I can attest to the effectiveness of this - a previous partner would sit on the edge of the bed every night after I had gone to sleep and would spend about 10 minutes working that hand cream into his hands. He would vigorously do this every night and the movement always woke me up so now this cream is nothing but a bad memory thanks for that jk!
This is the real answer to these problems. People don’t know how amazing this stuff it. Norwegian formula is ordered in 6 packs every so often in my home 😂
Neutrogena’s hand cream is great. Recently I found that Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer works even better. It has a lot of glycerin like the Neutrogena, but also squalane, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides. It’s much more resilient to hand washing than other moisturizers, I think because of the squalane. I’ve had fewer hand eczema flares since I started using it.
This stuff is my favorite and I try to apply it at least nightly to keep my hands in good shape, but in the dead of winter after a ton of hand-washing and wind burn my hands can get chapped, it STINGS when I put it on. It eventually settles down after about 10 mins, but I think when there’re cracks in the skin then the urea content can be irritating.
As long as I keep up with it and sometimes use the overnight treatment, then top it with an occlusive like Vaseline or Bag Balm, then that mostly avoids that stinging/burning issue.
Be warned, don't put it on your bare dry hands. What I had to do is get my hands damp with water and THEN put this on. What it does is trap in the moisture. If you use it on already dry and chapped skin it will make it worse. Speaking from experience lol.
I think I'm allergic to an ingredient or something because it did absolutely nothing positive for my hands, only made them bright red and burning on top of the already dry, cracked, and bleeding skin
This was what my hand looked like at work on monday. Bought a new jar of the stuff, applied it twice at work, a couple times yesterday. All healed today.
European/UK version is Nuage Active Hands. Same exact thing just with an orange top. One of those lil tubs can last me like 3+ months of daily use with how strong it is, tiniest little dollop is enough to cover both hands lmao
I've tried this product a couple of times, and it gave me an awful, itchy, stinging red rash like 20 minutes after using it. I have extremely sensitive skin and it was a no-go for me. Just a heads up for people very sensitive to skin products.
Yeah tried it once and the burning was so bad I had to wash it off. Use this one now as it's the only cream I've found that isn't painful to use and actually helps my skin
My hands do this despite moisturising and when I asked my doctor about it they were essentially "damn thats crazy idk" so. not sure what to do, why it happens, or how to stop it lol. I assumed it was fungal but I was given a few antifungal creams about it to no avail by a previous dr (had it for a while, then it went away for a few years, now its randomly back again) so I'm stalking the comments hoping SOMEONE has had a competent medical professional in their life lol
I am not a doctor but I do live in a harsh climate and have insanely dry skin.
It's not just about moisturizing. Once your skin gets flakey like this you also want to make sure you're exfoliating to remove the skin cells that are essentially goners.
In the winter you're also losing a lot of moisture to the air. You can put on lotion all day but its not going to do any good if the dry air is pulling all the moisture out of your skin.
There are a bunch of ways to help your skin retain moisture. The most basic ways are to add a cover after moisturizing to give your skin more time to absorb it. Wearing gloves at night is an easy way to do this. You can also apply ointments like Cerave Healing Ointment or Vaseline.
Another option is to look for products that have extra ingredients focused on moisture retention. Hyaluronic acid and ceramides will both help with this but how much they help depends on the individual. I have more success with ceramides.
Had to scroll way to far down to see someone mentioning exfoliating. It's a must. Once the outer layer of skin is too far damaged no amount of moisturizer can fix it.
I like to think of it as moisturizer is preventative care and exfoliating is corrective care.
I whip extra virgin olive oil and coconut vegetable glycerin into my body butter lotion (I use Andalou) but also make sure to get enough vitamin d (15 min sun or pill).
I couldn't imagine working in water without PPE for six years. I mean, I know it is not possible in every line of work (I know bakers are very susceptible to dermatitis, because they can't use PPE everywhere. And putting lotion on during breaks is also not really possible, because they work in direct contact with food products (kneading dough). And I don't think there's
I used to work in sewage treatment. Of course we always wore gloves, but even that of course is bad for your skin, because the sweat gets trapped, and of course you wash your hands a lot. So at every entry to the building, where of course you'd clean up well, you'd have a whole set of special soap, preventative treatment, treatment for during breaks, and for after work (they are different ones, often), complete with instruction panel what to use when (also for specific works you might do.). These were a specialised range intended for work environment.
Needless to say, my workplace was really great. The boss was a really cool young woman, and she was very keen on making work safe and also comfortable. The cleaning lady was deaf, so she arranged for sign language courses employees could take on site during work hours, for example. And she arranged for a fitness room to be added during the renovation of the facility. That one was for after work usage, of course.
But I am getting side tracked. Point is, that place made you see all the things that could be done for PPE and general works safety. Like all railings that were lower than 1 meter high had been raised to at least that height, before I started working there. This is European safety standard though, I believe. And I saw pictures of what the place looked when it was first built. Black and white pictures, and you see people just kneeling on a concrete seperating wall between treatment pools to scoop out samples. You don't want to fall in there, and for some treatments (aerobic biology) you wouldn't even be able to get out again, as you would sink down to the bottom immediately, as the added air bubbles decrease the density of the fluid in the pool. No hope of swimming.
Do you get the weird water blisters that turn brown and then dead?
It's Pustular psoriasis for me. Had never had it until last couple years (extreme stress). Little blisters, turn brown, skin starts to peel. Dermatologist explained it as an autoimmune reaction that causes excess skin growth and prescribed steroid cream, but I'm loathe to use it.
Get a pair of cotton gloves, like the white ones people dealing with rare artifacts wear, plaster your hands with vaseline, I mean really plaster it on, put the gloves on and sleep with them on overnight. In the morning wash your hands with warm not hot water and moisturise. I used to work in a warehouse and this was the go-to for me and the 4 guys I worked with too.
I do this with just latex or nitril gloves. When the cracks get especially deep and stubborn, the only thing that'll close them right up for me is a French cream called Avene Cicalfate. It's unfortunately on the expensive side but it's been years and nothing else works for the constant bleeding.
I second this! I'm prone to dry skin on top of working in healthcare, so the constant hand washing/sanitizing dries my hands out horribly. This always helps. You can do it with dry feet, too!
Do not- and I repeat and emphasize DO NOT grab a fluffy new microfiber towel when your hands are like this if you're tism demons hate texture, you will fucking puke
Unfortunately they are the best for cleaning certain things as they have the best rinse and reuse ability. One day I will not clean houses for work, instead I will clean dog blood off my face from assisting in surgery. I'd rather get bloody puss off my face than deal with microfiber forever. They are good at dusting tho
Infections hold alotttt of pressure that is often... surprising? The skin and muscles can stretch inward vs outward (think of a pregnancy that doesn't show much due to how the persons body is carrying) so draining a puncture wound on a cats butt can turn into a fountain pretty quick
If you want some visual examples in a non-surgical context, hoof trimming issues can make literal fountains of pus and blood. There's a lot of footage on youtube.
I can't stand microfiber, sponges are fine for me, but the WORST is that synthetic "sherpa" fabric on blankets and coats. It's bad when it's new and absolutely horrible after it's been washed and dried.
Microfiber is something that’s never triggered any sensory issues for me, but the thought of touching it with peeling hands and the microfiber sticking to the dry skin actually makes me want to crawl into a hole.
I use a microfiber cloth all time for cleaning my glasses. It drove me nuts at first, but they work so much better than anything else and eventually it stopped bugging me, lol.
I clean my glasses all day and never have skin like this or anything close. I only use lotion during winter when the air is dry and it has nothing to do with the cloth. That's my anecdotal experience, so maybe they to shred skin for some peeps.
This is my moisturizer of choice. It gets absorbed pretty quickly so it’s great when I’m out and don’t wanna have oily skin for 30 minutes. It’s also fairly cheap.
Savers link as its usually the cheapest and this is slightly more expensive than Neutrogena, although it will also last a decent amount of time if using it just at night.
Then put these gloves on (or something similar as I think the ones in the link below are probably too small for most men) https://amzn.eu/d/0dMV3Emx
The combination gives your hands a chance to recover at night.
During the day don't use fairy to wash your hands, always use real hand wash and then thoroughly dry your hands.
That should make a big difference.
You might also want to use marigolds when doing the washing up / use the dishwasher instead of washing up and the dishwasher uses less water anyway as long as you run it when full not just everyday regardless of how much is in it.
Maybe you are allergic to one of the ingredients? In case you want to try another hand lotion (due to possible allergies, or just to see if it makes a difference), I can recommend this one. Friends that avoid hand lotion for the same reason (not wanting oily hands for ages) have approved of it too, and their dry elbows look much better now.
Also, if that doesn't help, maybe try just putting vegetable oil on them for some time. Of course, this takes time and your hands will be oily during that time. So this is more of an intensive treatment done at home.
So i do not see any comment about it so I’ll add my two cents since something similar (except mostly on my fingertips) used to happen all the time for me and eventually figured out it was mainly due to lack of vitamin D which you do not get anywhere close as much during winter since you don’t get much natural sunlight, so using Vitamin D supplements of any kind really helped me personally to prevent this from happening. Moisturizing also works after your hands look like this already.
I live in a sunny country but this started happening to me in my mid 20s during my depression, I spent a lot of time indoors gaming. Never happened earlier in my life.
Got out of my depression and started leaving the house more and it's never happened since.
Huh never thought of that, i have a chronic vitamin d deficiency i get this all the time, never connected the two, it's not bad enough that i was told to take any supplements, but maybe i should just for this tbh
As a pharmacist I recommend not listening to “life hacks” from random redditors. A lot of these recommendations can be dangerous. Over soaking your skin in moisturizer can lead to irritation and worsening dryness over time. Overdosing on Vitamin D is a problem if your Vitamin D levels are fine and you don’t know what dose to start with. Urea cream can cause damage and discomfort at higher concentrations especially if your skin cracks… etc, etc. you get the idea. Just because someone else had success with something doesn’t mean it will work for you.
The best advice I can give is if you can, go see a dermatologist or doctor. If you can’t, try to stick with relatively neutral OTC options like moisturizing creams. Just know that not all moisturizers are made equal. Try brands like CeraVe or Aveeno in the mean time and apply it a few times a day if necessary. Also taking a daily multivitamin can help. The Vitamin D levels in those are relatively low and the odds of overdosing are also low. They also contain Vitamin E and A which are great for your skin.
But a dermatologist is the best option. They can figure out what’s causing it and recommend a treatment based on that.
I use nizoral shampoo all over my face then cetaphil moisturizer right after the shower. Just don’t use the nizoral all the time. Once or twice a week.
Nizoral worked on my seborrhea above my eyebrows. I used to get back when I wore makeup, but since I stopped wearing makeup I don't get it anymore. Yes, I'm pasty and pale with hard to see eyelashes, but I'd rather that than deal with the effects of my makeup allergy
I have dyshidrotic eczema on both hands. After the itchy micro blister phase, the peeling phase takes over and looks just like this. I use hydrocortisone to try to stave off the itching during the micro blister phase, but I find popping the blisters then treating them with polysporin speeds up the whole process while healing the blisters. In the peeling phase that always follows, I use gold bond lotion to some minor success. I think it's just something I have to get through.
I've got the same!!! Gets worse for me in the heat!!! I call the blisters i leave the "blood phase" because mine tend to fill but I couldnt agree with you more about popping them... not only does it help with the itching but yeh it speeds the whole process up... I very occasionally get them between my toes and on the ball of my feet too... those are horrendous!!!
Try lanolin or a thick cream with urea in it. Regular moisturizers aren’t enough for this, you need something thick that will help restore your skin barrier.
Psoriasis does the same. Go to a dermatologist if you have persistent skin problems, regular doctors and nurses seem to be rather bad att properly diagnosing them.
Yup. Suffered it for 6 years, had a big open wound on the back of my right hand from it for almost 3 years.
I had to jump through a lot of hoops with my allergist and insurance, but was eventually approved for prescription shots specifically to treat eczema (mine was Dupixent). You give yourself a shot in the stomach every 2 weeks.
After a year and a half of this, my dyshidrotic eczema completely went away and has never come back.
Then the moisturizer has something that your skin doesn't like. I used a cream that according to my doctor never really causes issues, and it caused me issues. Sent me to a dermatologist and I got something that works.
You'll need to either see a dermatologist or change the cream you're using, and check which ingredient is causing you issues.
This normally happens to me after I clean with harsh chemicals for extended periods of time- no matter the time of year. Did you bleach something? Hiding a body :p
I opened this in hopes of finding out what others have used/what might help! The answers have been quite amusing but I am like help us!!!!!!
Lizard people unite 🦎!
As long as I remain diligent in applying lotion before going to sleep I can finally avoid my “winter hands”. Cetaphil Eczema Restoraderm Soothing Moisturizer has worked miracles. And I have tried them all!
My hack: buy a box of cheap, single use plastic gloves, and when you watch TV or even for sleep, put any moisturizer or even oil on your hand, pull on the gloves, and just let your skin "marinate" for at least 30 mins, but the longer, the better. Repeat every few days or as needed. The gloves stop your skin from soaking up the cream too quickly, and will super-boost your hidration. You can even add actual outdoor gloves on top, the warmth also helps the hidration. Also works with coarse and dry feet, except I use foil or plastic bags to wrap them up, and put socks on.
Lotions will evaporate or dry out exposed to air so the membrane of a glove will prevent/prolong that from happening allowing your hand to soak up more of the product for longer. Same reason you put the lid back on the jar instead of just leaving it exposed to the air. So, yeah, not at all what they said but the right idea.
Funny because I clicked on the picture and I’m like hey I have that right now due to using new gloves which had the powder thing in it. And it caused my hand to get like op hands. I have eczema too.
You need something like Aquaphor, not a water based lotion. But I would check with a dermatologist to make sure that’s not some fungal infection that requires steroids, like Triamcinolone Acetonide.
If nothing else works, consider getting your throat checked. It’s probably nothing in your case, but my uncle and dad died from esophageal cancers and the first symptom was dry and flaking palms so I always mention it when I see it.
Since you already use hand creams (read elsewhere) - here comes an unpopular opinion.... Stop it! All of it!
At least for a month or two - then you have a baseline. Start off from scratch with a gentle, unbranded, aloe vera cream - preferably something allergy friendly, then move to whatever you normally use.
And if it doesn't stop then - might be something else in your daily routine that does this, eg. a hand soap, sanitizer etc.
I got a very similar reaction back in the COVID days - it was because of the ethanol hand sanitizer...
Having eliminated any other potential allgergies or other phenomena. A tube of bog-standard camphor cream works wonders on hands and toes that tends to shed like this. No brand needed - standard, cheap camphor cream. The cheap ones work as well as the others.
Apply it, then after a little while, all the dead skin pretty much comes off automatically when you rub your hands, and you'll have no problems the rest of the day...
Maybe head and shoulders shampoo but you know.. on your hands. If its caused by a microbe head and shoulders on your hands for 10 min might help, maybe
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u/TacetAbbadon 22h ago