Winter-cracked fingers - any cure?

Eceni

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Hi

Every winter, I get splits up the side of my thumb nail - at the top, going across the top of my thumb. Hurts like hell and seems to be associated with wet/cold and mucking out

I use gloves, but makes no difference.

anyone else get this and what do you do to sort it out?

ta

E
 
Hmmm, I used to work for the body shop and a surprising ammount of builders and plumbers would come in and buy the hemp hand cream, so i'm assuming that's good?! Thats not really too much help tho.
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Yup, I get them too. I would advise you to go to any chemist and ask for some Aqeous cream which is very inexpensive and which is what goes in most handcreams anyway. Plaster your hands with this when ever you think of it and try to sleep in cotton gloves or protect the cracked finger so that it stays soft and doesn't go hard. I always use surgical gloves for doing the horses when I have got cracks, that way you don't get them wet, which I think is the worst thing.

They are b*****y painful, aren't they?!!!
 
my dad gets cracks in his fingers and uses super glue to stick them back together as plasters fall off when they get wet and it lets the skin heal underneath, stings like hell though apparently and not sure if it is good for you, be careful you dont stick yourself to anything else!!!
 
Before you go to bed plaster your hands in moisturiser and put a pair of cotton gloves on. I would recommend the nivea intensive care. Its pricey but it is wonderful stuff.
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This should help in no time. Also if you are prone to this, in the winter, i would carry on throughout and dont stop when they have cleared up as it is so quick to come back again.
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Hope this helps.
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Try using udsel (I think thats the right spelling) Its for putting in milking cows udders and what the framers use to stop their hands cracking and splitting. Could also try using a thick cream at night and putting cotton gloves over the top.
 
Heck, that was the fastest set of posts I've ever read...

my step-daughter gave me the Hemp hand cream for Christmas so I'll try that first then go and get some cotton gloves..

thank you all very much indeed

E
 
Fill the cracks with TCP spray plaster. It stays on in the wet and allows them to heal from the inside out. Will stop them hurting as they heal too.

Once they are healed use a good handcream all the time, it will help.

Jo x
 
I find Neutrogena - Norwegian fomula is the only thing that works. You only need a tiny bit as it is very greasy. Can't do the cotton gloves thing myself - my OH would complain!
 
agree Nutrogena Norweigan v good.

No dont do what i did and use sisters v expensive face cream present to me (Creme do Mer or something) as handcream and then tell her thats what youve done......she nearly fainted (Not Horsy) :-)))
 
Go to your chemist and ask for Flexitol - its a cream for cracked heels but someone recommended it to me and its brilliant. Within 2 days my cracked thumbs were healed!!
 
I will absolutely swear by Scholl Cracked Heel Repair Cream. It doesn't smell amazing, but my hands got so bad that my knuckles were splitting. A friend recommended it to me and I put it on every day. Now I only need to use it once a week.

I really hope this helps as the improvement in my hands is amazing!
 
I agree with the udder cream if you can find it - works a charm!!

If not - the Norwegian Fisherman's stuff, but it's more expensive.
 
I get exactly the same problem, only on my thumbs and both hands. For such small cracks they are really painful, mine were that bad I couldn't even push a supermarket trolley as the pain went right through me and couldn't turn the key in my ignition either.

I was told to try udder cream too but not got round to getting any, I don't think there is anywhere local to me to get it from. I would be interested to know what, if anything, works, as this recurrs quite often. Not just in winter either, I do have very dry skin on my hands as well.
 
I use sudocrem too...smear it over my hands and make sure it gets right into the cracks, then put a pair of gloves on and let it soak in for 15 mins.

Also, wear gloves all the time at the yard, and if there's any risk your gloves/hands might get wet stick a pair of rubber gloves on too - I find keeping my hands dry really helps.
 
Before you go to bed exfoliate your hands, washing your hands and then rubbing with sea salt works well, then smear them with Vaseline and pop on a pair of cotton gloves. They are really smooth in the morning, you can do this with your feet too, it works a treat!
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I use Aqueous cream too. Started using it a couple of years ago and never had a cracked finger since - brilliant stuff
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I have terrible skin all winter and tried all sorts of creams, until I started taking Aloe vera gel from Forever living products... does some sort of miracles from the inside out, I used to slathe (is that a word???) moisturiser on all over ever day without fail but now I only do my hands and face with "normal" stuff.
 
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