My daughter had something similar to this last year. I used aloe vera juice (straight from my plant), which soothed it (she complained less so I could tell it helped), and I kept lotion on it because dryness made it worse. I also put Vit. E on it from time to time. Essential oils didn't seem to do very much and sometimes would sting. It eventually went away after a month and a half and hasn't returned. It doesn't sound exactly like what you've described, but it was similar. I suspected dyshidrotic eczema too since it looked mostly like that. It got worse before it got better but never returned.