dry,cracked and bleeding hands

[lea78]

Hi all,

Just wandering who else has this symptom, mine is particular bad at the moment so I am trying to avoid them being in water as much as possible and I hate the feeling of cream on my hands, my hands are bleeding every day.

[Scottietottie]

Hi 

I'm not a doctor but that sounds very like a dermatitis of some type. Have you seen your doctor about it? If you haven't - I think you should. It would be all too easy for badly cracked hands to become infected.

Take care - Scottie 

[lea78]

Now you mention it, it does look a bit like some sort of dermatitis, i have had them so dry in past, it freezing here in UK at the moment and I am sure it only happens in winter

[topping21]

Any body have any good suggestion on the best lotions and Creams to use??? 

My skin has been really dry as well with especially after all these snowstorms here in Colorado + having the fire place running doesnt help either.

[Duchess]

I agree, go see the doctor. Let us know what is prescribed, then, maybe we can add some suggestions you can do with that. Such as: Coconut oil, Vitamin E oil, using Playtex gloves when cleaning etc.


Duchess

[lea78]

I have had so many issues lately and had numerous trips to doctors, so I am going to see if I can manage this for now, I will mention it next time I have to go, for now I am going to try aquaous cream and use it as a soap too as this is what we was told to use on my daughters skin as a baby as she had dry skin. I am going to let my husband wash up a bit more or I could use gloves.

Also I work with children and as a result hand was frequently, I may have to change soap.

[slccom]

Let your hubby do the cleaning. Delegate whenever possible! Shaon

[soycoffee]

I've had this for years, and my daughter has it now -- particularly with 3 kids six and under. What has worked moderately well is to use a triple antibiotic or polysporit type of ointment on the cuts themselves and bandage them overnight. If you can, use cotton gloves overnight.

Then, during the day, every time you wash your hands, use a drop or two of almond oil. With that small an amount of a very light oil, you don't have the lingering, clinging, feeling of cream on your hands. I use NOW Almond Oil, but I imagine there are others.

As I told my dd (dear daughter), the oil sinks in btween your bathroom and the time you get to the twins' bedroom.

Soycoffee

[mshistory]

I have two children with eczema - CeraVe moisturizing cream (not the lotion - the cream in the tub!) is wonderful for dry skin and atopic dermatitis. There's a type of eczema that affects the hands and feet called dishydrotic eczema that can be pretty severe - if that is the cause for your cracked and bleeding hands, you will need a topical medication in addition to the moisturizing creams in order to get it under control. Avoid soaps as much as possible - we use Dove Sensitive bars to wash hands around here, and non-soap cleansers to bathe with.

Here's some good information on hand eczema:
http://www.nationaleczema.org/living-with-eczema/hand-eczema

And lots of great info on bathing and moisturizing in general:
http://www.nationaleczema.org/living-with-eczema/bathing-moisturizing

[vtmommy]

I live in Vermont and get this every winter, although it's been worse than usual lately. 

I have to avoid using those foaming handsoaps (which are so popular here in the U.S...not sure about UK) as they seem to dry out my hands even more.  Avoid any type of perfumed hand lotion as it tends to burn more and doesn't really do much for the dryness.  I've heard creams are better than lotions, and petroleum-based products (like Vaseline) are the best.  I try to use lotion during the day (Aveeno brand), and then I apply Lansinoh to my hands at night.  Lansinoh is a product I used when I was breastfeeding that's supposed to be safe for infants to ingest.  I used it on my son's hands during the first few months (he sucked on his hands and had a lot of chapping).  After I saw how it helped him, I found it worked just as well on my hands.  I apply it overnight and my cuts are almost if not completely healed by morning.  You can find it on Amazon.com.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Susan

[lea78]

Thank you for the advice everyone :-)

[Daisy1234]

Lea, I would very strongly suggest using a product called "Bag Balm".  It is an antiseptic and a cream that is very commonly used by master gardeners like myself.  It is inexpensive and the container lasts along time and also can be found at many pharmacies or online. 

I have also given a container of this to my Mother and both of my sisters who suffer from dry, cracked and bleeding hands especially in the winter and they all have had marked improvement with it and now use it regularly.

Best of luck,
Daisy

[lea78]

Thank you daisy, will have a look online

Leanne