Any help for skin that gets sticky when it gets wet?

I have been puzzled by this for a while as well. Recently my skin has become clammy especially around the neck region and under my chin, forearms and legs. I am fighting type II diabetes and some kidney complications and I think it is related. What I have noticed is that when my body feels hot inside the clamminess is worse. In a cool environment it disappears completely. There is a circulation related issue and I am taking vitamin B12 as a supplement. It seems to help, but complicated because I am trying to hold down the kidney problem at the same time. I am turning more to chinese medicine to balance the body's hormones and organ interaction. No doctor help here.

This is a new problem for me-very strange. At first I thought it must be something in the water of my new apartment but now it happens everywhere-not as bad as some have reported but definitely concerning. I hope to find an answer but the internet has not been helpful so far except to read that it is a waste of time and money to go see a dermatologist.

As someone mentioned earlier, there is a syndrome known as cutaneous adherence syndrome, which has really only been examined in patients who were being treated for prostate cancer. However, that treatment is partially hormonal and partially antifungal, so I wonder if in some cases this sticky skin issue is related to a change in hormone levels. As another person mentioned, it is sometimes correlated with mold exposure as well. I found links to articles that mention this syndrome: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/adis/dsf/1999/00000020/00000005/art00005, http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Citation/1994/08792/Dermatology.7.aspx, and http://rommet.com/KAD/pcngcincinnati/chemo/High%20Dose%20Ketoconazole_PCRI%20insights.pdf.

This doesn't answer questions, but you could print these out, take them to a dermatologist and perhaps get them to take you seriously.

Have you guys tried a new shower head or a filter on your shower head? It might be hard water or soft water in your home that leaves a sticky residue on your skin.

this is really strange and i,m glad i found this topic, a couple of week's ago i noticed that the four fingers had become pink and a little waxy/sticky just like what i have read here, i was also going to go and see the doctor about this but after reading all the comment's it seems i would be wasting my time, i have just turned 40 years old and thought maybe it's just an age thing, so as we do i googled it and found this, i first thought that maybe it was caused my cleaning some synthetic oil from a friend's motorcycle the other week when we was out racing, but after a few week's it's still the same, so i dipped my right hand in some synthetic oil yesterday (just for science) and no reaction, so i can now rule that out, it's a strange feeling and doing the bloke thing "as we do" i thought it would just go away, i get no itching or funny feeling, just four shiney fingers that look like they are really sweaty and hot, even though my right is doing exactly the same thing and they are fine...

it's made me feel a little better knowing that other people have the same thing and that i have not cracked up, i hope it goes away for you all soon.

adrian, uk (sorry about any spelling mistakes)

I started on a low carbohydrate diet two weeks ago. In the last week my feet and especially hands feel sticky--extremely sticky when wet. Maybe they are related? I'm also on Metformin to help regulate my insulin. Any ideas about the cause, anyone?

Twig - Thanks so much for returning and posting again. No, none of you are crazy and it's sad that there aren't clear answers available to help people understand this better. I'm glad the problem's cleared up for you, and appreciate that you took the time to write about it so that others could also join in.
Take care, Pat

I was the first person to post this here. Since then I have read all of the comments with interest. What has prompted me to sign in again and comment on this is the last couple of posts. I too had no meds to react to, no mold problems at home or work, no soft water, no construction nearby, no new stress or highly unusual weather. It came on suddenly and lasted for a few weeks and then went away, just like the last person who wrote. My skin was only sticky when it was damp and when I would shower it was like there was a wax film over my body and the water would bead and run off. When I was dry my skin would feel normal to the touch. Since it came and went, I have had one other time, which was much shorter than the first, when I dealt with this again.

I continue to read people's comments and hope that at some point someone will comment on here who will have found a medical explanation for this, and hopefully help as well. I hope to never deal with this again, as you all know it is a bit unnerving to know for sure that there is something not right and have no one understand. One thing that seems to be common among these posts is a lack of understanding from the medical field. I never did go to the doctor about this because I wasn't sure they would take me seriously, and the comments I read on here seemed to reinforce that.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. If nothing else it is encouraging to know that we are not crazy and we are not alone.