Aa
splitting hands
hi -- i just posted a long question but then thought of another right after i entered it -- who knows when this board will allow me to post again (it is frequently closed) so i might as well try now:
are many of you having trouble with splits all over your hands during treatment ( i guess this is the interferon drying the skin)? during the winter i have this problem, mostly on the back of my hands, but it's warm now and the splits and fissures are breaking out on the front faces of my hands, literally hundreds of them on my fingers, palms, soles of my hands, all over. flip them over and view the backside and there's just dryness, no actually breaks in the skin (yet). obviously the "front sides" are very painful and the hands are hyper-sensitive and restricted in their movements right now i'm just putting a lot of lotion on before bed and washing my hands very little and only with moisturizing soap when necessary. i'm considering using heavy lotion during the day and covering my hands with some sort of thin rubber gloves afterwards so that i can do things around the house without getting everything (e.g. the keyboard, etc.) greasy. does that sound wacky? are there some other steps i can take? thanks,
stan1
stan1
are many of you having trouble with splits all over your hands during treatment ( i guess this is the interferon drying the skin)? during the winter i have this problem, mostly on the back of my hands, but it's warm now and the splits and fissures are breaking out on the front faces of my hands, literally hundreds of them on my fingers, palms, soles of my hands, all over. flip them over and view the backside and there's just dryness, no actually breaks in the skin (yet). obviously the "front sides" are very painful and the hands are hyper-sensitive and restricted in their movements right now i'm just putting a lot of lotion on before bed and washing my hands very little and only with moisturizing soap when necessary. i'm considering using heavy lotion during the day and covering my hands with some sort of thin rubber gloves afterwards so that i can do things around the house without getting everything (e.g. the keyboard, etc.) greasy. does that sound wacky? are there some other steps i can take? thanks,
stan1
stan1
the lac-hydrin is so heavy that i can't imagine using it during the day -- i'm going to try to find something that has the urea in it that you mentioned for daytime use since you said it was a non-greasy component -- i'm a little weird in that i can stand touching stuff i come into contact regularly and getting it oily. ewww! thanks for the tips cuteus, and to everyone else
stan
stan
yes, chevygal, the restrictive nature of the vinyl gloves worries me a bit, and i am going to ask some sort of medical professional about the potential impact of sealing the hands off from fresh air for 9-10 hours a night. i've decided not to try it during the day, so at least they're breathing for 14-15 hours. i'm mostly using the vinyl cos they're something i already had at home -- i bought a 100 pack from home depot and use them whenever my hands will come into contact with chemicals or detergents (washing the car, dishes, cleaning the bathroom, etc.). my hands are ultra-sensitive to that kinda thing even when not on tx, so i can't let any household preparation besides moisturizing soap come into contact with them in the best of circumstances. the vinyls are only a dime apiece, and i can chuck them after each use. maybe there're some inexpensive cotton single-use ones that i can find. i think if they were reused, the lac-hydrin would cake up inside after each use. you're probably thinking "just wash them, you silly goose," but i'd be paranoid that my other clothes (and the inside of the washing machine) would get greasy -- lac-hydrin is some heavy, thick, gooey stuff, mind you! anyway, thanks for your interest, and to answer your last question, i don't draw, though as a little kid i was somewhat artistic for awhile. i don't write either, but i'm glad that you're able to grab a decent pictorial image from my ramblings -- i just type whatever pops into my head -- it's a stream of consciousness kinda thing -- sometimes it clicks, other times it's awkward. thanks again, and take care everyone......
stan
stan
lac hydrin is a good one, I like u-lactin the best
hope it heals, mine bled even before tx. especially when i banged the finger
ouch
hope it heals, mine bled even before tx. especially when i banged the finger
ouch
thanks to everyone for all of the help with my hand split concerns. it sounds like this is fairly common from reading this thread as it grows -- fortunately i'm not getting actual blood oozing out, though i can see red "on the inside" as i view the various areas. the fingertip ones are the most bothersome, as it seems like most of the "valleys" which fall between the ridges that help form our "fingerprints" are splitting to one extent or another. i've a feeling that i will end up seeing a dermatologist eventually as these skin conditions begin to expand their scope and new ones appear. i'll try the liquid band-aid as an experiment on a few particularly troublesome sites to see what happens -- the krazy glue method is something i'm heard of, but it makes me squeamish to think of applying it.
i found some old rx dry-skin cream that i got years ago for winter dryness -- it's called lac-hydrin 12% cream -- it expired 4 years ago, but it still seems to have its mojo. the last couple of nights i applied it heavily before bed and then slipped on some disposable vinyl gloves, the kind painters use. they aren't skin tight, but they still make my hands sweat and that mixes with the lotion -- at least the lotion stays in contact with the hands all night though -- if i can find some disposable cotton ones i might try those -- probably less sweating but more absorption of the lotion when you want it to stay on your skin.
anyway, i appreciate it, if someone else has some new ideas i'd love to hear them -- take care
stan
i found some old rx dry-skin cream that i got years ago for winter dryness -- it's called lac-hydrin 12% cream -- it expired 4 years ago, but it still seems to have its mojo. the last couple of nights i applied it heavily before bed and then slipped on some disposable vinyl gloves, the kind painters use. they aren't skin tight, but they still make my hands sweat and that mixes with the lotion -- at least the lotion stays in contact with the hands all night though -- if i can find some disposable cotton ones i might try those -- probably less sweating but more absorption of the lotion when you want it to stay on your skin.
anyway, i appreciate it, if someone else has some new ideas i'd love to hear them -- take care
stan
Welcome,
I had the same problems all last year on tx. I drank plenty of water, so I started believing it was my skin becoming thin. I could just look at a paper edge and my skin would crack. It was painful since I work with my hands all day, but I started using a Liquid Band-Aid product, brushing several layers over a cut or skin crack and it would allow me to work without pain and more cracking. My evenings were spent applying more layers of New Skin over my sore and cracked fingers.
Luckily, never had to deal with mouth and lip cracking, but living in the Pacific Northwet may have made the air a little more moist than other areas. Some people use humidifiers to increase the moisture in their homes.
Good luck. Hang in there. It's worth it in the end. I am 4+ months post tx and am feeling so damn energetic, it's scary!
I had the same problems all last year on tx. I drank plenty of water, so I started believing it was my skin becoming thin. I could just look at a paper edge and my skin would crack. It was painful since I work with my hands all day, but I started using a Liquid Band-Aid product, brushing several layers over a cut or skin crack and it would allow me to work without pain and more cracking. My evenings were spent applying more layers of New Skin over my sore and cracked fingers.
Luckily, never had to deal with mouth and lip cracking, but living in the Pacific Northwet may have made the air a little more moist than other areas. Some people use humidifiers to increase the moisture in their homes.
Good luck. Hang in there. It's worth it in the end. I am 4+ months post tx and am feeling so damn energetic, it's scary!
As the wound heals from the inside out, the Krazy Glue is naturally pushed out of the wound. The pain of the splits and cracks stop within minutes of applying the Krazy Glue (as soon as it drys). Don't touch any thing for several minutes after you apply the stuff or you may have a sticky situation LOL
Crazy glue is also recommended for psoriasis sores and open areas that don't heal because of where they are. I've used it for that, on fingernails as well, for a while. Crazy, yes, but it works.
Hi Stan, I have the papercut thing going on too. I use Elocon Cream( 0.1% w/w mometasone furoate. My sister, who lives in England, gave it to me, it does requires a RX in the UK and is made by Schering-Plough (makers of PegIntron), so perhaps you could tell your doctor about it and ask if it's available by RX in this country.
This cream really works, I put it on at night and the cracks seem to heal overnite.
Great advice about the water, you can't drink enough..and also about this forum; it is patient to patient. Your skin condition sounds quite severe though and you can never be too careful; Thanbey is right, ALWAYS tell your doctor what is going on with your body.
Best of luck to you.
This cream really works, I put it on at night and the cracks seem to heal overnite.
Great advice about the water, you can't drink enough..and also about this forum; it is patient to patient. Your skin condition sounds quite severe though and you can never be too careful; Thanbey is right, ALWAYS tell your doctor what is going on with your body.
Best of luck to you.
My dermotologist told me to use Krazy Glue. He said that there were no toxic side effects and the it allowed the splits to heal from the inside out. It worked like a charm. Once I got them healed up they didn't not return. Before I used the Krazy Glue the splits lingered for weeks. Very painful. Krazy Glue...no kidding. Good luck.
When the dermatologist said Krazy Glue I asked about liguid bandaid instead and he said it had the same ingredient and Krazy Glue was cheaper. The first used Krazy Glue for wounds during the Viet Nam War in the battlefield to temporerily close wounds until soldiers could get proper medical attention. Interesting huh?
As someone very prone to dermatitis, I've been told several times by my dermatologist to use Cetaphyl lotion instead of soap to clean my hands. It is usable on the face, too, and is fine for very sensitive - even cracked - skin. It soothes those little fissures and doesn't dry the skin. My pharmacy has a generic version. Maj Neni
wouldn't it be interesting if the liquid band aid had the same ingredients as the krazy glue? if not, I would use the band aid thing first. Two dermatologists on opposite coasts, have prescribed the only thing that ever helped my dry skin; urea and lactic acid in a base of glycerin and eucerin. Urea(no less than 10%) brings moisture to the epidermis without making you greasy. I would flake without it and that is not a pretty sight.
So now you have tons of things to try...GL
So now you have tons of things to try...GL
Hi ....sorry i forgot to post something above for you.......I appreciate your kindness......I love the fact that we can share here, without this forum .......I would be alone......Thanks for your support........Sometimes its hard to post how i feel here.....dealing with things day by day...........some days i do feel alone......other times i dont care.......and when im in need of some warmth, i come here......Everyone is so loving and caring of each other..........its amazing.......I thank all of you.......You are very giving to this forum and we all appreciate you.........Deb :)
Stan..........I know that tx dries us up WATER WATER & MORE WATER.......i had the same problem and often do........My hands are in and out of water all day, which does cause them to become more drier than usual....When i have terrible cracked hands, i use rubber gloves when needed and at night i smear vaseline all over the hands and sleep with cotton gloves......this really helps.......
cracked, open slits on my on the corners of my finger nails and the back skin of my fingers were always a problem for me in the winter and so painful too. it is worse this winter "papercuts"- like splits are showing in the natural skin fissures, almost like the skin "breaks" when you flex it. The dermatologist told me to tape the cut, and for that he gets paid big bucks. I have used urea based cream and lotions, at least 10% urea. You have to ask the pharmacist for it, no RX needed. I would use something with urea, eucerin, lactic acid and glycerin in the ingredients. Look online for better prices
Check with your doctor. This could be an autoimmune problem from the therapy. There are creams and lotions that can help.
You might also consider a dermatology consult. Drinking an ocean of water is not going to help with the pain and discomfort of an autoimmune dermatitis.
I hope this helps,
thanbey
www.hcop.org
You might also consider a dermatology consult. Drinking an ocean of water is not going to help with the pain and discomfort of an autoimmune dermatitis.
I hope this helps,
thanbey
www.hcop.org
thanks again -- i didn't see your comments about putting everything in one question until after i sent the second post. at the time i started writing it, there were no follow-ups to my post, thus no advice in that regard. i starting typing it, then got distracted for about 15 minutes, so by the time i sent it, the responses were showing up to my eyes for the first time. i won't make the same mistake again, and just wanted you to know that i wasn't willfully disregarding your suggestions for etiquette guidelines -- i agree with them wholeheartedly. take care
stan1
stan1
The reason you have been able to post more than one question is because weekends are normally slow. It is best if you post all your questions within your first, to give a chance to others during the week, since only 6 questions are allowed daily. It was explained to you in your other post. There is no need to post new question under the question link.
Dryness of the skin is a common discomfort, drink at least 10 glasses of h2o daily to counteract the effects of the meds. I always had dry skin and it is a little worse during tx. the tx will aggravate existing conditions of any sort.
Dryness of the skin is a common discomfort, drink at least 10 glasses of h2o daily to counteract the effects of the meds. I always had dry skin and it is a little worse during tx. the tx will aggravate existing conditions of any sort.
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