KEEP YOUR HANDS DRY AT ALL TIMES
Go buy 4 pairs of extra large rubber gloves. You can put them on over top of regular gloves. ALWAYS wear them when getting hands wet. It’s the combination of water and cold weather that causes the cracks, and they won’t go away unless you keep your hands dry. It’s like cracked heels for people, and the same prevention principles apply.
Boudreaux’s Butt Paste
I just had a thought.
Please don’t laugh.
It’s awesome stuff.
I was first introduced to it by Oprah.
It’s a great story too!
Does everything I’ve ever asked of it.
Try it on your horse too!!
http://buttpaste.op4web.com/default.cfm
"Pharmacist George Boudreaux opened his Louisiana drugstore in 1978 and soon began whipping up an old fashioned elixir that magically cured lots of irritated baby bottoms—and people discovered it also worked wonders on itches, scrapes and cuts.
Local doctors started sending people to George for his miracle cream—they just didn’t know what to call it. One doctor recalls laughing, “I’d send them over to see George and say, ‘He’s got a really good butt paste.’”
And so the name “Boudreaux’s Butt Paste” stuck and became a legend. Now George’s product is “kicking butt.” George says athletes—even some famous ones—love “Butt Paste” because it helps soothe jock itch!
You can find Boudreaux’s Butt Paste in Walmart and Target stores nationwide."
:lol:
That would be a pretty good addition to a horsey gift basket. Butt paste, monkey butt powder, and Tired Old Ass soak, along with some hand cream, travel bottles of aspirin or tylenol, and chocolate!
Another Suggestion
I have used bag balm, Zack’s crack cream and just about every other product. Gold Bond Hand Cream works the best for me. You can keep the dry skin down using St. Ives Hand and Foot scrub cream. It moistures too.
Corn Huskers lotion with gloves at night as a preventative. Once you ‘feel’ one coming on, paint the area with liquid bandaid 2x a day. Helps to minimize the size of the crack and speeds up healing much faster than the bandaid/antibiotic ointment.
The best for me is good old Corona that you use on your horse. It’s super thick so put it on at night with gloves if possible. the best daytime moisturizer I have found is Aveeno or it’s generic equivalent. It soaks in fast and doesn’t leave your hands all slimy.
I knew I could count on you! Now I have even more things to try. Very good suggestions here and ones I never considered. What an easy and obvious solution to put big rubber gloves over my others gloves when I’m handling water (my SO already has them). It also makes sense to file down that tough skin because it seems that the skin gets tough and then the cracks happen. Tonight, it’s cotton gloves and some kind of goo. I’m looking forward to feeling better soon. Thanks everyone!
[QUOTE=Lilykoi;3760583]
Bandaids and Neosporin. The Neosporin is the trick. I get them on all my fingers as soon as
the weather starts to get cold. It doesn’t stop them from happening but it does heal them up quickly. Something that does help them from starting is wearing surgical gloves as much as you can when you are getting your hands wet. Even at the barn when you are doing tack. I think the constant wet/drying syndrome is what aggravates the skin.[/QUOTE]
I get these too and I also use the Neosporin and bandaids. Since we have had so much cold weather and snow here lately I have a real bad one and the other night I did the Neosporin and bandaids and it feels much better.
[QUOTE=Flash44;3761174]
KEEP YOUR HANDS DRY AT ALL TIMES
Go buy 4 pairs of extra large rubber gloves. You can put them on over top of regular gloves. ALWAYS wear them when getting hands wet. It’s the combination of water and cold weather that causes the cracks, and they won’t go away unless you keep your hands dry. It’s like cracked heels for people, and the same prevention principles apply.[/QUOTE]
You have to have the rubber gloves!!! I now have those cheap magic gloves and add the disposable gloves over top. That is my feeding paraphanelia. Once not feeding, switch to heavier neoprene or wool/neoprene waterproof gloves and continue working.
If you all ever go to the body shop they make a Hemp Hand creme. Rub it in before bed and use cotton gloves. Morning on again. I also do the neosporin and band aids, but I am having no problems this year unless I get my hands wet.
Now hubby on the other hand is Mr. Bandaid at the moment and just can’t get the keep your hands dry thing. Then after I do his bandaids, he wants to me to rub hemp creme into the other parts. Like there’s nothing left to hemp creme!
Terri
I also suffer from skin cracks and us Gold Bond Hand Cream…works great!
skin cracks
Our pharmacy has a cream for diabetics to use for healing difficult wounds and skin cracks. Use it on hands and feet, cover with cotton socks, sleep well. A few nights of this should do the trick. I have not had the usual problem this year (yet) as I am religously using Avon’s hand repair cream MANY times a day, on hands and feet. Best of luck!
Avon Moisture Therapy…stuff doesn’t even wash off. Using it overnight is a good idea.
Believe it or not, getting a weekly manicure helps.
My DH swears by Corn Huskers.
I swear by this stuff.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/WW_Nexcare/FirstAidProducts/Products/SkinCare/
It is Nexcare Skin Crack Care, and the link provides a dollar off coupon. I found it in the grocery store (Ukrops I think), and it is a wee bit pricey, but worth it.
Not only do I have the horsey stuff to do, 50% of my day is spent washing dogs, so I cannot avoid wet hands, and I can get the exact same crack you describe anytime, summer or (mostly) winter. Avoiding them is definately the trick, but if it happens, this stuff is great.
I also try to wear gloves outside as much as possible, and I use a shea butter lavender hand creme from a NC crafter as often as I can. I can find the link to that if anyone is interested. Great stuff too, not greasy and smells so wonderful, really stays with you.
Ditto Nexcare!
Nexcare is the only thing that works and also seems to take the pain away for me. It appears to also speed the healing process. Some of my finger cracks have extended from the top of the finger underneath the nail and have bled copiously. But a couple of days of the Nexcare have brought dramatic improvement and a few more days - almost totally healed. It is pricey but worth it.
My husband and I use Aquaphor from Eucerin. We get it at WalMart, and it is not too pricey. It is amazing how much those cracks hurt!
I’ve used Desitin, and it works. But I’m going to try some of the other ideas, because the Desitin is messy and smelly.
For a cheap but effective hand scrub, I use brown sugar. Yep, just plain old brown sugar. 
Wet your hands ( I soak them in a oatmeal bath) and then grab a handful and rub away. It works really well
Wow, what great suggestions. Last night, I did the goop and gloves routine and my thumbs feel much, much better. I also got rid of some of the tough skin and I’m sure that helped, too.
BaaramuLuke – I’d love the source of the lavender cream. I hate greasy, so that would be great to use during the day.
One more thing to be aware of, coming from a fellow sufferer…
Lack of sunlight & Vitamin D are big factors in the skin cracks. I use the Nexcare line of products on mine, (moisturizer and the skin crack sealer) but find they go away if I start tanning in the winter. I also find that winter tanning gives me more energy ( I have a mild case of SAD)
So, splurge a little bit in the name of good health. 
Another good dry hand treatment (though maybe not the best for cracked hands - ouch) is to take salt and olive oil and make a paste. Rub your hands with it for several minutes, rinse with warm water and pat dry.
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