Thick skin on thumb swells and turns white when wet, peels often

[wildonrio]

I've been looking for an answer to this question for 8 years. I've seen several dermatologists and done countless hours of online research and I have found nothing.

I have a problem on my right thumb. The skin is thick and pink when it is not wet. When it gets wet, however, it goes through dramatic changes, swelling and turning a bright white.

Look at the following photos. The first photo is before it is wet. The second one is after soaking in water for 30 minutes. The rest of the photos are taken at 10 minute intervals up to 60 minutes, until the whiteness is nearly completely gone.

[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/1Beforewet.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/2Aftersoakingfor30minutes.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/310minuteslater.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/420minuteslater.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/530minuteslater.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/640minuteslater.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/750minuteslater.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/860minuteslater.jpg[/IMG]

When it's white and wet, the skin easily peels off to reveal a bright pink sensitive skin underneath (you can see this in the upper left hand corner of the area when it's wet). It peels off very unevenly, sometimes peeling deep into the skin and causing pain, other times peeling just the surface. Any peeled skin completely grows back to its thick state within 2-3 days. It is very hard to not peel the area since the skin seems to die and flake off naturally.

Unless I try and peel it, there is no pain involved. And as you can tell by the pictures, it doesn't look too bad when it isn't wet. But once it gets wet, it is very noticeable. It is very hard to keep it dry too, since I shower every day, and the area sweats easily which instantly turns it white. I also can never go swimming unless I want to attempt to explain the unexplainable white growth on my thumb, which is embarrassing.

I have tried liquid nitrogen a couple times and it seems to just slow it down for a week but then goes right back to it's constant swelling and whitening when wet. Once a dermatologist did a biopsy and the results were unidentifiable.

I know this isn't a life or death skin disorder, but after dealing with it for over 8 years, I have really gotten tired of it and would love to diagnose it and possibly get rid of it the best I can.

[w154las]

I've been having this exact same issue on my right thumb only too......? by chance have you heard anything more about what may be the cause of this problem.  Like you said it's not life threatening, however I find it annoying. Let me know if you've figured anything out.

Thanks

[wildonrio]

I didn't know this forum doesn't support embedded photos. Here are the images without the [IMG] tags, just copy and paste into a browser.

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/1Beforewet.jpg
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/2Aftersoakingfor30minutes.jpg
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/310minuteslater.jpg
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/420minuteslater.jpg
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/530minuteslater.jpg
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/640minuteslater.jpg
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/750minuteslater.jpg
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu193/wildonrio/860minuteslater.jpg