Hand help please!

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I am back in the NICU after 4 years of case management. My hands are screaming from all the washing/sanitizer......

What works for you? I have tried curel, shea butter and bag balm but they are still chapped and burn like crazy with the sanitizer. They haven't started cracking yet but are close.

TIA;

Nancy

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Try Hempz. They have several delightful scents as well as unscented. The stuff is kind of spendy at $20 a bottle, but it's got natural hemp seed oils which are the only thing that's ever helped my poor chapped alligator hide. I'm not a fan of lotions, because most are greasy and I don't like the feel; this goes on smooth and sinks right in, and it doesn't leave that slick oozy feeling on your hands. Hope you don't mind having something around that has a marijuana leaf on the front of the bottle :lol2: but I promise, it's legal!

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Aveeno lotion is the only one that seems to not wash off.

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Specializes in NICU.

Crisco & cotton gloves when sleeping.

Your skin WILL toughen.

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Thanks I'll check it out.

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Not sure why but my post showed up twice?

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i love pure lanolin-- you can get it in the drugstores. get small tubes/jars-- if you keep it for a couple of years it solidifies, like oil paints and for the same reason :D.

unscented neutrogena is also really good; a little goes a long way and it's not gooey.

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Specializes in CICU.

I like GoldBond Ultimate healing. If my skins cracks (which it hasn't since I became a nurse, strangely) I use superglue.

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Cerave CREAM. Not the lotion. The cream is amazing. And I'll do some hydrocortisone when they get really bad. But Cerave a few times a day helps sooooo much.

Something I haven't tried, but some of the girls on my unit will cover their hands in vaseline, then put on gloves and that's how they'll do their charting.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.
organic skin care Meadowlake Farm Beehive Skin Therapies All organic line of products and the person who developed them is a NICU nurse :) Great stuff! Her hand cream and wound salve are out of this world!
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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Cutemol cream. But I have to admit, I get periodic shots of steroids because of my skin. I am also a big fan of superglue/krazyglue.

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If feasible, you could bring your own pump bottle of hand sanitizer or soap. Germ X brand (available at CVS and Walmart) is the least irritating to my hands and I used to carry a bottle of my own. Not very convenient when you are working in between several areas or rooms though.

My hospital uses Purell which I do well with. Otherwise, I would carry a bottle of my own around. I am one of those dorks that has a nursing fanny pack (don't judge me! lol).

Gloves in a Bottle is another product I use. It is a lotion that leaves a silicone coating on your hands that does not wash off readily like most moisturizers do. It is not very rich and luxurious on its own but may help you retain moisture once you get your hands healed and supple.

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