hand washing = sore hands, any good products available?

Hi

I've just bought a new puppy and so I am always washing my hands, this has resulted in sore hands that have started to split and bleed - I went through exactly the same thing when I had my children and was always washing my hands.

I'm wondering seeing as I will be going into a profession whereby handwashing is v. frequent and v. important, is there any product that I can use to protect my hands and stop them from getting so sore?

Thanks :)

[suzanne4, RN]

Try applying vaseline to them at night and either massage it in well or put little gloves on if worried about your linens. There is also a cuticle cream made by Orly that is wonderful on your hands. Used to use it all of the time when I worked NICU and my hands were normal by the time I got home. Used to keep a tub in the car, and put it on as soon as I climbed in.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Sally Hansen has an 18 hour hand cream that comes in an orange tube. That stuff's great.

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

I don't know about the brand names in your area, but Eucerin cream is good. You might ask a wound care nurse what do they recommend for macerated skin? You need a barrier of some sort to prevent infection. I have this problem too, and it gets worse if I smother my hands in gloves for too long. I had to use a steroid cream for a while because I was not vigilant enough in keeping the barrier on. Also, talk to the infection control nurse or nurses in surgery. They deal with this a lot.

[emmy]

Thanks for all the replies.

I thought there was a product that coated the hand and actually took a few handwashes before it washed off, I took a pharmacy assistants course before I decided to go into nursing and the bloke promoting the product said that nurses used it as they had to wash their hands alot but for the life of me I can't remember what it was called, he described it like an invisable glove that protects the hands from water for a few washes.

Does wearing any kind of cream affect the gloves in any way? Just a thought.

Thanks again :)

[suzanne4, RN]

Many creams can cause problems with gloves so you need to be careful.

Johnson and Johnson as well as a few others make a protective barrier cream but if you have just cleaned up a puppy mess you are going to be scrubbing and the barrier cream won't help. with that.

I have worked OR for years and my above two rememdies have helped me for the past twenty years plus. I use what I know works!

[emmy]

Thanks Suzanne

I'll give them a go :)

[goats'r'us, ASN, RN]

thought i'd put my bib in!

I'm a third-year student doing prac in theatre, and i've found that johnson + johnson make this really nice hand cream that compliments their 'microshield' hand washes.

[UK2USA]

Our occupational health department has started handing out tubs of aqueous cream to be used as a soap. The initial feedback is that handwashing has increased because no-one is getting sore anymore. Now, if they could only find something that makes getting up in the morning less painful.....!

[nurseunderwater]

Bag Balm - used for cow udders and works like a charm for dry, chapped hands.

rub it in at night - little white cotton gloves....just like grandma :)

[minnieme104]

I love using lanolell on my hands (lanolin) I find that if I use it an hs my hands are pretty much healed when I wake up

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

I started using Aquaphor on my hands after we had good success with it in our NICU (works wonders on fragile preemie skin). I use tiny amounts at home during the day and larger amounts at night with cotton gloves or socks on my hands. It seems to heal all the tiny lacerations I get, especially on my knuckles, from frequent handwashing at work with surgical foam soap.

At work I don't use it (it's mainly petroleum jelly, so not so good with latex gloves) so instead I use any of those lotions that offer a protective barrier. One in particular I like - called something like Gloves in a Bottle.