Burnt finger gets dry and cracked.

Hello,

I burned my pointer finger about six months ago.  I have to keep putting on Neosporin on it my finger or it gets dried out and starts to crack.  How long will it take before I no longer need to do this?  When I put Neosporin on my finger it looks completely healed.  When I don't use Neosporin on it for a few days I start having problems.

Thanks!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For this dry skin, instead of Neosporin, the mainstay of management is liberal use of moisturizers after washing with luke warm water. Soap should be used minimally. Moisturizers should be reapplied liberally during the day. You can also use a topical cortisone (steroid) cream or ointment like dermacort(hydrocortisone) after consulting a dermatologist.

I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.