Help me sort my hands out!

[Goldstar88]

Posting for traffic. My hands have never been in such a terrible, dry state. Not even just dry but I have these deep cuts on my fingers/knuckles that are so painful when I do anything with my hands, often bleed etc. I’ve never had it like this before. I’m at a bit of a loss as to what’s causing it. I’ve always had dry hands in the winter but they’ve tended to just be general dry skin, fixed with moisturiser, never as bad as this.

Some context/what I’ve tried so I don’t drip feed!

• I’ve been to the GP, they suggested emollients (Dermol) which I use as soap every time I wash my hands.

• I’m 13 months pp and still breastfeeding - could that be a factor?

• I use rubber gloves every time I do any sort of washing up or cleaning.

• I either have hands in pockets or in gloves every time I’m out walking at the moment, unless doing something quickly with phone etc!

• I try to use gentle shower gels, face washes etc. I was using an acidic bonding shampoo but have switched to a Garnier Hair Food one in case it’s my shampoo, doesn’t seem to help.

• I put a thick emollient cream on every night before bed (although sometimes hands are too sore to bear it) but invariably if DC wakes up I end up having to wash my hands after a nappy change etc. so I guess it’s not always on for hours at a time.

What am I missing? I feel I’m going to have to change every shower product I own to see what it is? It must be something I’m using daily, surely? They’re currently feeling so dry, tight and sore and I’m at a loss.

Any words of wisdom??

Also my dc has terrible eczema. Dermatologist suggested a protopic cream . I can't remember the name as recently ran out - touch wood they've not needed any yet as its on order..but that was also good.

Could you see a Dermatologist? We ended up paying private for dc as nhs was a long wait and they were suffering badly. Was £265 iirc for 45 min

You need to get a box of surgical gloves & wear thin cotton gloves inside. (The latex) gloves can cause a problem too !
Avoid touching ALL household products & keep hands dry
Get to GP & get cortisone cream
Change washing up liquid, & washing pods, avoid softener altogether, bath soap should be as natural as possible.

Second working hands. Also udder cream!

Sorry to hear this OP. It’s horrid when you need to wash your hands so much and they’re cracked and sore. I slather my hands in the Norwegian formula at bedtime, the one that isn’t quick dry. It’s got a red lid. It’s the only hand cream that works for me. Also wear leather gloves when it’s cold as woollen ones just don’t keep my hands protected from the cold wind. Good luck.

Mine got so sore when my DC were younger. Water is the enemy! So my husband used to do all their bathing. I would use wipes for nappy changing (not cotton wool and water) and try to minimise washing hands to when necessary. (Not easy with little ones) Poor you. Miracle cream for me was hemp cream from the body shop. And also I bought a big tub of shea butter from Amazon. It's super soothing and healing.

My hands are just like this, I think from hand washing and wet hands outside (the kids love water play). My DM gave the best (if sticky) advice - put nipple balm on your hands like cream. OH has similar and tends to put disposable gloves on top to keep cream on, but I don't tend to bother, I just sleep with it on. Keep it by the bed and you can reapply after nappy changes. Hope they get better soon, it's so uncomfortable!

As a ward nurse, my hands used to be horrendous - I had no choice but to be continuously washing them (if you follow infection control procedures to the letter). I found putting thick vaseline/petroleum jelly on my hands, at bedtime very helpful.

My dd has suffered with chronic eczema on her hands since she was 2ish. She will literally rub them through all layers of epidermis and down to flesh.

She now takes a therapeutic chemo med because it got so bad.

You need a decent steroid cream for starters, plaster it on at night. Leave it thick. Don't rub in. Cover with cotton or bamboo gloves (get dds from amazon). Ignore the instructions on the packet that say max 3 days. Dds consultant says use it every day until you are completely clear then use a decent emollient (hydromol has some sort of ingredient issue sonwe are currently using imuderm) and again plaster on thick and then put gloves on as often as you can through the day.

Get rid of any cleaning products that contain alcohol or bleach or strong floral tones, too many chemicals that dry out the skin. Same with cleansers etc.

Avoid any sort of sanitisers

Swap rubber gloves for powder free nitrile ones, the powder is a common trigger.

Speak to your GP, chances are you have an infection in the skin so get antibiotics amd don't let them fob you off. If you are really suffering asknfor a dermatology referral. It might take 18 months but but get the ball rolling.

I used to have dreadful contact dermatitis. Some things that have helped:

Nothing with lanolin (it was in camillosan when I was breastfeeding- oh dear!)

Aveeno is good.

Wear silk lined leather gloves NOT wool.

Buy thin cotton gloves to wear under rubber gloves.

Citrus is a bugger so cut down that sort of fruit

Never ever use fairy liquid

Try not to let your hands go too quickly from warm to hot and vice versa

Watch out for scented soaps and don't use soap on your hands too much.

Prescription emollients made my hands worse. Betnovate was fine.

Stress made it flare.

Are you properly hydrated? 35ml fluid/kg body weight/day as a minimum, possibly even more as you're breastfeeding. Limit caffeine. What's your diet like? Multivitamin may help too!

Also get the gp to check your vitamin d levels. Dds were scary low so at 11 she is on an adult max dose of the high strength tablets.

Since we got the tablets her skin has been a lot better

I have this problem too and I’m 16month pp! Xx

I would recommend Body Shop hemp handcream - it acts like a barrier cream when on, very good for over-washed hands!

I get these deep cuts every winter too, and they bleed a lot. They hurt so much. For me things that help are gloves and lots of hand cream and vaseline. But even with those things it doesn’t help much and happens anyway.

I used to have really sore hands and I started to use this hand cream and really helped. It was designed by a nurse because they can get really sore skin on their hands from the constant washing.

The link is for the bigger bottle but they do a smaller tub. Maybe you could try this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nursem-Caring-Hand-Cream-Fast-Absorbing/dp/B08KJFN6FB/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=3P7QZKDC7OYR2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BhtyRVVP-JY_nNUH-TS3JxIi_t8zthZBejgh8y7U3BxDrSQqGwfRmdFcIK_upBaT4AEUASjAa7mPFvXRA41wY3WzQeMyh4VQ1POFfWruvkpvV0zG6PQTD6bfvomCekdd-TDhpVccw7rAOtdQ42mO-NYR0ajI_kFB_SWWpoe2ZqI7YFTVeGKvVVW9brQ_SOgTtAg-3Zh60t87tsKZ3qNiDCe3fJyLjFxGQw4iw0itC8Bi-Gn1WV-mCKKK_dkq35UC1bkCd0sdg5FA3yJf0HO1uqByMTKX3KsOMJig95yPWto.bDGxq5W3ExvRGnKeGArvxw-_kFW8UQdKTBlhaC1rTkw&dib_tag=se&keywords=nursem%2Bhand%2Bcream&qid=1739139464&rdc=1&sprefix=nurse%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Be careful with disposable gloves, rubber gloves etc - certain ones give me contact dermatitis.

Keep a tube of whatever moisturiser doesn't irritate on you and keep applying it. For me it was e45 intense recovery hand cream. If you're sitting watching tv apply it, then when it's absorbed apply some more. Repeat all evening.

Be careful to use anything that thins the skin (like steroid cream) sparingly, as it can make cracks worse.

I found using a pair of cotton socks on my hands easier than trying to fight my greasy way into gloves at night. Be aware that these socks will get incredibly greasy and you will need to clean them in washing up liquid to degrease them, wear your washing up gloves to do this.

There are a few prescription emollients out there, after trying a couple my dermatologist put me on to Unguentum M which I have had great success with.

Once my daughter was past the nappy stage I found it easier to manage my poor hands, but those years were the worst.

You could try applying liposomal vitamin c to your skin. Another cream I used for my child's eczema is a website called aw1. The pink cream is the high strength one (no steroid).

Haven’t RTFT, but I had similar when I was constantly hand washing in the baby years.
I recommend cutting out anything containing sulphates. Check ingredients: SLS, sodium laureth sulphate. It’s usually the second biggest ingredient after water. Shampoo, shower gel and especially hand wash. Basically anything that foams. It’s harsh on skin and hair so you need conditioner, moisturiser etc.
It’s in some baby toiletries and prescription emollients too.

Would recommend Nursem products. Skin Fix for overnight with cotton gloves to help it absorb:
https://www.spacenk.com/uk/bath-body/body-moisturiser-oils/hand-feet/caring-skin-fix-MUK200027156.html

And the hand cream for day time (comes in fragrances and unfragranced versions):
https://www.spacenk.com/uk/bath-body/body-moisturiser-oils/hand-feet/caring-hand-cream-unfragranced-MUK200030180.html

My husband has dermatitis from his time in the army, which flairs up particularly in the warmer months. Skin peels off, cracks and splits. Very red and sore and not helped by the fact he now works on fuel tankers, so is often handling materials which are irritants. I got these for him from Amazon and they have really helped to soothe and improve his hands.

Discard the rubber gloves and use vinyl or 'latex free' ones.

Definitely plain bar soap, and the sensitive unscented washing powder and washing up liquid.

I have used tallow (aka beef dripping) when it was really bad. Also beeswax melted with olive or jojoba oil.

I had the same problem which began during lockdown. I threw away shower gels and hand wash and replaced them with triple milled Nesti Dante soap bars. There's loads of different scents and all leave skin (hand and body) soft and nourished. They're large bars too, (I cut mine in half), and the scent lasts down to the last little bit. I've not had a problem since.

I used to have the same problem most winters. So painful when at least 2/3 or 4 fingers are cracked and split.Honestly I have tried every cream going but discovered Fullers Earth cream when a friend gave me a pot.It works wonders and heals them practically overnight.I used to get it from Boots but now order from Amazon.

I found baby wipes caused this for me. Could that be it? Completely resolved once stopped using them