Tiny cracks/cuts on my fingers! Dry Hands! Too much handwashing ! OOooww! Help !

I hear you sister,
actually, I think I'm having the best year ever for my hands. But they are always chronically chapped in Winter.

Some things that might help (nutty but they help me)
1. Do not expose your hands to cold winter air (but you're a Texan, right? Maybe this doesn't apply to you)
2. Crazy glue works very well to glue those cracks closed that keep opening up and bleeding every time you wash (really!).
3. Swipe a tube of barrier cream (TripleCare by Smith and Nephiew works well) and reapply liberally every time you wash.
4. Get yourself your own stash of powderless gloves. You may have a glove allergy here. Talk to you Occupational Health Nurse about getting you some milder stuff to wash you hands with at work. You have the right to ask for this in the name of staff health and safety.
5. I find Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream is the best I've ever tried.
6. Lac-Hydrin or Urimol lotions are very good as well. Another tip use the stuff you use to exfoliate your face once in a while on your hands when you're at home. Softer, healthier skin is less likely to chap.
7. Apply GlaxalBase to hands and wear cotton gloves/socks on you hands while you sleep.
8. If at all possible stay away from that evil alcohol waterless handwash. Alcohol is very drying.

Oh I know what you mean...


I use a regimen of Neutrogena lotion and then whenever I am sitting anywhere - like at the cpu - or watching TV...

I always keep Palmer's Cocoa Butter around - I know they say it works great for stretch marks but - it has vitamin E and I use it on my dry lips and hands especially before bed....

It smells nice too - sorta chocolatey....

You poor thing! I third (and more!) the use of the Eucerin. I also like the non-perfumey smell (some of the hand creams are JUST TOO STRONG!).

For healing now, I suggest Bag Balm. Smells medicine-y, is goopy but it works. Apply at night and then put gloves on. Use the Eucerin during the day.

Do ask the infection control people if there is a different, non-drying product that you can use when washing. The hospital should supply such a thing, as this is an infection control issue.

I hope you get relief soon. -- D

Believe it or not, the BEST skin cream for very chapped hands and or troll feet that I have ever used is "bag balm" which is a medicated vet product. They have it at Wal Mart- comes in a green tin. Its very thick so 1 can will last a very long time. It has a funky medicine smell,but if you just rub some in at night by the next morning you can actually bend your fingers.

Are you using non-powdered gloves? I have found that helps.

I have to scrub a bizillion times a day, so I feel your pain!

I've tried lots of different creams and lotions, and I also think the Eucerin cream is good stuff. I tried it with the gloves, but I always felt like the cream was oozing out of the fingers while I slept. I think I'd prefer the sock method and will try that. For daytime use, I use Eucerin lotion or Neutrogena Body Moisturizer (Norwegian Formula, fragrance-free).

I'd been hearing commercials for "Zim's Crack Creme" (whatta name, huh?) advertised on the radio and my husband's constantly dealing with the tiny cracks on his fingertips, so we bought a tube tonight at the drug store. We're both going to try it, and I'll report back on its effectiveness. Here's a link I just found to their site if anyone's interested:

http://www.crackcreme.com/

I'd also heard that Bag Balm was a very good product. Here's a link to Bag Balm's site:

http://www.bagbalm.com/

I have tried Zims Crack Cream. It works OK, but it is actually a liquid that is very messy and smells bad.

I like to use the Udderly Smooth udder cream from Wal Mart at night, and keep a bottle of Avoplex ( from the manicure dept of a beauty supply store) in my drawer at work. I also have a little tube of Neutrogena in the car for quick smoothing while running umpteen errands.

Always wear gloves outside in the cold, and avoid hand sanitizer lotions in winter.

My hands are slightly chapped, but at least they dont crack and bleed anymore!

I use my parafin bath. Really helps to add moisture and feels so good to sore hands. The hot wax helps with aching fingers too! I've had mine for a couple of years now. The soaps at work, with the gloves really take their toll on my hands. They literally sting at the end of 12 hours.

We bought the "daytime use" Zim's creme-- so it's a cream rather than liquid. When we read the package of the Zim's liquid at the drug store, it sounded wierd. The cream has an odd odor-- sort of herbal-- hard to describe. I always try to choose fragrance-free so it doesn't clash with my perfume (worn outside of work) or annoy patients who might be able to smell it.