My Hands Are A Mess! Which Lotion?

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Specializes in CVICU.

Naturally, I wash often, and use the gel going in and out of every room. I might get to use lotion about 3/4 way through my night-shift when it's time to sit down and chart, but inevitably a patient needs me the minute it's rubbed in. My hands are so sore, they hurt. Any lotion suggestions?

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Specializes in med-surg, BICU.

Eucerin is good. Or Vaseline Intensive Care lotion.

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I would recomend Mary Kay's Satin Hands set.

There are 3 products in the set

Extra Emollient Night Cream - great to sleep with it on your hands with mittens on wake up with very soft hands

Satin hands smoothie hand scrub - cleanses and buffs away dead skin cells + it smells like peaches

Hand cream.

as you might have guessed, I do sell Mary Kay, but the set is really awesome. It was the first product I tried and fell in love with it.

If you PM me I can send you a free sample.

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Aveno unscented. Feels very soothing.

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Neutrogena, the small tube, they say "Norwegian Fisherman" use it. Awesome stuff. Also, you may want to go to Employee Health or Infection Control. They may have better alcohol gel for you to try. At our hospital they do, and in the IC office, we're always getting sample products from vendors, and are looking for gunea pigs to try it! We're looking into gloves with the lotion impregnated in them. Dry cracked hands are a serious infection control issue. They're awesome! Good luck!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Neutrogena, the small tube, they say "Norwegian Fisherman" use it. Awesome stuff. Also, you may want to go to Employee Health or Infection Control. They may have better alcohol gel for you to try. At our hospital they do, and in the IC office, we're always getting sample products from vendors, and are looking for gunea pigs to try it! We're looking into gloves with the lotion impregnated in them. Dry cracked hands are a serious infection control issue. They're awesome! Good luck!

I definitely agree!

For overnight, I also like the Body Shop's best product. I can't remember the name, but it comes in a jar that looks like body body and smells like almonds.

Going to the Infection Control people and/or Occupational Health is also a good idea. My hospital does not allow nurses to bring in hand creams from home (unless approved for a special reason). However, because they are aware of the problem, they provide a good quality product that was developed by the makeres of our soaps specifically for use in combination with those soaps. When products are used in combination with each other that don't go together well, it can make your hands even worse.

llg

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Specializes in NICU.

I haven't used it since I started nursing, but once upon a time I used Bag Balm - it's actually made for chapped cow udders (I know, ew) but I used to have the softest hands...

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Specializes in school nursing.

I have treid many different products over the years. So far the most effective has been Badger Baum. Rub it into your hands before bed, go to sleep and wake up with your hands looking and feeling like new. I hope this helps you.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU.

Victoria's Secret also has an awesome hand cream. I LIVE by it. My hands have never looked better! It comes in a blue tube. There is an exfoliator and hand cream. The smell is suttle, but pretty. Body Shop' body butter is also great. It dries fast and leaves your hands feeling and smelling great. The scents they have are also amazing. I love the mango and cranberry.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

I carry liquid Dove soap in a small bottle and I use that or the alcohol gel at work. Soap just kills my skin. Why the alcohol gel doesn't seem to bother them that much, I have no idea.

If I forget my Dove soap even one night, my hands get itchy and crack open (ouch!), and I have to use hydrocortisone cream to get them healed up.

PS A good friend of mine has the same problem, but it's not caused by soap or alcohol gel. In her case, the powder in the Latex gloves was the culprit, and she found that switching to the vinyl gloves worked for her.

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Cetaphil Therapeutic is what I've used since I went to the dermatologist and was told I washed my hands too much. Then she asked what I did for a living, haha!

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I have the worst dried and cracked hands ever. I never had this problem until I went back to school for nursing (learning about all the germs etc has sent me on a hand washing kick). I found that the best lotion for my hands is Johnson & Johnson baby lotion in the pink jar. I love it!!! I have really sensitve hands and it makes them soft w/o irritating them.

JMO

Erin

p.s. I also love bath and body works lotion. It doesn't work as well as the J&J stuff but I LOVE the smell.

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