CRACKED THUMBS

[SAW MILLER]

  Has anyone found a cure or prevention for cracked fingers in the winter?I have tried everything and have not found a fix.A little bitty crack gets so sore I can't hardly botton my short. :-[ :-[

[pineywoods]

UDDER BALM. get it from vets or dairy supply. used bydairy farmers for cracked teats on their cows. And no, I"m not pulling your leg.  the stuff works..

[SwampDonkey]

Are you handling any costic chemicals regularly, washing your hands a lot, hands in water a lot, washing a lot of dishes, handling cement mix?  Use milder hand soaps, milder dish soap, hand moisturizer.

This site has some info for hand care.

http://www.dermadoctor.com/pages/newsletter165.asp

[beenthere]

I use a product called "No-Crack Super Hand Cream" that works real well (as long as I remember to use it before the skin cracks. duh!   It is made in LaCrosse, WI by the Dumont Co.

I have heard good reports of the Udder Balm too.

[SAW MILLER]

I tried bag balm,crack kream,neosporin,cortacream,look ma new hands,unkers salve vasoline......I think wearing gloves draws out all yhe moisture.


                                         sawmiller..(Ron)

[SAW MILLER]

   I forgot to mention ,I work in a hospital so I wash my hands many times a day.I rub all this junk on 20 times a day or so.

[JimBuis]

I have also heard good things about bag balm.  I have had the same problem.  I am an Industrial Arts Teacher. During and between classes I often have to scrub paint, stain, glue, etc. off of my hands.  The product that I use is

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Cream

I have bottles of it sitting around the house and put it on numerous times throughout the day.  It helps the cracks to heal.  Put a bottle of it, or whatever cream you use,  by the sink and put a bit of it on EVERYTIME you scrub.  EVERY night before bed and EVERY morning when you get up, coat your hands heavily.  Within 3 or 4 days, you will see a noticeable difference.

IMHO,
Jim

[asy]

I use "Dove Conditioning Hand Care, for sensitive skin". It's Hypoallergenic, and fragrance free.

The other thing I HIGHLY recommend is IRONCLAD Gloves They're BRILLIANT.

I use a pair of General Utility Gloves" And I love them. They're SO comfortable it's not funny, and the main thing is, they're so fine you don't lose feeling through them like you do other leather gloves. Also, the backs are fabric and draw sweat away, but don't dry your hands out.

Even after a whole day of wielding a hammer, or demolishing walls, when I take the gloves off at the end of the day, my hands are soft and dry and feel like they've just been powdered.

Unfortunately, if you're working somewhere that you have to wash your hands often, this may not be of use, but if you're working construction or sawing or such, they just can't be beat.

asy :D

[SAW MILLER]

   I work at a hospital at night and sawmill at day.I think I will try wearing a glove full of bag balm to bed. ???

[thecfarm]

Some guy at work uses super glue.His hands use to look awful.His cracks would just about bleed.The trick is to get the crack as soon as it starts.He's real fussy with that.Soon as one starts,out comes the super glue.This is orders from a doctor by the way.He's been doing this for a couple years now.Use just a little bit and squeeze the crack together.

[SwampDonkey]

   I work at a hospital at night and sawmill at day.I think I will try wearing a glove full of bag balm to bed. ???

Apparently, that's just about the worst on your hands. Read the site I posted for some possible help/tips. Try a little polysporin at night under a bandaide or some of the bag/utter balm. It comes in a green square metal can here at the coop.

You can get a 10 oz tin of bag balm off http://www.amazon.com

[Onthesauk]

Have never been able to prevent them but use a product called "New Skin," kind of the same as super glue but made just for this.  Fill the crack with a coat or two and it lasts for a couple of days out on the river.

[4woody]

try crack cream you can get it at the drug store its not cheap but it works good

[Radar67]

I found the best way to prevent the cracking is to stay hydrated. Many people think it is not important to drink plenty of water in the winter, but it is. You should drink at least 64 ounces per day. It works for me.

Stew

[Polly]

 8) 8) 8) 8)their used to be a place in cincinnati ohio where they took mutton tallow and bottled it for hand cream it worked real well didnt smell very good probly the reason it worked good :D :D :D :D

[SPIKER]

I've gotten some " O-Okeefs WORKING HANDS lotion/paste it comes in a green plastic tin shapped similar to a shoe polish can.  it is a bit greasy but works well.  seals in the moisture you have naturally.   Once cracked not much helps and is a FIX for the problem.   It is best to prevent it by using lots of mostureizing lotions or something like a vasiline which seals in the moisture to prevent cracking, also like someone mentioned drink lots of liquids...

Mark M

[Corley5]

CornHusker's Lotion Works for me

[Dale Hatfield]

Gold Bond
Ultimate
Healing
Skin Therapy Lotion
Best I have found fix the craks onece they start.

Dale

[fat olde elf]

Preparation H - on the hands- at night - no kidding............

[beenthere]

Won't touch that one liner......... ;D

[Brian_Rhoad]

Super Glue works for me! Corn Huskers Lotion works good too.

[woodbowl]

Years ago I refinished pianos for a living and had a vat if paint remover and laquer thinner. I would sometimes be in a hurry to get things done and would stick  my hand in to scrub the smaller parts. I've been told that the nerve ends are shocked and unable to repair, I don't know. (If someone knows, please reply)

One of my hands, (not both) always cracks in the winter and bleeds. The more it dries the worse it cracks open. Sometimes I can't even bend my fingers at the joints, because it will bleed. I've tried every kind of lotion, oil and ointment I could find and nothing works. Utter butter, Neutrigena, lanolin, corn huskers lotion, vasiline, baby oil ....... the list goes on.

The only thing I've found that can get me up and running real fast is to wet a piece of paper towel and tape it to the area. The skin soaks up the water and becomes painless to work. If I wear it for a day and take it off to air out for a couple of hours and wear it for another day, the healing gets started and I am able to remove it. A few days like this and it returns to normal.

Something triggers it, but I don't know what. There have been those days and conditions that seem as though it should dry out and crack, but it doesn't. Then there will be times that cracking starts without conditions.

All this is a pain to do, but I was desperate for anything that could help. I keep wide masking tape around for a quick way to make a "work bandage".

It only happens in the winter, not the summer. Radar is probably onto something about the hydration.

[jokers]

I`ve had good luck with Neutrogena Unscented hand lotion, of course it`s Norwegian so it has to be good!  ;D Cornhusker`s is also pretty good for me. There are hand wrap tapes that work well in lieu of gloves to use on the most highly abraded areas of your hands and I have found that they also have a tendency to trap moisture within the same way that a Band Aid will.

[Lenny_M]

 I prefer cornhuskers lotion. Keep a bottle in my toolbox at work. Not many places carry it here, I find it at wallgreens.
Bag balm works well but leaves your hands greasey for a bit.
                                     Lenny

[Ironwood]

I get them and fingers too this time of year. SUPER GLUE!!!!!!!!!! I also occasionally use the disk sander to level things up a bit . I couldn't find a fix until the super glue, I love the stuff and yes you need to act fast when you get one.  Reid