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?

[Gompers, BSN, RN]

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!

Yes, Aquaphor is really too greasy to be used at anytime other than when you sleep. And it has to be used religiously for at least a week before you start to see real healing taking place. It works great for feet too - slather up at night or after bathing and put on cotton socks for at least an hour or two. Makes feet sandal-worthy.

[sister--*]

I use a cream called, "Nothing Like It". It is the BEST I've ever come across!! Before I found this product it wasn't unusual for my chapped hands to bleed...ouch!

It's in a pink and white squeeze tube and has a pleasantly light scent; not at all offensive. I purchase it at a farm and ranch veterinary supply store for about $7 a tube.

I've taken tubes to work before and my co-workers have raved so much about how great it is that I usually give out little pocket-sized "paint pots" of it for Christmas.

[NICU_nurse2b]

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!

Cool Thanks for the info, I just started selling it. That makes good sense.

[htrn]

Mine crack and bleed all winter. I avoid all lotions with any etoh in it. I will slather my hands with vaseline and then wear cotton gloves to bed. If they are really bad I may use neosporin and hydrocortisone mixed. Found a tube of stuff in Mexico called xyloderm that has 1% lidocaine, hydrocortisone and and abx ointment mixed together - I think it has an antifungal something or other too. I use that if they are just sooooo painful that I can't sleep.

Just like other posters though, everyone reacts differently to different lotions and creams. Some that people have had excellant luck with have sent me rushing to the sink to scrub off. Unfortunately, most of it is trial and error. Good luck.

[CyndieRN2007]

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.

:yeahthat: Aquaphor is good stuff. I use it alot.

[goodluckbear]

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.

Cetaphil !!!!

No fragrance and very gentle. Avoid lotions that have protroleum in them. Protroleum breaks down the proteins in gloves that act as the barrier to protect us from germs, blood.....

Cetaphil is great. I even use it on my face!!

Avon has a lot og good choices too.

[Keepstanding, ASN, RN]

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 had the same problem, with cracking and bleeding, especially during the winter. As this poster said...the Neurtogena Norwegian Creme is the best ! Use it after every hand washing and it will preserve your hands. It comes in a smaller tube and will fit in your pocket easily ! Good luck ! :roll

[rekster]

This is the best stuff I have found: SoftGUARD hand cream, made by Erie Handcare you can find in online and comes in 3 oz tubes works great, especially with latex gloves. Do a google for distributors and you can order it online. It is around $5. per tube.

Good luck

[SharkLPN]

I'll third the Neutrogena recommendation. Don't be turned off by the price and smallness of the tube, as you only need a dab. Otherwise, it gets too greasy feeling.

My facility changed over to moisturized sanitizer gel, and moisturized foam soap, and I found that I have the opposite problem - they coat my hands with so much moisture that, while I don't get dry, cracked hands anymore, my hands have a slimy/waxy feeling after a few applications or washings. So now I use my own soap from home (Bath and Body Works Anti-Bacterial) or use the body wash we use on our patients.

[gertiemae]

I usually use the latest 'extra-stength' hand cream from the sample bin at Wal-Mart. I've found several good ones, including some of the Jergens for extra dry hands. My current favorite is the Palmer's Olive butter lotion. It absorbs quickly, and leaves no greasy residue...

Also, for those nasty, painful papercuts, etc. I use super-glue! It Burns for just a second, but seals up those little boogers like a dream, puts down a water-proof seal, and protects from germs...and by the time the glue has worn off, the cut is healed. Got that tip from my doctor. After all, it IS the forerunner for the surgical adhesive that everyone's using these days!

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

My major problem is that I'm an incorrigible picker - the sanitizer dries out my cuticles and I get hangnails, and I pick and pick and then they bleed and get really inflamed. That's gotta be great for infection control, right? I usually wrap a strip of tegaderm around them and just get reeeeeally careful with the hand hygiene. At night I coat them with bacitracin and use one of those bandaids with antimicrobial pads. Usually clears up overnight. Now if I could just stop picking...

[AggieNurse2B]

I've got the answer to this one! I had the same problem last winter--my hands cracked and bled so badly, I was taking tylenol to relieve the pain. The dermatologist recommended something with "ceramides" in it...whatever that is. She told me to buy CeraVe moisturizing cream (not the lotion) at CVS. It ocmes in a big tub, and it's about $15. In two days, my hands were just as soft as they could be. She had also given me a little bit of steroid cream to jump start the healing process, but I think it was really the CeraVe that made the difference. And the best part is that once you put it on, it soaks into your skin and it isn't greasy. So that means you don't have to put those ridiculous socks/cotton gloves on your hands all night long. I recently moved to the UK, and I bought mass quantities before I left.