The skin on my fingers is peeling - Folfox?

[SynD]

The skin on the underside of my thumbs and a few of my fingers is peeling like a sunburn. Very weird. I assume this is Folfox related as I just had round 5 this week. Anyone else experience this?

[nicola smith]

The only time I've had this was as a reaction to drugs used to control ulcerative colitis - like mesalamine, salofalk etc. It was painful to handle things. The skin also peeled off the soles of my feet but that didn't hurt. Weird

Oh yeah - the doctor took me off the drugs immediately

[SkiFletch]

5FU can in some cases cause hand/foot syndrome similar to what Xeloda users experience. It's not very common but it can happen.

[Bob_Weiss]

When on Xeloda, I had hand/foot syndrome which first turned my hands red and then, a few weeks later, they began to peel. I also had some minor peeling and redness on the back of my feet. I took Udder cream and vitamin B6 as recommended, which helped the symptoms. This was my major side effect while on chemo, and it was not so bad. It did not affect my daily activities.

[nefertine]

The condition where the skin peels off the fingers and soles of the feet is known as Neuropathy. It can be permanent. That is why your doctor/oncologist should stop chemo immediately or change your cocktail mix

[jjlist]

it didnt happen to me , but my onc told me to watch out for that side effect

[Karen32]

I just finished my 12 rounds of Folfox about three weeks ago. I would say at about round 7 or 8 i started to experience redness on my feet and then the skin peeled. At 3 weeks post Folfox I am still experiencing lingering peeling and redness, but it is definitely getting better.

[BrownBagger]

The condition where the skin peels off the fingers and soles of the feet is known as Neuropathy. It can be permanent. That is why your doctor/oncologist should stop chemo immediately or change your cocktail mix

Actually, that's not true. Neuropathy is nerve damage, not peeling skin. Skin problems can be caused by Xeloda, but that's not part of the Folfox regime.

[betsydoglover]

The condition where the skin peels off the fingers and soles of the feet is known as Neuropathy. It can be permanent. That is why your doctor/oncologist should stop chemo immediately or change your cocktail mix

Actually, that's not true. Neuropathy is nerve damage, not peeling skin. Skin problems can be caused by Xeloda, but that's not part of the Folfox regime.

Eric is correct - peeling skin is not related to neuropathy. I had it while on Xeloda twice. Actually still have some on Avastin only - Avastin itself can cause dry skin and is certainly not known for healing an previous (Xeloda) damange.

I would guess that skin problems are possible with 5FU even if less likely than with Xeloda.

[dianne052506]

[quote="BrownBaggerSkin problems can be caused by Xeloda, but that's not part of the Folfox regime.[/quote]

hand/foot syndrome can also be caused by 5-FU. I was on FOLFOX/Avastin and had several problems with my feet, causing my onc to cut the 5-FU dosage. My skin improved dramatically, and the peeling virtually stopped. Six months later, when I switched to XELOX/Avastin due to the leucovorin shortage, my Xeloda dosage was set at 800 mg/ twice a day, much lower than recommended for my body mass. The problem started back up after a few months, and although aggravating, it has never gotten as bad as it was originally with the higher 5-FU dose.
I asked my dermatologist about it during a visit for another problem. She said she sees hand/foot more from 5-FU, but that may be only because XELODA is not as widely prescribed.
Dianne

[BrownBagger]

hand/foot syndrome can also be caused by 5-FU.

Thanks for the clarification, Dianne. Since Xeloda is the oral form of 5-FU, it makes sense that it would cause similar skin issues.

[Terry]

Neuropathy is a whole different ball game than hand/foot syndrome or the cold sensitivity experienced by oxilaplatin. Like Eric said, neuropathy is nerve damage and can permanent or can get better with time. After having oxi twice, I feel very lucky that I only have it at the very tip of my toes. It's worse when the weather is cool. People can get it more severely in their entire feet and legs. Doctors try and prevent this as much as possible by using the calcium and magnesium before and after infusing the oxi. The cold sensitivity is a temporary (lasting anywhere from 3 to 7 days) condition you get right after having the oxi infusion and it goes away completely until the next infusion. Eating, drinking and inhaling cold air are also effects of this sensitivity. Try and not breathe cold air in because you can have spasms and temporarily close off your airway (I did that with a fan on my face once and scared the heck out of myself). The hand/foot syndrome's biggest culprit is the Xeloda, but many things can cause it. I had it on my feet and my thumb on the left hand and one finger on the right. I used Eucerin calming creme whch healed the dryness and also took the itch away.

I'm writing this for any new users (I know we have a couple that haven't begun treatment yet) so they know what could be causing something and know if it's permanent or not.

[thelongglass]

I had the peeling lingering even a few weeks after my 5 weeks of 5FU. I am on my fifth week of Folfox but haven't had the reaction yet. It makes it hard to do detailed work with your fingers for sure, which wouldn't be great alongside cold sensitivity and numbness, I imagine.

[KellyBelle]

The condition where the skin peels off the fingers and soles of the feet is known as Neuropathy. It can be permanent. That is why your doctor/oncologist should stop chemo immediately or change your cocktail mix

Another reason why asking for medical advice from an internet bulletin board can be very dangerous at times. This condition is totally unrelated to neuropathy.

Kelly

[Canadianmom]

Sydn,

This happened to me while on Folfox too. Two weeks since my last chemo and it has almost completely resolved (still peeling on the palm side of my thumbs especially at joint sites where thumbs bend).


While this seems to be resolving, the neuropathy is not .