Tiny cracks/cuts on my fingers! Dry Hands! Too much handwashing ! OOooww! Help !

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 1, 2003

You poor thing! I third (and more!) the use of the Eucerin. I also like the non-perfumey smell (some of the hand creams are JUST TOO STRONG!).

For healing now, I suggest Bag Balm. Smells medicine-y, is goopy but it works. Apply at night and then put gloves on. Use the Eucerin during the day.

Do ask the infection control people if there is a different, non-drying product that you can use when washing. The hospital should supply such a thing, as this is an infection control issue.

I hope you get relief soon. -- D

lisaloulou · Dec 2, 2003

Believe it or not, the BEST skin cream for very chapped hands and or troll feet that I have ever used is "bag balm" which is a medicated vet product. They have it at Wal Mart- comes in a green tin. Its very thick so 1 can will last a very long time. It has a funky medicine smell,but if you just rub some in at night by the next morning you can actually bend your fingers.

Are you using non-powdered gloves? I have found that helps.

I have to scrub a bizillion times a day, so I feel your pain!

RN-PA, RN · Dec 2, 2003

I've tried lots of different creams and lotions, and I also think the Eucerin cream is good stuff. I tried it with the gloves, but I always felt like the cream was oozing out of the fingers while I slept. I think I'd prefer the sock method and will try that. For daytime use, I use Eucerin lotion or Neutrogena Body Moisturizer (Norwegian Formula, fragrance-free).

I'd been hearing commercials for "Zim's Crack Creme" (whatta name, huh?) advertised on the radio and my husband's constantly dealing with the tiny cracks on his fingertips, so we bought a tube tonight at the drug store. We're both going to try it, and I'll report back on its effectiveness. Here's a link I just found to their site if anyone's interested:

http://www.crackcreme.com/

I'd also heard that Bag Balm was a very good product. Here's a link to Bag Balm's site:

http://www.bagbalm.com/

passing thru · Dec 2, 2003

Bless y'all ! I'm fixin to write a list and get 3-4 of these. I like the sox idea, gloves always get lost and shrink on me...I know they sell plain white cotton gloves, especially for people to wear overnight.

I was off yesterday and didn't get a thing done!

The dishes that were in the sink on Sunday are still there.

I can't bring myself to wet my hands any more than necessary.

So, ..........

when my hands are sore,.. I don't feel like doing anything.

With a cold, flu, broken bones, We moms carry on.

With stinging sore hands, everything comes to a screeching Halt!

I did slather on a vaseline-zinc oxide cream last nite, before bed time...but it did not make a difference. count vaseline out. no bueno . maybe it made a 5 % difference.

I have a tube of Lubriderm lotion I was using at work...it hasn't seemed to help. I wonder if I am acquiring an allergy to the gloves....?

I had this before from the soap though, it is the soap dispenser where you push the handle and the foam comes out.

We also have the waterless foam hand cleanser --- I read the label, 99 % alcohol !

Thanks again !

passing thru · Dec 2, 2003

Oh Lordy !!

I made my list and it just occurred to me - - -

I'M gonna haf to go to WALMART !!!!!!

(It's the nearest and only store around here...the other is on strike.)

Liann · Dec 2, 2003

I have tried Zims Crack Cream. It works OK, but it is actually a liquid that is very messy and smells bad.

I like to use the Udderly Smooth udder cream from Wal Mart at night, and keep a bottle of Avoplex ( from the manicure dept of a beauty supply store) in my drawer at work. I also have a little tube of Neutrogena in the car for quick smoothing while running umpteen errands.

Always wear gloves outside in the cold, and avoid hand sanitizer lotions in winter.

My hands are slightly chapped, but at least they dont crack and bleed anymore!

ladyjane · Dec 2, 2003

I use my parafin bath. Really helps to add moisture and feels so good to sore hands. The hot wax helps with aching fingers too! I've had mine for a couple of years now. The soaps at work, with the gloves really take their toll on my hands. They literally sting at the end of 12 hours.

RN-PA, RN · Dec 2, 2003

Quote
Originally posted by Liann
I have tried Zims Crack Cream. It works OK, but it is actually a liquid that is very messy and smells bad.

We bought the "daytime use" Zim's creme-- so it's a cream rather than liquid. When we read the package of the Zim's liquid at the drug store, it sounded wierd. The cream has an odd odor-- sort of herbal-- hard to describe. I always try to choose fragrance-free so it doesn't clash with my perfume (worn outside of work) or annoy patients who might be able to smell it.

nowplayingEDRN · Dec 2, 2003

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Hand creme and Bag Balm. But I would definitely look into speaking with Occ health about powerless gloves as it could be a glove allergy (to the powder or the latex if your gloves are not latex-free). Use the Palmer's during the day (nice smell and the light fragrence does not seem to irritate cracked hands and it feels so soothing) and working hours and the Bag Balm at nite with a pair of cotton gloves (the bag balm has antiseptic properties to it as well). It works wonders for healing. If you need to be getting your hands wet at home, I would also suggest you get a couple of pair of the yellow, lined gloves for dishwashing that they sell in the grocery/department store in the housewares department. It will offer you some protection while you are at home. The other thing that my former facility used that was recommended by the CDC and approved by JAHCO was called Cal-Stat it was a waterless hand cleanser by a company called Steris and you could use it up to 5-6 times before needed to use soap and water. It is, let me emphasize, that it is NOT a substitute for good handwashing but it helps keep your hands out of the water. Obviously if you are getting grossly soiled you need that soap and water but it helps. i would not use it till your hands heal up as it does have an alcohol base. But it smells pretty good and despite the alcohol base did not bother my ultra sensitive hands (who do you know that is allergic to nitrile gloves????!!!??) Steris also makes a soap called Kindest Kare....it is actually a body/hair soap that a pt can use to shower with if necessary and is effective against MRSA and VRE. You might want to look into seeing if you can purchase some from the company, http://www.steris.com , as I know that you work for a travel agency and probably change soaps like you do facilities....frequently! Hope your poor hands are on the mend soon!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 3, 2003

Bag Balm works, although it has a nasty, greasy texture that I can't stand. And Udderly Smooth may be the stuff that comes in the black and white holstein-spotted tube. If so, it's good, too. I've tried Clinique hand cream, which works well but it's so expensive you hate to slather it on.

The best (and cheapest) solution I've ever found is a product called "weather Guard" for protecting cow's teats from the cold weather. My mother, who used to work for a company that does artificial insemination of farm animals got me a 3 pound tub for $18! Hubby and I both use it. It's got a great texture, mild aloe smell and color and it's so cheap that you don't mind using it as often as possible. Furthermore, it lasts through a handwashing or three. At the beginning of each shift, I put a dab into a med cup and put it next to the sink in my patient's room so I can use it as often as I need to.

I know you can get the stuff from vet supply places, and probably places like Farm 'n Fleet (or is it Fleet 'n Farm?) and Cenex. I've still got plenty left, so I haven't looked for it for awhile.

Ruby

renerian, BSN, RN · Dec 3, 2003

My mom swore by it so I buy it now and it does work but is hard to find. It is Pacquin Plus Dry Skin Formula hand and body cream. Hard to rub in but it does work. I have to put straight vaseline on my face in the winter. It is in a pink and white jar.

renerian:)

jmspud · Jun 27, 2012

get doublebase get but get the 500g tub so you dont use to much and one squirt at a time