Dry hands, skin cracking on fingers

Thanks @Hip

It's interesting you mention 3% hydrogen peroxide. As just last week while I was out one morning having a coffee at a café ( my keeping sane initiative) A man sat near me and starting chatting to me. He was familiar with ME via a family member.
He mentioned to me that 3% hydrogen peroxide 2ml mixed with half a cup of water "gargled" NOT SWALLOWED fixed a flu pretty quick. I don't know how true that is. He may have meant a sore throat.

I will consider what you said, thanks Hip. I will definitely get some hydrogen peroxide. My problem all the way through ME is that I don't have the money to try lots of things ugh.

 

Lol. Hopefully you won't need to frighten away any intruders.

I just realized that there's a natural soap called Simple. Duh. What I was trying to say is that the Dawn I use is labelled Simple. I looked and it's actually still Dawn but the word Simply is on the front where it also states that it's not concentrated.

I like Alaffia and Earth Friendly almond dish soap for bathing. But at 58 my skin is needing external oils.

Tc .. x

 

Avoiding anything with "Sodium (Lauryl, etc) Sulfate" helps a lot for me. It's usually in liquid soaps, shampoos, shower gels, etc. But solid soaps don't have it, and some good brands don't use it in liquid soaps.

Some brands won't include "Sodium Lauryl Sulfate", but will have a different "Sodium _____ Sulfate" which is the same damned thing, just from a different source.

 

Do you get this too Valentijn ? I checked the one I am using at the moment and it does have Sodium Laureth Sulfate in it. I'd forgotten what the culprits were in soaps.

I just thought I might be able to find a good soap by googling and looking at all the labels.

 

I get rashes on the back of my hands, and inflamed and broken skin. It also aggravates my scalp if I use it in a shampoo.

My favorite brand of bath products is Hugo Naturals - very gentle, nice smelling, and the coconut shampoo and conditioner are perfect for my hair But it's only sold in the US, so we either bring a bunch back with us after visiting family, or order a bunch from Vitacost and pay a lot to have it slowly shipped to Europe, plus the customs fee after it arrives.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ also rates various soaps and cosmetics based on their ingredients. Lower ratings are best. Maybe there's something listed there which is available closer to home

 

@rosie26 For body soaps, check Dr Bronner. There are several with essential oils, I prefer to stick with the plain Baby Mild version.
https://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/SENSITIVESKINCARE/OBBA05.html

 

@rosie26 I used to have the problem with my hands too, especially during winter. The tips of the fingers go numb. This could be related to the auto-immune condition Raynaud's. The blood circulation is affected, hence the necessity to keep oneself warm, including hands and feet. If the circulation is badly affected it can result in skin eruptions.

I didn't take any medicines, just modified my diet, supplements and drinking enough water.

To deal with the issue of washing dishes: hypoallergenic gloves and the Dishmatique Liquid Dish Brush. At the time I had the rash and skin issues, I would get a larger size of gloves and wear white cotton gloves under as double protection. I"d also use cotton gloves under my woollen gloves because the skin was so sensitive.

 

Thanks Seashell. I used to think many years ago that it was contact dermatitis but now since having ME It feels more immune related. Luckily it does go away for months on end but when it does come back it can go on for a while. Did you find in the summer months it's more of an itchy irritated inflammation whereas in the winter it is non-itchy?

 

Is this an issue only with your hands or does it get to other parts of your body?

Eczema is also auto immune and generally having one auto immune can set off others because the body is in a weakened state. Years ago, when I had the problem, I was struggling with several conditions.

I've focussed on cleaning up my diet and eliminating toxins. Also taking supplements. As long as I keep this up, I don't have major skin issues. Keeping inflammation under control helps.

 

I also do the white cotton gloves at night thing. The best healing lotion I've found is Lansinoh---it's used for breastfeeding moms, but works great to heal dried cracked hands. So, I rub the Lansinoh lotion (a tiny bit goes a long way) on my hands and then put the gloves, go to sleep, wake up with lovely smooth, soft hands.

 

Black seed oil has done wonders for my skin. I take one capsule a day, and use it topically if my skin starts to peel. Kokum oil is also really good. I can't have any artificial fragrances near me, so I make my own lotion bars. It is super easy and only takes a few minutes. My husband and son even use them.

1pt bee's wax
1 pt liquid oils (olive and black seed)
1pt solid oils (Kokum, Shea, and cocoa)
Put all ingredients in a double boiler until melted. Pour into soap mold. Let cool.

 

That sounds great @silverseas2014 I haven't heard of Lansinoh. I will see if I can get some to try. I have finally bought some white gloves, just need the right ointment now. My hands have been fine for a little while, summer is here and I usually don't have a lot of trouble in the summer months, it's when the chilly wind hits and also when I relapse in winter. Winter is not good for me.

I just noticed one of my fingers is cracked just now! After just saying I haven't had any trouble for awhile. hmm.

 

Thanks for the receipe @JAM. Looks very easy to make.

 

You're welcome. It is easy, fast, and makes the house smell good.
The initial investment is steep (I had to save up for a while to get everything), but I can't use any other lotions so it was worth it in the long run. I think what I have will last at least a year.

 

For my dry hands, nothing has come close to Mercola's Body Butter. It's wonderful:

http://shop.mercola.com/product/body-butter-unscented-4-oz-per-container-1-container,163,0.htm

For my dry, sensitive skin, I've used Dove for over 30 years. I use the unscented version for sensitive skin:

http://www.amazon.com/Dove-Soap-Sensitive-Skin-Unscented/dp/B005HO0AR2

For deodorant I used coconut oil with a little baking soda mixed in. It works as well as any commercial deodorant for me.

 

I use Dr. Bronner's soap, also very gentle. For deodorant I make my own too, very similar to your recipe, but I add arrowroot powder. It works a lot better than anything over the counter I've tried, and smells so much better!

 

I have been having a problem with my fingertips which has bothered me for the last five years. It could be similar to what others have mentioned here. In my case the some of my fingertips crack open into a bleeding wound a few times a month which then takes a few days to heal. I did see a dermatologist around the time it started to trouble me. The only advice I got was to not use soap, and it's true that this does aggravate the skin there, so I now only use a parafin based cream I am prescribed to wash hands. I am getting pretty fed up not having any real explanation of what this is. My fingertips are thin and papery looking at the best of times now, hardly any fingerprint visible, and sometimes reddish. Painful and unpleasant when they turn into open wounds.

Any better advice?

 

Hmmm.. I have had a problem with my hands for about 20 years. I thought at first, or for most of these years it was dermatitis but now I am starting to think I have psoriasis. I have had a really bad summer with my hands, everyday I have had to put plasters over cracks and it really is irritating and they do get sore. I am off to the doctor tomorrow for something else but I will see if he can recognize psoriasis on my hands as well. I just wish now a doctor who retired last year was still around - he would have been good I think at diagnosing it - blow.

Have you looked at pictures on google images @altered beast, you might be able to recognize a likeness to what you get on your fingertips? I have looked at images of psoriasis on hands and most of them look very extreme compared to my hands but there were a couple that looked similar to mine in a more mild way.

 

I have had ME a lot longer than I have had the bleeding fingers thing. It did however come soon after a big relapse 7 years ago. A few other new symptoms including very dry eyes. I suppose I am wondering if there is anything simple like a deficiency in something I could correct. Pictures of Psoriasis generally look a lot more dramatic than what I have. Redness and skin peeling doesn't go beyond the first knuckle of fingers and thumbs. I does seem exacerbated by dust and I try to wear cotton gloves to clean, when I can find them!

 

Sorry to hear about your big relapse 7 years ago, I had a very bad one in 2012. I wonder what is causing your dry eyes? I haven't experienced that one.

You mentioned deficiency, I haven't been eating much in the way of nuts for the last few months, I am thinking of zinc, I may be low on it which may be not helping my hands. I will buy some and see what happens. I did see the doctor yesterday and he doesn't think my hands look like psoriasis - he gave me some Dermol Cream for them.
I find dust is like pepper on my hands when they are inflamed.