Dry hand with cracks

[ilovemaui]

I've been on treatment 4 months now. My hands are so dry, my fingertips are ripping open. I'm using gold bond ultimate.

[OC]

The only stuff that works on my construction worker hands.

Eucerin - Aquaphor
Healing Ointment - Advanced Therapy

[pooh55811]

I use aquaphor. It is a bit greasy so I pretty much put it on only at night. I use a good amount of the aquaphor on a 2x2 and keep the whole thing in place with a big bandaid. One of my fingers has painful cracks on most of the finger so I need a lot of coverage. If it is just a minor crack I apply aquaphor without the bandaid.

[micheall]

My wife works as an office cleaner and her hands are in water a lot and would dry out.She uses the stuff that is mentioned above like liquid band aid and moisturizes,but to prevent this she uses bag balm or utter cream before she goes to work.You are laughing right now.Utter cream.The old farmers used it all the time.

[optimum]

both of my feet started to crack and split 3 weeks ago. it was painful just to step and walk about.  my doctor recommended eucerin cream and worked like a charm. it's OTC  and inexpensive. couldn't believe something so ubiquitous would give me so much relief.  the soles of my feet are starting to close and heal.

[Dee1956]

oops old post sorry

[Dee1956]

Hi we found a very good cream for splitting fingers
Called  O'Keeffes Working Hands, it comes in a green container and has helped many we know
Good luck
Dee

[Paris47]

Just back from trip to dermotologist.
He prescribed biafine... I think thats
how you spell it. Gold Bond is better for
the itch, but this stuff is good for the pain,
I was feeling pain in between my fingers where the
rash was bumply and yucky...beyond belief, except
I know you would all believe me ....
so now two creams, 8 pills, shots weekly, and the
forum as much as possible.
Don't forget WATER.

[Dale_Ray]

Cetaphil (spelling may be wrong). It stopped my finger tips from peeling and cracking. Dale

[fishdoc]

best I have come up with, and hubby gets em too, (keep in mind its about 7% humidity here), neosporin and a band aid over night, two nights.  That stuff is the Sh!t, especially with the pain plus stuff.  No grandma should be with out it.  Oh, and of course bandaid wash- same deadening agent.  Also works on heel cracks, which is my big problem from being barefoot all the time...

[Eyedeas]

I use superglue to seal the cracked skin and moistureize like crazy.

Kim

[GoofyDad]

Hope you put that jar away before the in laws come over!

BTW, count me as another vote for the Cetaphil. Good stuff, IMO.

[Wasabi Pea]

I actually hate using lotion and try to avoid it, but tx has gotten me so I don't have a choice.  Cetaphil actually works very well for me.  My family owns a restaurant/bar, and so we're ALWAYS washing our hands.  So we keep a jar beside the bed.  My husband's healthier than a horse, but every once in a while, his hands turn white from all of the washing and the sanitizing chemicals.

There's also Neutrogena's Swedish formula for hands that I've been keeping at work.  That stuff is really thick, but seems to work okay during the day.

[NYgirl]

I think they way that Zimms works is that it totally dries your skin out and makes the cracks seem like they went away because it takes the dead skin off?  I know I did use it once and it DESTROYED my foot.

Maybe someone has had better results but I advice moisturizing NOT drying it out and that is all something made of alcohol could do.

[NYgirl]

I think a lot of us have had this happen the only thing you can really do is make SURE you keep on moisturizing CONSTANTLY and put bandaids on the worse parts at night with the lotion underneath.

It's such a pain having all of the "papercuts" everywhere on your hands all of the time but if you can really really keep moisturizing contantly (Gold Bond Extra Strength anti itch for your body is AMAZING) it will really help a LOT.

[strator]

ilovemaui and ALL---WOAH Gang! I know Zim's Crack Creme is the only thing that works for me. But I don't use it on the recommendation of my doc, the nurse from the liver clinic at the va support group and my own doubts.! It has SDA-3C Alcohol in it. That's  denatured alcohol-same alcohol as you order in a bar-except they add toxins to make it un 'consumable' (probably so that don't have to pay liquor tax. It's not like ceytl or rubbing alcohol. I know it works on my hands, and did use it one day on tx before I found out about the SDA3c. It may seem enough wouldn't get in through the skin, BUT my fingers are always so cracked open and chipped, scraped and dried out from work that it's probably like pouring the stuff into open wounds.
What do I do? Pretty much I suffer. Right now I can only type with my pinkies and ring fingers. The rest of the fingers are a mess. Even the liquid bandage doesn't help a lot because I work out side in our lovely CT weather. I go through about 50-60 bandaids a week. Now as often s possible I wear those little white cotton gloves to work(mine look black after 1 day from dirt). Big gloves are okay til I need the dexterity.
I use a lot of moistuizers like  aveeno collodial oatmeal but although my jands clear up pretty good over the weekend-after one day at work i'm wincing and throwing things. Good news is my son does the dishes more often now. He got tired of me dropping stuff when my assortment of disposable or rubber gloves catch on stuff and I drop and break glasses and dishes. Some days dealing with my hands has way more to do with my bad mood than any of the meds. It's these 'broken shoelaces' like the itch and the hands that can turn me into a PSYCHO. Many a night I have trouble even getting vaseline or moisturizers on my hands and have to wear gloves to bed. I have a bottle of Zimm's in the med cabinet and just won't use it.
ilovemaui- my hands get roughed up more than most. The moisturizers, petroleum jelly, and liquid bandage might be all you need.

Be Well all,
Don

[DoubleDose]

I had the splitting fingertips throughout two long tx'es, and they were very painful and often interfered with doing almost any manual task.  The only thing that ever really worked was using 'liquid bandaid' type applications, which seemed to seal the splits, stop the pain, and allowed the splits to heal completely.  At times I had six to ten splits on my fingers, and I ended up applying several layers of the liquid bandaid to the splits...and the problem was more or less solved.( let each application dry completely before applying another layer)  It does not prevent new splits, or cure the basic underlying tx-induced problem, but it sure solves the symptoms, and the pain.

Finger splits are not discussed frequently enough, as relates to tx, so many tx'ers have no idea what is going on, and what to do about them.  Mouth sores are another problem, and I never found an effective way to counteract them when I was on tx.

In well over two years after finishing tx, I have had no finger splits, and much less severe, and less frequent mouth sores,.... though the mouth sores still come and go!

Good Luck.

DD

[can-do-man]

LOL, no its for real. BUT not to be use elsewhere.

[sailinlady]

Can Do: LOL, I thought you were being obsence!  Had to look that one up!
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Ilovemaui: Great name, I LOVE MAUI TOO, wish I were there.  Try using the Gold Bond at night and wearing gloves to bed.  Sounds kinky but it works.

[can-do-man]

Hello, Strator who i added with your name use's or used Zimms crack creame.