My husband is a fine finish Carpenter and the tips of his fingers are always split or cracked which as you guys all know makes it very hard and painful to work with. Are there any thin gloves you could recommend that he can wear at all times. Not the gloves that are laytex something more substantial also if you have a hand cream you can recommend . I have tried everything I can think of and nothing really gives his hand relief.
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Earlier this year or late last year there was an amazingly long thread here on Breaktime or over on JLC Online on the subject of how to treat the cracks in finger skin. Everything from vaseline to Preparation H was suggested. Seems like the mfg of products women goop all over their faces at night are missing a great market.
Rubber gloves can be bought by the box at most drug stores. I've found them uncomfortable after a while, as the hands sweat and the water can't evaporate.
Yes, he has tried the rubber gloves but his hands also sweat to much in them.
I think we will try the bag balm that everyone has suggested., it really is suppose to cure what ever ails you.
I get cracks on the end of my thumbs at the side of my thumbnail. What I've done is leave my thumbnail longer so it protects that area a little more.
And I use crazy glue on top of the crack. After you take a shower at the end of the day apply the cazy glue and it should stay on for a couple of days. It's not so much as to glue the two sides together as it is to form a layer that spans the whole area.
Don't let them get to the point where they are real bad. As soon as there is a crack put on the crazy glue and they won't get worse.
Another thing he could try is tape. Go to the drug store and buy some tapes for cuts and stuff. Try to find one that is somewhat flexible. Tape on the end of the fingers and thumbs will help and not get in the way like gloves. If one brand or type doesn't work try another.
IMO gloves don't work for a lot of things I do. He could use them sometimes but I don't think they would work for most finish carp stuff.
"Bag Balm" has always been the old standby. Yes, when I was a kid we used it on the cows. Now, I think you can find it in the hand cream section of every drugstore. Most women will tell you to rub crisco on your fingers and wear thin white cotton gloves.
If you haven't already tried it, "Bag Balm" has always helped my hands in winter, when I tend to get cracks on the ends of my thumbs.
I've always been amazed at my ability to stick my hand into my apron, and always get the point of the first nail I touch poking into one of those cracks....uncanny..;)
I haven't had to go to this extreme, but a friends DW had exczema so bad that she slept with white cotton gloves after she loaded them with moisturizer, either bag balm, or aveeno oatmeal lotion. The gloves kept the lotion on all night without getting all over the sheets, ( or anything else, I guess)
Bag balm.......2,000,000,000,000 cows can't be wrong
good luck
Bing
I will try and talk him into sleeping with the cotton gloves on lathered in bag balm. I feel sorry for all you guys that have splits and dried out hands,. He also is a guitarist and is unable to play due to the condition of his fingers.
So Bag Balm it is.
thanks alot for your help
I've seen this problem cured by soaking the hands and fingers in warm water for as long as is practical, daily. Like while watching TV. A young man who worked on my crew tried that method for his hands and feet with great success.
I'm using moisturizing hand lotion for dry skin on my cracked heels. It's taken over a month of daily applications. Now the deep cracks are gone and the callouses have been reduced a lot too.
If your experiments don't work, ask a pharmacist what to use. They are a very good source of free professional advice on many health related subjects.
Yes I have been thru the Drug stores. His next step is the doctor.
Yes this soaking does help but I don't think he will do that. I will try the Bag bond first.
By the way, I know this is off topic but for your feet try the Avon cracked heel cream, it really is the best on the market. Apply at night while watching tv, put cotton socks on for about an hour , do this every night for a week and they should be gone.
It really is the sock that does the trick but it has to be cotton, no synthetic fibres.
I think I will get some cotton gloves for dh to try.
A change in diet may be in order.
I lowered my intake of animal fat and fat in general, also alchohol. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies, less white foods.
I used to get deep crack in the webs of my hands. Talk about painful!
Vitamins D and K...........sunshine!
Well, that would be like trying to teach an old dog new tricks, even though he's not old. I agree, most skin conditions are from diet. I have slowly introduced new foods, but not to the extreme you are talking about.
Solvents and petro based products are a no no.
You DO know what Vaeline is made from?
Marks Work Wearhouse will carry those same gloves but I believe they are made by Atlas. The pair I picked up there are bright green and black, what a difference they make for winter work. Also, as others have suggested use moisturizer and cotton gloves, or socks...it works wonders.
I just found another pair downstairs that is from Atlas. These are a cute baby blue with a gray dip.
vasoline is what was recommended for us to use when Corey was a newborn. He had terrible excezma. We went to a baby-skin specialist at the Childrens Hospital.
the choice was lots work or steriod and chemicals / medicines.
we chose the lotsa work method.
for one solid year, we had to soak him in a bath of luke warm water for minimum 15 minutes, then within 30 seconds get him out of the tub, blotted dry and slathered head to toe in vasoline ... then diapered and dressed in a onesie.
it worked. The soaking helped his skim get moisture ... the vasoline helped hold it in.
the second year of his life we had to do this every other day.
boy's 6 going on 7 and gets little dry spots behind his knees and in his elbows when the seasons change and the air drys out.
If vasoline is nothing but good for a newborn ... I'm thinking it'll be OK for a full grown carpenter.
when I say slathered head to toe ... I mean slathered head to toe.
it's amazing how it's sucked into the skin , we thought we'd have a greased pig running around the living room ... but not the case at all
and like I said ... almost 7 ... very little excezma and no steriods.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I'm glad you found some relief for those conditions that Corey has.
I suffered too especially when I was younger, though not as bad as you describe.
Steroids are the worse thing in the world for less than fully mature adults. They can stunt your growth.
I am living proof.
Surprised to see you here..........you been causing trouble again?
Love those dipped Atlas gloves.They make a thermal version which r pretty good. Check Gemplers and u can get by the dozen cuz everyone is always trying to steal mine.
Another vote for the Atlas gloves. They do not compromise dexterity, they are cheap and they last a long time. My hands make it through the winter now without cracking. I feel naked without them. There is a grey thermal version for winter. Prevention is better than treating chapped hands.Mike Callahan, Lake Tahoe, Ca.
Well, I am going to tell you this old framers secret. But you all have to promise not to laugh.
I go to the drug store and buy the stuff women buy when they are nursing and the nipples crack. I have tried everything an this works the best. Now if you are like me, send the wife!!
That's lansinoh.
it's hypoallergenic and is largely lanolin.
Better than vaseline any day!
I find the cheap goatskin gloves at home depot are soft enough for me to do finish work in. Plus they are cheap. I forget what the brand is, but they are canvas with goatskin palms and fingers. The canvas cuffs can be different colors...usually black or blue, sometimes red. Seems like mostly black lately.I get made fun of because I wear gloves almost all the time, but if I don't my hands crack big-time. If I wear them, I'm fine.Steve
Awsome stuuf, works great!>G<, on my hands!
I've got the nastiest dry skin ever.
The derm recommends NOT trying off with a towel. Just take your hands and scooping the excess water off. Then putting oil on right then, while you are still wet.
It seals in the moisture.
Olive oil or rapeseed oil. I've even used plain old canola. Food grade, no scents or anything.
Petroleum based products are a bad thing for dry skin.
Same with washing hands - get a good moisturizer or oil on while still damp.
My derm recommendeds Eucerin and Cetaphyll.
Steroids might help skin for a little while, but they actually make the skin thinner and more succeptable to damage - best to limit their use. Plus, they're not that good for ya.
you been causing trouble again?
Me? U must have the wrong guy!
coupla months ago I ran across an old pic of Corey ... man ... forgot how bad it was.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
"Solvents and petro based products are a no no.
You DO know what Vaeline is made from?"The petro products to avoid are the light solvents and products containing naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbon compounds. Fuels would typically fall into this category.Vaseline (petroleum jelly) consists of long chain paraffins, but not so long as to be solid at room temperature (wax). Chemically, they are quite inert. They are effective for the purpose at least partly because they help hold in skin moisture, so that drying doesn't impede healing.
The other part of cracked-finger protection is using a pumice stone to thin the callus at the tip if the digits - they crack because they get rigid - cold exacerbates this. I also use an emery board to file down the skin around the tips of my fingers. I used to have the same trouble, but not any more. Anything good & greasy works - Bag Balm is way overpriced since the yuppies discovered it. If you are in farm-store territory, look for Dr. Naylor's udder ointment.Bert's Bees stuff is good, too.
Believe me on this.
Go to Lowes. And look over their glove selection. Look carefully at the ones that are dipped. I know you said no latex - you're right - avoid them. They're junk.
But look closely at the ones which have a spandex like cloth and are dipped in "nitrile." The ones I recently got from them were the Wells Lamont brand, grey cloth and bright blue nitrile. Some Home Depots have them in a brown cloth and darker brown nitrile. Fastenal has them with a white cloth and thicker grey dip.
But more likely, you'll find them in the better greenhouses being sold as, "Garden Gloves." In a number of different colors. Very poor method of marketing this incredible product. But an excellent glove for the garden.
I've had to get them in the women's section in some stores like Menards.
The best ones come sized. But because the underlying material is very stretchy, "the one size fits all" is quite adequate for 95% of us. But I do notice a very different fit from the HD ones to Lowes to the others. It's best to have your man try them on for the best choice.
Perhaps you may think the best part is the price of $5.99 per pair or less (Fastenal is rather proud of theirs and wants $10), but we may argue over whether the complete washablitily - turns them back like new, even after 100 washes - is better, or their longitivity. For instance,
Last summer, I helped the boy build a big landscaping project at his house using 5 full semis of ruff concrete retaining wall blocks, some weighing 85#. We wrassled and fought with them for 6 months doing the project. I bought all kinds of gloves at the beginning to see what would last and fit the best. Cheep ones, fancy ones, leather ones.
Leather gloves lasted a day before being worn thru from the abrasive concrete surfaces. Brown cloth gloves not even as long, but better fitting. Various other types simply unsuitable. All but these nitrile ones.
6 months. Washing them every night with the jeans. At the end of the project, the one single pair I started with started showing wear - not from the fingers or thumbs from where the contact occured - but from the backs of the glove over the knuckles.
I'm serious. These are simply the best, most cost efficient gloves I've ever come across. And usually less than $6. And one can easily go from handling his lumber to dialing his cell phone without removing them. Try picking up a dime with a pair of leathers or those fancy $30 /pair ones everyone else is using. And then try using these.
And they're being sold as gurl garden gloves.... Someone in some marketing department is not earning his/her keep.
I will note that recently I've seen a display with these Wells Lamont gloves being advertised as "The Best Glove You've Ever buy."
They're right.
6 bucks.
And I've never had another crack in my fingers since I started using them.
Edited 10/20/2008 3:07 pm by peteshlagor
I believe we might already have these gloves. bright blue dipped palms with a whitecloth/spandex back. We both wear these at the cottage , and yes you are right, the best gloves we ever bought, but I can't pick up a dime with them so maybe these ones are thicker than what you are talking about. I am going to go to Lowes on the way home and check it out. I know that our Lowes and your Lowes do not carry the same items. but now that you have given me the brand names, I will find them.
Thanks
Cural hand cream works for me and the best way to apply is rubbing the wifes shoulders or feet with plenty of it.
I've glued the cracks together before now, best if you can get the Bio super glue. Sometimes use skin shield to fill the cracks if they won't stick.
Tell him to get some inexpensive, light cotton gloves. Before going to bed, I work a good coating of vaseline into my hands, especially the fingertips, and then don the gloves. When I get up in the morning, the hands are as good as new.
If it is really dry, I do this every few days. While working, I like to wear gloves. I like the Stihl gloves the best. You can find them where Stihl chain saws are sold. They are light and highly flexible; yet they wear quite well.
When working with solvents or thinners, I always use PVC gloves. They are ugly and clumsy, but they really keep bad things off of my hands. Once I have applied my stain or roofing cement or whatever, I clean the gloves off and set them aside for the next nasty job. They clean up easily and look like new with just a little thinner.
Thank you Sasquatch, He is going to get the gloves tonight. Yes I have heard about using Vasaline, . I think that is also the trick is to not get all the solvents in the cuts, I think he is really going to have to take the time to use gloves for differnt things. Right now without anything his fingers are pretty bad.
I am sold on the Mechanix gloves sold at most Napa or other auto parts stores. They are about the best all-around glove for jobs demanding protection and dexterity - there are lots of knock-offs along the same line for a little less money.
I also use a new product called O'Keeffe's Working Hands creme - it does an outstanding job and doesn't leave a greasy residue on everything you touch for the next six hours.
Another good product that beats Bag Balm is Corona Ointment - I've literally used gallons of each and the Corona is the better product, quite a bit greasier and better for cows as such but a little more messy for human use. That is where the Working Hands shines.
Both can be found and bought online from various sources. A quick google search should bring up each company's website.
Can't recommend each of these enough - and I use my hands every day either as a mechanic, carpenter, mason, electrician, cowboy, vet, you name it - couldn't get by without them
I use Lineman's Lotion(Linemanslotion.com or 877 gr8 hand), wonderful stuff. No greasy feeling. soaks right in and works. I also use Gold bond Ultimate healing , same properties as linemans only a little cheaper. As for gloves i have problems cause i have small hands. I found Gloves made by Tillman. They come in all different styles and sizes and are great. They fit right and allow you to work. they also have insulated model. They arte available at welding supply stores. I like the Ironclad gloves but the tillmanns last longer and are cheaper.
Thanks for reminding me that it's that time of year again where I need to start taking preventative measures. I keep some generic hand cream in my van within reach and put some on while I'm driving to work. It's usually pretty well absorbed by the time I get there so I'm not leaving grease marks on whatever I touch. I also re-apply it, as I remember during the course of the day.
I also keep some extra greasy hand cream next to my bed and put some of that on as I turn in.
My hands are in water quite as part of my job and I used to get a lot more cracks until I started using hand cream regularly. If I forget to use it and cracks develop, it takes a long time for them to heal. The only thing that I've found that helps at that point is a drop or 2 of cynoacrolate (crazy glue).
When my hands have gotten to the point that their cracking, I carry chap-stick, (the original, non-flavored), and rub it directly onto the cracks several times throughout the day. The small tube fits easily in any tool belt and only takes a moment to apply!
I use Bicycling gloves. Sorry no fingers.
Dehydration will also cause cracked hands. My son has terrible hands, and has to use a prescription cortizone creme occasionally. So you may want him to see a doctor about the condition, as there may be a medical solution to the problem.
Coming from Minnesota...
I'm usually outdoors most of the winter, cracked fingertips
are a way of life...Here is THE fix and low cost too:
- Cheap cotton gloves found at the corner drugstore
- Cheap Vaseline, goop your hands up before going to bed.
put on the gloves.
-Take them off after waking.
- unless I'm handling solvents, don't usually wear gloves
unless I need to handle cold metal items.
If gloves are needed, Atlas brand thermals with the tips dipped in rubber.
Good luck.
I use a combination of what Dam inspector, DonCanDo, and kate have mentioned:1), STAY HYDRATED! Easy to forget when the weather turns colder.2) Crazy glue. Nexcare liquid bandage, the one in the tiny super-glue tube, not the spray, works best, because it's flexible. But it's several times as expensive as straight super glue. I also buy three tiny tubes of (I think) the Crazy Glue brand, in a little plastic case. I find it with the pens and pencils at the grocery store. It tends to peel off, but it's cheap.3) Pumice. But I'm a carpenter, so I use sandpaper. Those hard ridges of dead skin focus all of the flexing on the crack line, and it just gets worse and worse. So get a nice build-up of crazy glue in the crack, and sand it down to soft skin. Repeat.4) If it's really bad, wrap it with a narrow strip of athletic tape after gluing and sanding. Put a drop of crazy glue on the last 1/2" of tape before you stick it down (the tape's adhesive is too wimpy). That will stay on all day.5) Be conscious and aware, and jump on it before it cracks. Rub a few drops of glue around the areas that are going to crack, sand them down, and chug a bottle of water.I'm finally misery-free, and I love it!AitchKay
O.K. I have printed this page and I will bring this subject up in about a month and let you guys know how the baby is.
Well, thanks everyone for your input. Sorry to hear that so many other people are suffering from the same issue. went searching for Bag Balm and didn't find it yet. Picked up the vasaline and a creme called Purvex that is suppose to leave a cover on your hands. I liked that chap stick idea. also the nipple creme makes sense,
He doesn't want to sand down his calloses since he needs them to play guitar once the cuts heal.
Have already tried some of the cremes everyone listed. , Drinking water is something I will mention as I also agree that this could be part of the problem. We already have the Atlas gloves and some other gloves that were expensive that are very thin but he advised me he has already gone thru the finger tips.
I went to Lowes last night and didn't see anything exciting in the glove department. I think in Canada the best place is Marks Work Wearhouse, this is where I got the Atlas gloves so I will take a trip there tonight. Still haven't found the cotton gloves so I will keep searching for that also.
Thanks again everyone.
That's what we're here for. Giving our opinions. Everyone deserves our opinion. Whether it's wanted or not.
Good luck.
Yeah, don't go overboard with the sanding. But the dead flaps at the edge of the fissures are going to peel back anyway, making things worse. They'll never be guitar-playing calluses.I‘m noting the “I will try and talk him into...â€, “... but that would be teaching an old dog...â€, and “... but I don't think he will do that.â€Â Remind him that problem-solving includes research and experimentation. Heck, that’s supposed to be our best skill. If you can get him to step outside his comfort zone and play around with a few different things he'll end up a lot happier."Sorry to hear that so many other people are suffering from the same issue. "Glad I don't anymore!AitchKay
The super glue or liquid bandaid stuff cuts of the oxygen to the cut and IT STOPS HURTING!
instant relief.
Yes, we have gone thru a bit of that liquid band aid, and boy id does hurt until your cuts are numb.
Try G-Tek Maxi-Foam gloves. As others have suggested, they are nitrile dipped on the palm side, and breathable fabric everywhere else. They are much, much thinner than the Atlas brand dipped gloves. I can pick up a dime or a finish nail off a counter with no problem with them. Here is one link:
http://www.bestvalsup.com/G-Tek-Maxifoam-Gloves-p/pip%2034-800.htm
Shawn
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Checker Contracting - SE Michigan
Those look a lot like the ones one can get from Fastenal. About $10 there.
Another recommendation for thin nitrile gloves. The ones I use are Atlas 370 and I can pick up a dime with them. The only negatives are they don't offer any warmth and in really hot weather they dont breathe much. Hands down the best gloves ever. They're tough, last a while and are cheap. Also, someone mentioned regular chapstick for the split fingers. Thats my favorite also. Easy to carry around and use anytime you need it.
Have the same problem.
One of the Breaktimer's recommended New Skin - which WalMart carries. It really works. Kind of like liquid plastic filler for skin cracks.
I've got bag balm and other ointments. New Skin works better for me. Now there is a bottle in the van ready for this season's cracks.
I had forgotten about it for years. I used it at Gunsite in the '70s when the stock grip safety on my .45 was chewing a hole in my hand (you do about 1000 rounds). Kept the fluids from hitting my glasses all the time.
The ToolBear
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