Help me save my poor hands

[wmg246]

Good Morning,

I am currently a nursing student and am looking for a good hand cream. Has anyone found one that they really like and works well. My poor hands are cracking, flaking and red. Any input is appreciated!

Thanks,

Wendy

[ORgirl2010]

I like the Gold bond cream. At walmart or target you can get a small tube that fits in your pocket in the travel size section. Very inexpensive and works great.

[Morning-glory]

You might also want to explore which gloves aggravate your hands. The regular gloves made my hands all red and itchy within a short period and bleeding by the end of the day, so I switched to the powder and latex free blue ones. They worked. A barrier cream applied in the morning and at the end of the day do help too.

If you are using the cheap gloves, try the powder and latex-free ones. I suspect that the blue ones have some sort of anti-microbial properties, but they are gentler on the skin. We have the gloves ordered in for people with allergies so they may be hard to find on the ward. If they are not available at the hospital, buy a box for yourself at a drugstore and see how it goes. You need your hands to be in top shape, and if that means a couple of bucks on some decent gloves and barrier cream, then so be it.

The soap that they use at work is really tough on hands and the alcohol gel is even worse. Try bringing some of your own soap in a small plastic bottle. Also know that there is bleach in the papertowels. Nothing you can do about that, but a barrier cream should really go a long way to helping fight the battle.

[animal1993]

I really like Glove Me Tender from Bath & Body Works. Also, when my hands get really cracked and sore, I have been known to slather on some Desitin (reg. not creamy) while I watch tv. I'm always amazed at how much better they feel afterwards.

[mykrosphere]

the neutrogena stuff is excellent, but when it wasnt enough anymore, i tried out aveeno daily moisturizing and its the best by far

[realnursealso/LPN, LPN]

For years my hands would crack open, hurt, and at times bleed.No matter what kind of lotion I used, or different soaps I tried, it continued. A few years later, while doing trach care on my homecare patient, I started to feel my lips itching. I finished the trach care, took off my sterile gloves, and proceeded to break out in hives on my arms and face. From that day forward I never put on another pair of laxtex gloves on my hands, with out non latex underneath.( that was about 8 or 9 years ago, before so many nonlatex alternatives were avalible)

Well, I also quit having any trouble with my hands cracking open and hurting. So you might, as others suggested, quit using any latex gloves. It worked for me.

[SaraO'Hara]

I ended up making my own hand cream - so many contain alcohol which just stings like hell on sore hands!

Beeswax, jojoba oil, and any essential oil for fragrance, melted together and stirred in a double boiler until a good consistency. It's quite thick and lasts a long while.

[wmg246]

Thank you everyone for the helpful information. I knew that you all would have some great advice. I started using the neutrogena and my hands are much better!!!

THX

[lolasmomma2bLVN]

Bath and Body Works "Look Ma..New Hands"...This stuff is amazing! I swear by it. It is not too heavy and gives you a layer of protection after you apply it, but it does NOT leave your hands greasy, just extremely silky and soft!!:redpinkhe

[lil pixi]

I have an Avon Intensive hand cream for severe dryness & cracking that works extremely well.

I've often wondered how often nurses encounter this problem because I believe one of the #1 causes of severely dry, cracked hands is frequent & excessive hand washing.

At least it was in my case.

I'm not even a nurse yet & have a serious hand washing/hand sanitization compulsion, and at least for me, that's what caused my hands to get like that when they did.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

I had awful problems with my hands for years, back when we used latex gloves when I worked as a CNA. The Occ Health Nurse blamed the powder, so she got me powder free latex gloves....uh, yea, that made it worse, now that my hands would SWEAT like crazy in the latex! They would crack wide open, weep....I remember sitting on the couch or whatever at home, and the backs of my hands would just be WET with sticky, serous drainage. Any pictures that showed my arms/hands looked ridiculous....you could CLEARLY see the glove line, and my red hands were puffy as could be. They didn't look like they belonged attached to my body!

For really deep cracks, at that time, I would actually use the white waterproof tape to help close them up. It worked, but I looked like a football player. Finally saw my doc, who prescribed Triamcinolone cream a couple of times a day. That also helped, but getting away from the latex helped the most (I know latex gloves aren't an issue nowadays).

I would recommend trying Corn Husker's lotion. I usually find it at the grocery store, and it's cheap. It's got an...odd consistency, so I wouldn't maybe apply it at work so much as before bed.

[annacnatorn]

you may have an allergic reaction to the gloves..is it powdered or un powdered? Latex or vinyl?

I am allergic to the powdered latex, so I prefer to use unpowdered, I also dont like the vinyl...

eesh, any how I love to use Moisture Therapy by Avon. Johnson and Johnson for sever cry cracked skin is also a good one.

try to stay away from those with perfume, they tend to dry out you skin. Drink lots of water.

You can use moisture barrier cream :), or cal-rezz cream this one does not leave your skin slimy or sticky.

good luck to you, my hands have been so bad they have had episodes of bleeding. Dont you just love those antibacterial/alcohol based sanitizers.

[I'mANurse!]

I've had the same problem with my hands cracking/bleeding/itching by the end of my work stretch from all of the hand washing. I used to put on Eucerine cream before bed (which I still do), but I just got this new lotion called "Gloves in a Bottle" and my hands did not crack this stretch. It's amazing! It creates a protective layer that lasts for 4 hours, so I just apply it before work and again after 4 hrs. I can't recommend it enough! It's a little spendy, but totally worth it and goes a long way. You can find which stores sell it on their website, or you can also order it off Amazon.com