My Hands Are A Mess! Which Lotion?

[SkateBetty]

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?

[vampiregirl, BSN, RN]

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.

Great idea with carrying your own soap- I hadn't thought of that! I also have no problems with the alcohol gel.

As for lotion, personally I like using body cream as hand lotion. I think it's thicker and not as greasy. "Alba" brand products are my favorite (and they smell yummy). I usually use a body scrub to exfoliate my hands in the evening and then apply more lotion. On occasion, I have also coated my hands with vaseline and worn old cotton socks to bed.

Finding the right products can be so frustrating. There are so many high quality products available but everyone's skin responds so differently to products. I've got co-workers who use different brands with fantastic luck and then someone else tries the same product and doesn't get the same results. I guess it just takes trial and error (I know for me it did!) to find the right product.

[PeachPie]

Goldbond.

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

Our unit has both the foam and lotion type Purell - I found that the foam is horrible for my hands.

[ak127]

Make sure that whatever you use at work is compatable with latex gloves (or non-latex as the case may be). If you have any input on the soap you use at work or can get free samples of it, I really like Acute-Kare by Steris. Its a really great moisturizing soap made for health care that helps a lot. I buy it for my lab. Those alcohol products destroy my hands in just one use, so I just wash a lot!

At home, I love Aveno Itch Relief lotion or the lotion made by Cortaid that has hydrocortisone in it (this one is in the first aid aisle). My skin is so dry that tmy hands and legs crack and bleed, very itchy, totally miserable. Winter time is worst, but these products do help a lot!

[Newbie Nurse SMP]

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.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

I love that set and boy does it work and fast! Your hands feel like a baby's bottom after you use it! It is my saving grace!!

[PedsER-RN, BSN, RN]

you might want to try:

-gold bond intense hand cream (about $6 at wal-mart)

-suave healing hand (or something like that-it comes in a small tube and is about $0.97 at wal-mart)

-aveeno makes a hand cream/hand repair that absorbs quickly and works well, but it's more pricey than the others.

[color=#483d8b]i've noticed at work if i have gloves on for a long time my hands sweat and they end up more dry than usual, so i try to wait 'til the last minute to put them on. if we're busy and i don't want to have slippery hands, i just put some on the backs of my hands and rub them together-don't get it on the palms. it really helps cut the dryness and you can still go back to what you were doing and not have a slimy grip.

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

Every day/night when you sleep, whether you worked or not, slather your hands with Aquaphor and put on cotton gloves or socks. This stuff not only softens and hydrates your hands, but it also heals abrasions. This stuff is recommended by many doctors for everything from the protection of very premature babies' skin (we use it in the NICU all the time) to burn patients (my brother was told to specifically use this ointment when he was having radiation treatments recently). You can buy the big tub of it and keep it on your nightstand and it lasts for a long time.

For work, get a small tube of lotion and keep it in your pocket so you can use it while you're running around. Even once an hour will help. What type of lotion really doesn't matter as long as it's petroleum and fragrance free, because those lotions break down latex gloves and the perfumes can cause irritation to broken down skin.

[nursejohio, ASN, RN]

The best thing I've found is St Ives Intensive Healing. It's cheap (like $3 for a big bottle) and works better for me than any of the expensive stuff.

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

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.

This stuff is good if your hands are in good shape, but if they're broken down, the exfolliation is very painful and can cause more damage. What I tell people is to use the Extra Emolliant Night Cream for at least a week first - use at night and cover hands with cotton gloves or socks - and then when their hands are healed they can try the whole set. I used to sell Mary Kay too!

[Newbie Nurse SMP]

This stuff is good if your hands are in good shape, but if they're broken down, the exfolliation is very painful and can cause more damage. What I tell people is to use the Extra Emolliant Night Cream for at least a week first - use at night and cover hands with cotton gloves or socks - and then when they're hands are healed they can try the whole set. I used to sell Mary Kay too!

Thats what I thought too, but I used this lotion when my hands are seriously raw and red and itchy, and it works for me with no added irritation. But it may not be that way for everyone I am sure.

[rnsrgr8t]

What a great topic! This something all nurses deal with! As one of the previous posters said, everyone responds to products differently. For me, the hand sanitizer gel was AWFUL on my hands, it made them cranks, bleed and was very painful. I never use it anymore, I just use soap and water. For hand lotion, Hand repair healing cream from Bath and Body Works is wonderful. It has Shea Butter in it and is a little pricey but it is so worth it. I carry a tube in my purse and in my labcoat pocket and use it throughout the day. It has made a major difference. I have tried the Aveeno, Eucerin and Aquaphor (this was too greasy) and they all did not do much for me. I would try the cheaper options first, but if they do not work, try the lotion I use. Good Luck!

[rintin02]

My all time favorite is baby lotion.