Chapped hands

[bookwormbeagle]

Well you can tell the colder weather is here as my hands are already chapped, tiny cracks appearing which bleed and are sore. I had my youngest daughter last November and all throughout last winter/spring they were in a dreadful state as I had to wash them so much (nappy changes, wash bottles etc.). I asked my gp and she prescribed some cream as they looked a bit infected, but didn't really tell me what was causing it.

I can't bear them getting so bad again (as they hurt apart from just look awful ) so want to hear your recommendations for best hand cream/hand wash?

I've tried all sorts but Aveeno hand cream was probably the best and even that only softened them and didn't clear the little cuts up. Any kind of hand wash of the anti-bacterial variety makes them bad so i avoid that, and always wear gloves for washing up.

Help me have beautiful hands please!

Vaseline - I've got some cotton gloves so I'll try a layer of that on them tonight!

You need a soap and SLS free handwash. Aqueous cream will do at a push (as soap NOT moisturiser) but there are much nicer ones out there.

My fave handcream is a cheap one from Germany with 10% urea which is a much more popular ingredient there than here - really moisturising and heals cuts and rough bits very fast. Over here I use CCS foot cream instead.

Absolute massive yes to the cotton gloves at night. Slather, I mean totally coat your hands with as much aveeno as you can and stick the gloves on overnight. It takes a while but they'll smooth over and properly heal in under a week imo.

kundry will they sell that sort of hand wash in a chemist? Have just washed my hands a couple of times while making dinner and they're bleeding again (it's a gentle soap but obviously aggravating my skin).

I had hand like this shortly after DS was born the pharmacist told me to wash my hands with Dove soap and pat them dry. It's the anti bac that dries them out so badly, he gave me quite the lecture on skin flora and fauna! Use Lansinoh on the cracks, there will be a noticeable improvement within 48 hours.

Body Shop Vitamin E is the only thing that works on my hands (pink tube)

Hello
I had this when I was on maternity leave and washing my hands all the time. I found switching to imperial leather bar soap made a big difference, better than all the liquid soaps, including some very expensive brands. It's also very cheap
Good luck Katy

Lotil, cheap as chips from chemist. When I ran a playgroup-hands in water all the time and with my own toddler I had "keens" as they are called up here, big deep cracks that anything stung. Three days and sorted.

Get a propolis cream from your health shop. It works wonders and is totally natural also.

Wuta Kamile is the German glycerine hand cream. I use this when I don't have the Bodyshop hemp hand cream. It is quite good and doesn't sting.

The steroid handcream (which I referred to earlier) that you can buy otc is by Elave.

Thank you all for the great advice, I'll give some of these a try.

There is a Flexitol hand cream. They are better known I think for the heel balm, which worked wonders for my cracked feet (so bad they bled, and perfect for years now) but may be worth giving the hand version a try. Think they have it in Boots.

Hi Bookworm - chemist is best place to look. Dermol 500 is what you get given in hospital if your hands get sore from too much washing but it isn't cheap. Doublebase do a gel wash and I would guess E45 do as well.

Morningsarepants - am v excited at Flexitol hand cream as must have the magic urea in it (stings like crazy if you have cuts but everything magically healed in 48 hours). Will look out for it.

chapped hands? start with washing up liquid I only use sure care sensitive I get at Wilkos around £1 never go out with wet/damp hands and I love L'Occitane but have found if use only sure care any good hand cream is OK!

Like you have found soaps to be a big culprit! I always use a good soap such as pears or L'Occitane nothing harsh! Only using sure care sensitive washing up liquid has also proven to work for me, Have not had bleeding cracked hands since!

regarding wearing gloves they can be a factor for sore hands as they tend to make the hands sweat, so at risk of repeating myself go to Wilko's get half a dozen sure care for sensitive skin washing up liquid at £1 a time and never use anything else. I even use it for some house hold cleaning jobs!

Germolene the original pink ointment is excellent for chapped hands - make sure you get the ointment not the cream, even if you ask for it check because my DH bought some and was sold the antiseptic cream instead It works really well

Also Bepanthen nappy ointment works well too

I use both as overnight masks and lay it on thick

I agree with Surcare washing up liquid and avoiding any liquid soaps with sodium lauryl sulphate in, I either use bar soap or Dr Organic (Holland and Barrett) liquid soap. I can't do the cotton gloves at night thing, it makes me overheat, but if I get a crack, a dab of Lansinoh with a plaster over it to immobilise it overnight usually does the trick. Wearing gloves as much as possible when outside in the cold really helps too.

I used to use Lotil then I realised something in it was irritating my hands.

Started using this and it is pretty good, forms a similar kind of barrier:

www.amazon.co.uk/OKeeffes-Working-Hands-Hand-Cream/dp/B005PA0UV4

Agree also using Vaseline or 8 Hour Cream overnight really helps.