NOTE: These next few paragraphs will be chock-full of strong words and graphic images. They are not for the faint of heart….
I am in real pain. I know this to be true, because I gave birth vaginally 16+ years ago and this is worse. Every year I enter into this zone of pain, a place that was made for me genetically.
I have fingertips that split the minute the temperature drops, the swimming pools close, and my work load increases. One minute, all is well. Computer keystrokes and ink pen holding is painless. Minute two: there is blood on the keypad, and the pen unable to be lifted.
My grandmother – my mother’s mother – suffered from this horrible syndrome, and I paid little or no attention to her concerns or yearly warnings. She was the queen of lotions and personal nail & hand care. She had a file, a clipper, a buffer and cream for everything that ailed her hands. Still the splits came on with the drier weather. She was strong, but I saw her wince more than once when her hands entered warm soapy water with the dinner dishes.
I have never broken a bone – knock on wood. I have never been admitted to a hospital – OK, one night with the young man’s arrival. I take only two pills a day – one aspirin and one vitamin. I have only well-person visits to my retinue of doctors every year. I volunteer at a health clinic, but I only meet, plan and joke with the staff and board of directors.
This is real pain. It never stops throbbing. Band-Aids and Neosporin at night are no match for Nu-Skin during the day. Nu-Skin is my savior and drug of choice. However, my pain is so powerful that it only takes a few hours for me to break through the Nu-Skin crust and run gasping for the little bottle and miniscule brush when the oxygen reaches the nerve endings. Second and third coats are my nirvana. My increased fourth-quarter work load with packing tape, box cutters, labels and cardboard only adds to the workplace stressors.
At the end of a meeting the other day at the health clinic, I mentioned to the lead physician that I lived in fear of lymphoma entering my open wounds with my addiction to Nu-Skin. He looked at me like the crazy person I am and said, “Well, you could do what doctors do and use Super Glue.” This from a trusted professional and friend.
I suffer. I do.
If I’m not at work, here’s why: I’ll be out scouting new pain medication – maybe at the liquor store or possibly trying to score meth.
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Omg- I have this too! I feel your pain. The liquid bandaid stuff is the best way I’ve found to fix it too.
Here’s to a speedy recovery!
i too am a crack corner finger sufferer. superglue is good. i use neosporin like lotion this time of year. i will try nu skin. even weirder it happens to me in the spring too, i just thought it was change of seasons?
I thought I was the only one! I have been using Aquaphor with some success to keep my hands from getting too dry.
Kate:
Maybe we should embrace that we are never alone! Stay tuned to the posts to my blog … lots of great notes about what others do for this BIG problem!
xoxo – sloane
I feel your pain. No, really, I do. I’m a nurse and have this problem even in the summer. I always use rubber gloves when I wash dishes. I’ve tried every kind of lotion and balm. I’ve slathered my hands in cream or ointment, put on cotton gloves and slept in them. I’ve had paraffin treatments. The hospital where I work wants us to use the foam cleanser which stings like the devil in every crack. We’re not allowed to use any lotion except the hospital lotion so the antibacterial isn’t destroyed. It stings too.
Cindy:
Thank you for reading our blogs! I have been blown away this morning with people’s responses and what they do to “repair” their pain.
You made me wince with the “it stings” on the spray and lotion you are made to use. Yikes!
– sloane
If I were you, I definitely try essential oils, you will have to research oils, but I bet you can find one to help. Good Luck
Bag balm at night is my saving grace for this.
Super glue will change your life. No kidding.
I use Badger Balm and it has helped incredibly.
I too feel your pain and so does my 27 year old son. I was a jeweler for 20 years, hands always dirty from polishing my work at the end of the day. Cold weather just brings it on, even now, 20 years later, my thumb is cracked. I’ve never tried nu-skin or super glue but might give it a shot now. Eucerin lotion has always done the best for me, unsented and not to messy.
Ted
I used to have the same thing and then I found Argan oil. I buy mine on Amazon…I’ve tried a few brands, but Watts Beauty ArganGold (pure 100% argan oil) works best for me.
For almost a year and a half my hands have been smooth. This had NEVER happened before.
I use it nightly year round and then when the weather or working with water affects them, I just put some on at the moment I feel them getting dry. I also had cracked feet…and for that I now use O’Keefe’s for Healthy Feet…also from Amazon. These two products are simply the best. Have changed my life for the better. I hope they work for you as well.
I feel your pain too. I also was in the medical professional and the constant hand washing especially during season change would turn my hands into a red mess! Super Glue has been a savior. I also have the same problem with my heels. It’s not very attractive but I do lather on my grandmother’s answers to all skin problems “Witch Hazel Lotion” and socks at night. I guess my best advice is use warm not hot water when washing your hands and lots of lotion. When that fails use Neosporin and either Nu-Skin or Super Glue on the cracks. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with this problems.
My comment is in regards to the meth . . . I think you will not like what it does to your teeth. But only YOU can weigh the tradeoffs. You may also have to start going on “dates” over in my neighborhood to be able to make the “co-pay” on your meth prescription. Just sayin’.
ahhhh, you lost me at, “I gave birth vaginally.”
just lost me.
I’ve got 2 words for you: Bag Balm! The stuff works miracles and is intended to treat the udders of cows from experiencing exactly what is happening to your fingers. My grandparents were farmers and I’ve always known the usefulness of the stuff. Give it a try.
Me too! O,Keefe’s Working Hands is amazing! Get it at Sutherlands in Waldo. They stick it in bizarre places around the store, so ask where to find it. Use it every day. You will be healed! Or….at least much better!
ah – that stinks.
happens to unca, too…and he won’t let me put lotion on him. but i’m interested in this bag balm – where do you find it? is the full name badger balm or just bag balm?
hope it gets better!
This same thing has plagued me since I was a teenager. It mostly happens when the seasons change. I always thought it was from working in a green house as a teenager and picking up so many abrasive pots.
At 55 years old, my arthritis doctor told me that it is Psoriasis! My mother has Psoriasis on her hands and feet, but I never equated the breaking, cracking skin on the tip/inside edge of my right pointer finger to that diagnosis.
Ugh Ugh Ugh!!!!!! I have the same problem too as did my mother who was a nurse and had to wash her hands repeatedly!!!! I’ve used tons of different lotions but the one I like the best is Curel Ultra healing…. that is until I tried the O’Keefe’s Healing hands… which by the way you can get just down the sidewalk at the Dime Store!!!!!!.. it is a miracle balm in my opinion!!!!! i put it on at night and by morning my fingertips feel and look soooo much better… I was a Nu-Skin fanatic up until this year…. I’ve also tried Gold Bond lotion and this very nice silky feeling lotion called McBlooms… but the O’Keefes stuff seems to be the one!!! Good luck!!!