In 2005 I wrote my blog post Fingerprints versus Eczema. While I have determined many of the allergens and chemicals which provoke my eczema in the intervening years — and eliminated them — from time to time my skin gets dry and cracked, particularly as the winter months approach.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve taken the Eurostar now, or indeed, how many times I’ve crossed between Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord on the Métro. It amuses me that someone whose first language is Polish and second language is English — that’s me — has less trouble navigating the French user-interface of the Paris Métro ticket machines than the locals seem to have.
I am one of the allergic individuals who suffer from eczema. Thankfully mine is quite mild, and is generally limited to a few areas of skin: backs of knees, hands/fingers and occasionally feet. What effect does this skin condition have on my fingerprints?
For the past few months the skin some of my fingers has been particularly dry and flaky, with the result that my fingerprints have worn away to nothing. Looking closely at them there are deep cracks or grooves in the skin, and a shiny smoothness where one would normally see loops, whorls and arches.
