyone mad.

​I never forget that day I was limping along to my second visit to the dermatologist which was also going to be my last visit. I informed my Doctor the creams he had prescribed didn't seem to work and I explained my foot and hand are actually getting worse. He shook his shoulders and said there is nothing more he can do for me unless I was considering starting on a biologic agent which did not feel like an option to me back then.
Biologics was never an option for me, as it only seemed to mask all the symptoms but not actually deal with the root cause which was causing my PPP. Anyone considering taking a biologic drug should talk with his or her doctor about the short- and long-term side effects and risks. It is important to weigh the risks against the benefits of using drugs. 

I started to tell my doctor about all the research I've been doing on how the immune system works and there might be a way of dealing with this disease naturally, but it was like talking to the wall, my dermatologist was not interested in hearing my theories about any alternative ways of combating Palmoplantar Pustulosis. But before I left his office he did suggest trying hydrocolloid plasters to ease the pain, he gave me a packet for free and didn't have much more to say to me, and off home I went. 

When I got home I thought I might as well give the plasters ago, I had nothing to lose and to my amazement, the pain started to ease off within a few hours. The next day I was able to walk with my runners on without a limp.  I would leave the plasters (DuoDerm dressings) on for several days and when removed the fissures would be healed, I was just stunned. The thing with these plasters are the sores are able to heal under the dressing, without scabbing or itching. The dressings look very natural as they are skin coloured, so no one really knows you have them on if you don't look closely. They are easy to cut into the shape you need them to be so they only cover the area where the palmoplantar pustulosis outbreak is located. They work well on your hands as well as the feet.  They are also waterproof which mean you can keep them on when having a shower or a bath, which are great if the water is causing you to hurt even more.
The product description on DuoDerms website goes like this :

DuoDERM® Extra Thin dressing is a hydrocolloid dressing indicated for the management of lightly exuding wounds. It combines a unique ConvaTec hydrocolloid formulation that distinguishes it from other hydrocolloid dressings and a vapor-permeable outer film to provide an occlusive moist environment. 

Please note these dressings do not heal Palmoplantar Pustulosis but they definitely help with reducing the pain and make you able to walk again, as well as the daily tasks such as carrying bags and doing the dishes etc... They do improve the quality of your life when the PPP outbreaks are at a peak and most painful. 

Have you ever tried them? And what's your own experience? I would love to hear from you. ​

Åsa Kärrman