View Full Version : Dry Cracked Fingers
I have suffered for years with dry cracked fingers, the fingers literally split open and bleed it is worse in the winter. I have seen a dermatologist and they prescribed Fluocinonide Ointment USP, 0.05% . I can use it as needed 4 X a day but only 2 X per week as it causes thin skin. When I use it the relief is immediate, the skin softens and loses it's tautness I then follow up with Aquaphilic Ointment religiously. The trouble is that I cannot get ahead of the dryness, I treat my hands and wear gloves when they get really bad but am just spinning my wheels. I have tried every advertised miracle snake oil that I have heard of, any thoughts out there?
How often do you wash your hands?
How often do you use hand sanitizer?
If washing hands at home, do you have a water softener, or are you using hard water?
What is your profession?
Are you using your hands in a "rough" type manner, (i.e. Lumberjack, construction, carpenter) ??
GratefulCitizen
02-15-2014, 17:54
I have suffered for years with dry cracked fingers, the fingers literally split open and bleed it is worse in the winter. I have seen a dermatologist and they prescribed Fluocinonide Ointment USP, 0.05% . I can use it as needed 4 X a day but only 2 X per week as it causes thin skin. When I use it the relief is immediate, the skin softens and loses it's tautness I then follow up with Aquaphilic Ointment religiously. The trouble is that I cannot get ahead of the dryness, I treat my hands and wear gloves when they get really bad but am just spinning my wheels. I have tried every advertised miracle snake oil that I have heard of, any thoughts out there?
Common problem with UPS drivers.
Cold weather and handling cardboard dries out hands.
Used to have this problem.
Changed my diet and it went away
Hand skin is actually soft now despite my job.
Don't even wear gloves unless riding or if it's very cold outside.
Read the food labels.
Stay away from trans-fats, limit sugar, and limit vegetable oils with the exception of coconut oil and olive oil (but don't cook with olive oil).
Eat plenty of seeds/nuts (peanuts don't count).
Eat real butter and increase fat intake (not from vegetable oils).
Mentioned this to a customer who had cracked hands.
All he did was start eating seeds/nuts and the problems reduced dramatically.
Be careful with the choice of seeds/nuts as many of these are cooked in vegetable oils.
This counteracts the benefits.
Other effects I noticed:
-cuts heal much more quickly
-hair, nails, and beard grow more quickly
-don't get hungry very often
Good luck.
Trapper John
02-15-2014, 17:56
Any thickening of the skin elsewhere?
Any unusual sensitivity to cold in the fingers?
Any familial history of skin related disorders, e.g skin thickening?
How often do you wash your hands?
How often do you use hand sanitizer?
If washing hands at home, do you have a water softener, or are you using hard water?
What is your profession?
Are you using your hands in a "rough" type manner, (i.e. Lumberjack, construction, carpenter) ??
Do not wash my hands very often, when I do I use the Auquaphilic
Never use sanitizer, it's full of alcohol
Have soft water at home/ we have a water softener
Recently retired from the pipeline industry hands were exposed to gas and oil and ethanol, wore latex gloves and tried to keep my hands out of product. At present am not doing a whole lot.
I am never far from moisturizer.
TJ
Any thickening of the skin elsewhere?
Any unusual sensitivity to cold in the fingers?
Any familial history of skin related disorders, e.g skin thickening?
No thickening of the skin, far as I know I am the only member of my family to have this issue, it goes back to my childhood. My fingers do not handle the cold too well, If I am not careful they will hurt like hell after prolonged exposure to the cold. This has been one of the coldest winters on record here in Iowa lot of - 0 temps. I wear good gloves and come in before pain.
GC: I will work on the diet thanks to all for the response!
Trapper John
02-15-2014, 18:23
Do not wash my hands very often, when I do I use the Auquaphilic
Never use sanitizer, it's full of alcohol
Have soft water at home/ we have a water softener
Recently retired from the pipeline industry hands were exposed to gas and oil and ethanol, wore latex gloves and tried to keep my hands out of product. At present am not doing a whole lot.
I am never far from moisturizer.
TJ
Any thickening of the skin elsewhere?
Any unusual sensitivity to cold in the fingers?
Any familial history of skin related disorders, e.g skin thickening?
No thickening of the skin, far as I know I am the only member of my family to have this issue, it goes back to my childhood. My fingers do not handle the cold too well, If I am not careful they will hurt like hell after prolonged exposure to the cold. This has been one of the coldest winters on record here in Iowa lot of - 0 temps. I wear good gloves and come in before pain.
GC: I will work on the diet thanks to all for the response!
I advise seeing a Rheumatologist. Rule out secondary Raynaud's. I've attached a good link from the NIH/National Library of Medicine:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/raynaud/
Your family history leads me to think that you may have primary Raynaud's. The underlying cause is unknown, but there are some good treatments. As I said , see a Rheumatologist.
Let us know what you find out.
I used to have the exact same problem, and it was always worse in the winter - drier weather and heat contributed to the problem. I have found that the Spring Valley supplement for Hair, Skin and Nails has worked wonders - not just for fingers that crack and split open, but also for my lips, which also used to dry out, flake and split. (Which of course meant that I would pick at them and make the problem worse. Used to take months to heal. Not anymore!)
You can pick a bottle of these up at Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid, CVS, etc. in the vitamin aisle. You may have to keep your eyes peeled to spot them, but 3 per day will most likely clear up the problem. Give'em a try! (Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. I never even played one on TV. I'm just someone who stumbled upon this supplement - and am grateful I did.) BTW. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, which may or may not be related. I think very highly of TJ's advice.
:lifter
No thickening of the skin, far as I know I am the only member of my family to have this issue, it goes back to my childhood. My fingers do not handle the cold too well, If I am not careful they will hurt like hell after prolonged exposure to the cold. This has been one of the coldest winters on record here in Iowa lot of - 0 temps. I wear good gloves and come in before pain.
GC: I will work on the diet thanks to all for the response!
Also have the same problem with hands (and feet if they are not covered). I used to ski and enjoy winter sports a long time ago. Had a few bouts of frostbite. Not the black "oh shit!" kind, just the grayish-white "Damn!" kind. They didn't hurt then; but when I came in out of the cold and they began to "thaw" out, THEN it hurt like the dickens. Goose-down mittens keep hands warm; but you can't do very much with them. A good heavy pair of leather gloves with thinsulate liners will help if you need to be out in the cold for any length of time.
BTW, you don't smoke, do you? I do. Smoking constricts the blood vessels, especially those peripheral capillaries. (Yeah, I know. Quit! One of these days.)
Take care of yourself and stay well...
I used to smoke, quit three years ago. I take 200 mg of Celebrex for arthritis in my neck daily or I would not be able to function. Too much abuse over the years, my old foreman used to always say that the trouble with youth is that it is wasted on the young. My aches and pains are nothing when compared to a lot of folks and I thank the good Lord every day for all my blessings and I thank all of you for your responses.
Brad
Javadrinker
02-16-2014, 11:53
give O'Keeffe's Working Hands a try if you haven't already. Worked for me.
here is someting to look into
http://www.medicinenet.com/psoriatic_arthritis/article.htm
After going through the slide shows I can tell you that I am one lucky guy as I do not have anything like Psoriatic arthritis. Thank you and everyone else for your suggestions.
Brad
here is someting to look into
http://www.medicinenet.com/psoriatic_arthritis/article.htm
I recently got back from our Infantry Platoon Commanders course.
It should probably be called advanced digging with all the open country shoveling we did.
Fingers split and bled a bit on 2 fingers.
Climate was high desert. Soil was really dry, low moisture clay.
Huge temp range from day/night.
Our students with farming in the blood were fine in terms of fingers/hands.
Those with girly/desk jockey jobs(like myself), regardless of how much manual labour and outdoorsy stuff we do, all had the same problem.
Barrier cream and gloves helped, but fingertips were chewed up. Two weeks later all good with more calluses for a bit like a farmer.
I recently got back from our Infantry Platoon Commanders course.
Those with girly/desk jockey jobs(like myself), regardless of how much manual labour and outdoorsy stuff we do, all had the same problem.
There you go. ;)
PedOncoDoc
02-17-2014, 07:47
To follow up on TJ's comments, Reynaud's phenomenon typically is accompanied by color change in the fingers with changes in the temperature (classicly from warm to cold) where the fingers will become pale, then cyanotic (turning blue) and can be painful. I don't recall Reynaud's presenting as severely dry/cracked hands, but I could be mistaken.
One of the best moisturizers out there is still petroleum jelly (classic Vaseline). One thing you could do to help with the severely dry/cracked hands is to moisten the hands in the sink, slather them in vaseline and wear gloves over the hands while you sleep. I've seen some dramatic improvements over 4-5 days for people.
For those who have chronic/recurrent nosebleeds in winter, a bad of vaseline on the inside of the nose while you sleep can work wonders, too.
Trapper John
02-17-2014, 08:00
To follow up on TJ's comments, Reynaud's phenomenon typically is accompanied by color change in the fingers with changes in the temperature (classicly from warm to cold) where the fingers will become pale, then cyanotic (turning blue) and can be painful. I don't recall Reynaud's presenting as severely dry/cracked hands, but I could be mistaken.
I agree with you Doc, severely dry, cracked skin on the fingers is not a classic textbook presenting sign of Raynaud's. My thinking was that impaired micro-circulation over time could lead to this symptom. I seem to recall a discussion a few years back with a Doc that had Raynaud' and she said that in the winter the skin on her fingers was always chapped and that would become dry and cracked to the point of bleeding. Given Brush Okie's history and CC, I thought that Raynaud's should be ruled out.
Side note: The Doc I mentioned was on the Advisory Board of a local VC company that I had presented to. She was keenly interested if we were working on a drug for Raynaud's. We weren't and that was the end of that story. :rolleyes:
PedOncoDoc
02-17-2014, 08:09
I agree with you Doc, severely dry, cracked skin on the fingers is not a classic textbook presenting sign of Raynaud's. My thinking was that impaired micro-circulation over time could lead to this symptom. I seem to recall a discussion a few years back with a Doc that had Raynaud' and she said that in the winter the skin on her fingers was always chapped and that would become dry and cracked to the point of bleeding. Given Brush Okie's history and CC, I thought that Raynaud's should be ruled out.
Side note: The Doc I mentioned was on the Advisory Board of a local VC company that I had presented to. She was keenly interested if we were working on a drug for Raynaud's. We weren't and that was the end of that story. :rolleyes:
Highly unlikely without a history of color change, IMHO.
Poor blood flow to the hands is certainly a good thought and a first-pass check can be done with the Allen's Test (a quick google search describes this, and clear directions can be found on Wikipedia along with a couple diagrams) - although, if normal, it doesn't completely rule out distal ischemia (poor blood flow to the finger tips).
I'd try using coconut oil (sold in grocery stores) to moisturize your hands, it works wonders on skin and hair. There's a ton of info about it online.
One of the best moisturizers out there is still petroleum jelly (classic Vaseline). One thing you could do to help with the severely dry/cracked hands is to moisten the hands in the sink, slather them in vaseline and wear gloves over the hands while you sleep. I've seen some dramatic improvements over 4-5 days for people.
For those who have chronic/recurrent nosebleeds in winter, a bad of vaseline on the inside of the nose while you sleep can work wonders, too.
One other great product to use for dry cracked feet and hands is Bag Balm. I know it sounds udderly ridiculous, but it works. Slather a good amount over your hands or feet, then wear either socks or gloves while you sleep, and you'll find it works just as well as Vaseline.
I can attest to Vaseline to working on culling nosebleeds. Especially during the winter, my snot locker gets drier than the Mohave in summer. As Doc said above, placing a bad of Vaseline inside my nose, works wonders.
Javadrinker
02-17-2014, 10:46
One other great product to use for dry cracked feet and hands is Bag Balm.
I've used Bag Balm also, O'Keeffe's worked better and faster for me.
Sacamuelas
02-17-2014, 11:53
Doesn't sound like Raynaud's syndrome to me either. Every case I have seen has a distinct color change during the onset of the vasoconstriction. Doesn't have to involve all the fingers or even the full length of the finger, but its presence is obvious when you see it. Doesn't mean it isn't a possibility for your presentation, but I would investigate other causes first.
I like the thought process of food/dermal allergies. Normal allergy testing (pin prick type ) will not always identify the etiology. Contact (patch) testing will, however, sometimes reveal the culprit. In my daughter's case, it turned out to be cobalt metal. We removed most legumes (beans, chocolate, etc) from her diet and got rid of cheap jewelry that contains it and VOILA! For several years we had been down the steroid creams for acute use, oral steroid meds for extreme outbreaks, cetaphil, aquawhatever, and EVERY other OTC lotion known to man on a twice daily basis. haha While the steroids worked temporarily, the problem would always reoccur. The normal allergy testing showed no allergies. Finally, we found a different dermatologist that prescribed the patch testing.
Now, we don't have to use any lotions unless I let her eat chocolate or bean burritos as a treat. Hopefully, your dilemma will have as easy of a "cure".
Good luck.
Red Flag 1
02-17-2014, 18:57
Try some "Chap Stick",or your favorite brand of lip balm, to the splits. It covers the splits, and helps soften the skin up. Works for me.
GratefulCitizen
02-17-2014, 19:28
I'd try using coconut oil (sold in grocery stores) to moisturize your hands, it works wonders on skin and hair. There's a ton of info about it online.
Hear, hear.
Great stuff.
Works from the inside, too.
I put it in my coffee (via blender).
nurse1911
02-18-2014, 04:10
Corn Husker's Lotion is another inexpensive and effective treatment that is easily found in many convenience and drug stores.