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

Lala35, are you using insect repellent such as off or cutter or something this stuff is really sticky when applied to your skin and takes forever to wash off. That simple huh? I have been doing extensive research on this subject, so many( could be this could be that,) my most recent being pancreatitis seems the body fails to absorb fat which, if it comes out on the outside would make us sticky. Do you have any abdominal pain? I know seeing your DR. for sticky hands is all but useless but you really should if for no other reason than to ease your mind.;) And I will keep looking.
Icky
P.S. Try using ST. Ives facial scrub with salicylic acid rub in for 3 minutes then rinse well, it helps. A store brand will probably work just as well.

I am so glad I found this site. So this has affected me rather
suddenly and it is, for lack of better terms, freaking me out. I have
severe hypochondria and this has done nothing to help that. :)

Two days ago, I was in the shower, and I noticed after I washed my
hair that my hands felt extremely sticky. Almost like I had a coating
of Vaseline on them. I thought that I had maybe gotten some glue from
a shampoo bottle label on them. So, I immediately washed them with
body wash (as that was all I had in the shower) and it didn't help
much. I ignored it, thought it was my imagination and carried on about
my business for the day.

Did not notice it yesterday, but today...in the shower, same thing (I
did shower yesterday, but I was in such a hurry, I didn't pay any
attention). Once again, I freaked out. After I got out of the shower,
I washed my hands and it did the same thing. It was like someone had
poured a coating of glue or syrup on my hands! When I made a fist, I
could literally watch my skin sticking together.

My mom is a hospital nurse, so I went to my parent's house to wash my
hands in front of her. I was hoping maybe it was just the water in my
apartment, but it did the same thing at her house: Sticky hands. She
washed her hands, and they were fine. I almost had a panic attack. My
mom knows how bad my hypochondria is, so she kind of brushed it off
and said I must've gotten something on my hands. I had a Starbucks cup
with me and even the condensation from it was making my hands feel
sticky.

I am 35 years old, W/F, very healthy and have never had any major
health problems except Ovarian Cancer, when I was 19 (ovaries were
removed and no further treatment was necessary) and I do have IBS but
it is minor. I do not take any regular medications and only use
ibuprofen on occasion for a headache or whatnot.

I have not changed any laundry, cleaning, skincare, cosmetic or hair
products lately, so I don't think that would be causing it. I have not
been exposed to mold that I know of.

I should add that this is only affecting my hands, at this time (Thank
God). Of course, with my hypochondria I now feel like my whole body is
sticky (even though it isn't) and have been obsessively washing my
hands to see if will go away. It hasn't. This is causing my major
anxiety. I don't know what to do, or if I should go see a doctor
(which I'm terrified of, by the way). I have read every response on
here and it has calmed me down a lot to see that a lot of others have
the same problem and it appears to not be life threatening.

I have researched all the symptoms of MS, Hyperthyroidism, Malassezia
and Fibromyalgia. I have none of the symptoms of any of these. I am at
a loss, and am sure that I'm driving my parents and boyfriend crazy
(as well as his mom, who is a nurse).

I will be keeping up with this site and hope that more people will
post soon. THANK YOU to all of you who have shared your story!

Kristy

Hello everyone,
I find this all rather fascinating, I too have sticky skin when damp, this is the second time. I have read numerous comments and replies on this site and one thing keeps popping up WELL WATER,so here is my story. I started with sticky hands about 2 months ago for the second time since I have lived at my present location of 27 years.I have a well which as time goes by builds up what is known as iron bacteria on the pump, this bacteria is a very slimy, sticky which is usually seen as brown or reddish brown slime in the tanks of your toilets. the last time I had this sticky hand problem I was able to relate it to this bacteria, if you see it on your pump it is really gross and looks sort of like algae but it's not, it can smell like mold, rotten vegetation, sewer water and taste much the same it also sometimes leaves like an oil sheen on the water, they say this bacteria is harmless to us, I don't know I agree with that, I would think drinking allot of this water would leave some sort of residue in your blood stream and on your skin. I have no proof of this and yes my DR. shrugged it off and told me my body was sticky because it was summer, hot and humid sticky, so folks guess we have another nut case here. hope this helps someone I need to have my pump replaced again I had the well shocked but chlorine can't penetrate this type of bacteria sooo... Google it, see for yourself what you think "Iron bacteria in well water" last time I had pump changed stickies went away.
Bug repellent another culprit of summer is designed not to wash off even after repeated washings Off deep woods sticks forever so you don't have to apply it to often but so does there regular off, scared me to death first time it happened so don't over use this type of product and it will come off eventually.
Next denture adhesive another culprit especially in your mouth if you swallow enough, who knows? I am still searching for a definite reason for us sticky people Yeast looking like another culprit I need more info. so hang in there it doesn't seem to be life threatening unless it is systemic yeast infection, still need more info and DR's who listen to us. GOOD LUCK ALL!

i also have it and hope to see information on reducing or stopping it also..

i also have it and hope to see information on reducing or stopping it also..

Hi Lora!
This is Kacha again.
It was interesting reading your post!
It´s only natural that you are giving this symtomes so much attention, This is a condition that is quite hard to explain to someone who havnt had it, but, after all, our skin is the largest organ of the body, and such an imprtant organ too, we have trillions of receptors and of course we react when something is "coating" our skin in a very strange and uncomfortabe way... I´ve tried to explain to others that if they would try using glue as lotion and walk around in that for a couple of days not beeing able to wash it of, they would´nt be happy with it either. Its naturall to feel anxious abot it too. I hope that it will help to know that there are others, Unfortunately we seem to have hit a point where no one has found any help or solutions yet, but the positive side is that since 2008, when there where amost no posts or information at all about this symtomes, we now are quite alot of peolpe here. Eventually there will bee some answers i think, I just think that this is a complexe disorder...I think that you are doing the right thing with acupuncture and so on, try and eat as healhy as you can, and as the above post said no softerners etc...Keep of any unnessesary hoseholdproducts, soaps shampoos etc, use only water if possible. I´ts highly likely that this may be an allergic reaction,It may have something to do with with your water softener, if i t uses chemichals. salt definetely is te one thing making my sticky skin condition worse, so if he added more salt, maybee, if not causing it ( cuse i dont thing salt causes the condition) is making i t worse. I think plastic components and chemichals from pipes can be a factor, ive resently moved, and maybe a littlebitt better with the new water. I think the sticky skin condition may be may be caused by chemicals. Food allergy and different bacteria the serratiais is an interesting suggestion, mold or yeast perhaps. I think it may be a combination of living in a polluted environment (every humanbeeing today has hundreds of different chemicals circulating and building up in our bodies) resulting in allergys toward both the chemichals,and reactions agains naturall substances aswell as a result of the chemical load perhaps, altering of body functions such as how the skin builds, and what the skin is producing in glands...One doctor suggested that maybe the skin is producing something from its glands or pores, that similar to a kind of glue used in industries, only acts a a adherer when wet. a kind of powder glue, add water and get sticky.....I thought that was an interesting way of looking at it, since the hardest part for me to undersand is WHY only sticky when wet or actually not wet, more moist..., since many of the unnatural chemichals in our environment and body act as for example estrogen mimics and sofort, its not starnge if they might be causing strange ractions and symptomes of functions in the body, such as skin. They may be altering and makin the skin build up in the wrong way. i have posted a link to a scientiffic report about a man with sticky skin before, they found changes i n structure of the skin, check out my early posts her) I think maybee we also have troble fighting of attacs of bacteria, yeast and parasites as a result of the chemichal load....This is just my thougts and I don´t know, but for me my sticky skin definetely started after an exposure to chemichals, i think that could be the case for many others here too, we just dont think about it cause sometimes the effect comes gradually, and the causatives may bee a combination of chemicals over a period of time. I would hope ther would be an easy answer, such as a bacteria causing it, but for now I´m leanig towards a more complew answer. What would be helpful, perhaps, is if someone could get an biopsy done, someone who looked at the skin in a microscope trying to determine is there actuall changes in skin structure, is, ther a "caoting" or what. One way could bee to, for those of us living nearby eatchother, going together to see doctors, I think that we are so easy to dismiss just bacause we are alone, and doctors never heard of i t before. I live in Sweden and I think most of you live in the US? Some of You in the UK? Guess its not an easy thing, but would be helpful i think to go to doctors in group.
M.E (myalgic encephalemyelitis) is a neuro-immune disorder. I´ve had it since i fisrt got sticky skin so I definitey think the two are connected in some way...).It causes malfunction of the immunesytem, prone to infections, troble with the nerveous system, hormonal issues, great exhaustion,( why Im not able to write often) decreased oxygen support to the brain, trouble with the bloodpressure, posural tachyardia syndrome and sofort... All of this started after an exposure to chemical in 2001. I so regognize about the bleeding gums, and i think that is what makes it so uncomfortable, you can feel the coating not only on your skin but in you mouth and throat and eyes and nose ( and intestines) too... When i went to my dentists one time he and the nurse were wery surprised over the fact that the tampon got stuck on my gums, you know, the cotton swab thing thy use to keep away saliva...the could´nt get it ot of the mouth it stuck so bad...they had never seen any thing like it, ha ha...i was not surprised i can say, used to towels and stuff sticking to me after the shower and when sleeping.
For me the firts time i was sticki it lasted about two years and the things i did (I cant go in to every detail here ) was to eat boidynamic, drink lots of water, remove milk and wheat from my diet, doing different types of eastern medicine such as Qi gong, and I also did something similar to what you have tried, with the little Qui. machine ;) and actually, all of my internal meridians wher very low too, and we where able to get those up eventually,I think 13 treatments, the nurse who helped me with that worked at a doctors office where the doctor also was into alternative methods,(he was a professor in clinical chemistry aswel)..he gave me large doses of vitamin C in IV once or twice a week, to try and detoxyfy the body, and I did this Actupunture Machine at the same time....I would like to point out thougt, that I think it was my hard work with the diet and qigong , and also several different cleanses, like bow cleanses, liver cleanses, (go yo you a helath shop and ask, The program I used where Robert grays if you wat to look into that.) I think that made my bode more prone to that eventual response of the treatment of the meridians and the IV with vit C....anyhow, If you can, keep dooing acupunctunture, go to chinese doctor, I thing that is a great supporter for your body. There are plenty of antimicrobal herbs you could try, and a doctor knowledgable i eastern medicine would have a lot of suggestions I think. I´ve done different types, and i cant point out wich ones are effective I just think everything I did helped. Since whe dont know the cause the onlu thing is to try and fight it with a broad spectra...I would recommed perhaps doing liver or bow claense first, (the simple clear out stuff before you put good thngs in theory ;) and then take supplemnts and herbs, when you get you result from the hair sample.... a broad spectra of both mineral, traceminerals. antioxidants and diet high in all of that.... NEVER EVER take high doses of any vitamin without a doctors firm knowledge, I had MAJOR drawbacks when I took large doses of only vitamin B,, and ONLY vitamin Bs,( there are aot of nutritionalists out there who do not know whar they are doing) Alwas take broadspectra, and if you want to take high doses of anything else, be carefull. Im doing high doses vitamine D right know, am I little anxious about it beeing toxic but my M.E doctor dicovered i was very low in my values) Again to try to keep of milk for a year could be a great help... I think that waas one of the thing that made a grater difference for me....I ve read a lot of books about hidden foodallegys, milk and wheta often beeing a catalysator for secondary allergies... keep of sugars!!! It took two years of this for me, and i did get much much better almost as before!! in 2003 with the stickyness, and for a long period of time after that, but unfortunately with the M.E cindition still remaining...Why I ended up getting sticky again,in 2007-8 and why the onset have been so sudden for me both times it has come back is a puzzIe.I would think sudden onset= allergy, chemichal reaction, ( plastic cast with isocyanates) but it could just as easy be a baceria or just a bulid up of things in the body that culminates. The positive thing is that as sudden as the onset was,one of my "episodes" in 2008 , lasted only seven weeks and disappeared sudden, so if you are lucky ther is a possibility it migth for u too) ( this time howevwr it has been really subborn for two and a halv years, but only on hands anf feet) i hope this info will help you in any way, TAKE CARE!
/Kacha

Hi, Kacha. My name is Lora. Thanks for responding. I am new here. Have been sticky since March 2011, but I wonder if it's been a subtle thing building for several years. I replaced my water softener in 2009 and was never happy with it because my skin wasn't slick like it should have been. I thought problem was softener, so, had service man come in March 2011 to check. He said all was fine and increased the salt - then I got really sticky.Had another serviceman come and he too said all was well. Haven't used softener since May 2011. In June for a period of 3 weeks I had to shower at other peoples houses due to town water problems. Still was sticky. Trying to eliminate potential source. Went to 3 allopathic doctors - pointless. Put me on tetracycline which made my intestinal discomfort worse. Had dental exam and was first time I've ever had bleeding gums (I can feel it in my mouth). Then went to my accupuncurist and with 3 treatments and digestive herbs he helped the major intestinal discomfort. Two weeks ago talked with a board certified medical intuitive and she told me something was causing my sebaceous gland to over produce one of it's components causing a water proofing of my skin. Last week I went to an internist M.D. who also practices alternative medicine. He tested my accupuncture meridians with a machine and my chi in intestines was low (as my accupuncturist also noted but wasn't able to increase with 3 treatments) and he gave me a homeopathic solution and some tablets for a parasite cleanse. (I'm on day 3) He also tested me for food allergies and did a hair analysis. I get results in August. My History: In 2003 I had surgery and radiation for early stage breast cancer. In 2004 I started getting annual infections in my eyelids - right eye, then left, then right, then left. The last one (2008) I was able to get rid of on my own, but a week later I developed an infection in my nose that later tested MRSA staph. I was cleared in 2009. So, I wonder if something has gradually been building in my system. Wonder if I, or someone else, has used something on, or in me (hospital). The serratia marcescens bacterium theory sounds interesting. Makes me wonder if it's the common denominator that has been present in any number of products that we have all used, or been used on us. I don't know, and unfortunately, there seems to be little help to assist us in determining the source. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that is going to lead to something positive.I don't like that I give it so much of my attention. I try one route; when it fails I get anxious and upset, and the cycle continues. I don't know what my next plan is, but I will definitely keep you informed. I hope it is as easy as a food allergy reaction. You say you have M.E. What is that?