Eczema and hand hygiene

[Subtle_badger]

Hi!

I had bad eczema on my hands as a child and teen, but it's been in remission for decades.

Then along comes coronavirus. The constant hand washing has nearly taken my pinkie out of commission. Cracked knuckle, and dry and hard. The crack is painful (but quite bearable) and there is no itching at all. The rest of my hands are OK, for now.

So can you people share your experience of good hand hygiene that won't destroy my hands?

Thanks in advance!

[BrynGlas]

Not to help during the day, between frequents hand washes I'm afraid, but a friend of mine swears by Sudocreme, the baby nappy rash cream. Not really the sort of thing that you could use during the day between handwashes is it?

It does say that on the container too, but fortunately I haven't had the excema problem for years either, so never had to use it for that purpose.. Hope mine doesn't turn up again. Hope you can keep it under control.

[Subtle_badger in reply to BrynGlas]

Thanks. I have some conotrane, which is slightly less disgusting than Sudocreme so I will try that first. There is sudocreme in the back of a cupboard too.

[lovesradio in reply to Subtle_badger]

I am using Q.V. or Dermol 500 soap substitute to wash hands then moisture with Neutrogena intensive Norwegian formula unscented. That seems to be keeping hands under control. I filled a wee air travel bottle with the wash stuff to keep in my handbag for use out and about.

[DanaG214]

I have had this exact issue since I was a kid too. The skin on my hands cracks and splits, causing painful fissures that take forever to heal. A good quality omega 3 supplement helps when taken regularly, but won’t solve the problem. I often superglue the cracks in my skin. It helps them heal faster and stops the pain. My ex-boyfriend told me to do that, and I was appalled at first. But it really did help. Also, try getting a colloidal silver gel or cream off Amazon. It quickens healing like nothing else. Wound care doctors make their patients use special bandages with colloidal silver in them for this reason. Sometimes I have to file down the rough spots on my hands with a nail file. Just be careful not to file too much or on tender spots. Also, at night you probably already apply hand cream before bed. To make it more effective I like to layer creams/lotions. I’ll start with the thinnest and apply like usual, then apply a thicker hand cream, then the thickest last. Something with a silicone in it like dimethicone to help hold all the moisture in. Put socks on your hands then go to sleep. Using a variety of products on top of each other ensures you’re getting different types of benefits from the variety of ingredients. Some ingredients moisturize top layers of skin only, while others go deeper. Change your hand soaps to creamy formulas. Sometimes I use extra-moisturizing body washes instead of hand soap. COVID-19, as far as we know, is killed by washing with regular soap and water. So you don’t necessarily need antibacterial soap which is very drying. Anything that will physically remove the virus particals from skin will work as long as you wash thoroughly.

[Subtle_badger]

Thanks for the help, people. I seem have have tamed it by applying 5% hydrocortisone to the afflicted finger and then covering both hands in conotrane. They are back to normal "old lady's hands" of pre coronavirus times.

I hope everyone else has can find a simple solution to their issues!

I'll keep the more dramatic fixes like superglue 🤯 if it flares up again.