Cracked, bleeding knuckles in children?

[mcmom4]

Hi all,

 

I am just curious.....my 11dd began getting dry, cracked & bleeding knuckles during the winter time two years ago. She had never had it before. Then last year her older brother (14) and sister (15) began getting it as well. It is very painful for them and doesn't completely clear up until winter is gone. We use prescription Eucerin lotion daily and even put socks on their hands at night.

 

It is just strange to me that they never had it when they were younger and then my older two didn't get it until their younger sister did. That's just strange. We stopped using anti-bacterial soap as someone suggested, but that doesn't help.

 

Has anyone else had this problem and found out WHY it's happening....especially when it never did before?

 

Thanks!

[Caitilin]

I don't know what causes this, other than the winter weather, but my DS9 has gotten it really bad for several winters--like, I didn't want to hold his hand because it felt like sandpaper, that's how bad it was. This year we started drinking raw milk, and his hands have been great! I can't say definitely it's causal, but it does show a nice correlation! :D We also use this stuff on his hands when they get a little dry, as I don't like to use Eucerin/petroleum products so heavily. It's great, and you can get it unscented, if you don't like smells. It's really nice stuff.

 

Hope your dd's hands improve asap!:grouphug:

[meggie]

I have no answers for the why, but recommend Bag Balm with socks at night instead of just lotion. Powerful stuff.

[Slartibartfast]

I usually put something like neosporin on that.

 

It is really the only thing I use petrolium based products on.

 

I use straight shea butter if I have it, I need to get some.

[SonshineLearner]

I had problems with this while younger.... It's still not perfect.. anyway... did a mixture of lecithin and a bit of olive oil... (or whatever kind)... put on hands... put in plastic... insert into socks... next morning... no blood :)

[katemary63]

It's very important to dry the hands thoroughly after washing them. I tell my daugher, who suffers, to rinse well, dry completely and put on lotion every single time she washes her hands. Also, always wear gloves outside, even when you don't think you need them for the cold, your hands need them to keep from drying further in the winter air. These two daily practices don't cure it, but they help make it less severe. When ever her hands get worse, I ask her and sure enough, she has not been following the rules!

[mom2abcd]

Running a humidifier in your home during the winter helps a lot! (The one on our furnace doesn't do a thing; we have a separate unit that we fill with water daily.)

 

Two creams:

Mary Kay's Extra Emollient Night Cream or

 

Blue Emu... http://www.blue-emu.com/

[Mommyof4ks]

My dd started getting dry cracked hands a couple of year ago too, and though I don't know why, we have started to put lotion and gloves on her at night. She now does not have much trouble with dry, cracked hands.

[Farrar]

Both my boys got that last year and I'm trying to head it off this year. They're little and it's party the dry skin and winter weather, but party wiping runny noses on the backs of their hands (I know, right, ew!). It exacerbates the dry skin and makes it get really chapped.

[sbgrace]

My husband really struggles too.

 

Most important--they probably aren't drying completely. They really need to dry their hands completely every single time. It's very often the evaporation of water off the hands that wasn't completely dried that is the main culprit in winter cracking like that. It's my husband's issue. Every time he stops being so careful to dry he gets those horrible cracks on his knuckles. Sometimes they are so deep. I feel for him. He dries well, though, and it goes away.

 

Lotion after washing will help too.

 

 

Also, it's good to avoid the antibacterials and other harsh soaps but as or even more important for some sensitive people is that the soap needs to rinse off. This is actually really hard with most soaps. Try yourself--wash hands and rinse. Then rub them together and you'll likely have your hands bubble up again. I found California Baby Super Sensitive used in a foamer rinses very easily. There are probably other soaps that rinse well but I've not found them! I think this is likely only an issue with those sensitive to soaps. I'm one. As long as I have soap that rinses off I'm fine. Oh, we've got really hard water and I'm sure it makes it that much harder to rinse but I notice this anywhere I'm at (friends, hotels, doctors offices, etc.) and they can't all have hard water I don't think! In the case you describe with the knuckles I think it's every likely lack of drying completely.

Edited January 16, 2011 by sbgrace

[JoyfulMama]

DD10 really struggled with this for a couple years. Now as soon as cooler weather sets in I remind her to start this routine again:

Wash in warm (not hot) water. Rinse completely. PAT dry. Apply lotion immediately. If you are outside you MUST wear gloves (I can get away with fingerless gloves, she hasn't yet tried). Any flareups need to be treated daily with additional lotion and socked hands at night.

Also, water intake needs to not slack in cooler weather - body must stay hydrated from the inside out.

For lotion we prefer cocoa butter, but there are many options available.

[mcmom4]

I just thought it was so strange that this just started recently. I wondered if something different was being put in soaps or what, though it never bothers me. But then again, I keep lotion on my hands all the time....

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions. They are so very helpful!

[Mejane]

Using too-hot water is really drying as well. Water should be tepid. I think anti-bacterial soaps are very irritating, so we switch to a moisturizing soap in the winter. My uncle gets such bad cracks that he superglues them. I don't advocate this for your kids, though. :001_smile:

Edited January 15, 2011 by Mejane

[Mama Geek]

I have had really bad cracked lips in the winter. This year I bought some chap stick that contains goat milk. It has made a huge difference. I would suggest some sort of hand creme with goats milk.

[mcconnellboys]

It sounds like eczema or psoriasis and applying healing ointments, as others have suggested, then putting on cotton manicure gloves or just a pair or cotton socks to let the ointment have time to penetrate will help.

 

There are numerous things that will work. We use Eucerin or Aquaphor. I use various Bert's Bees products on my hands, too....

 

Fewer baths, less washing, protection when out in the cold via gloves, etc. can all help, too.... Don't handle chemicals (any type of household cleaner) with bare hands, etc....

[Jen in PA]

I have a lot of trouble with cracked hands in the winter. Rubbing coconut oil into them twice a day made a huge difference.

[HS Mom in NC]

My daughter's eczema does that. She can get it in different places. The steroid cream the ped prescribed works very well. Some people with eczema have it seasonally.

[RegGuheert]

We have a big problem with this around here. We've learned a few things about it over the years, but still have yet to fully prevent it. Here are some thoughts:

 

- Hard water seems to be one of the biggest contributors to this issue. If I let the salt run out in the water softener, we tend to have really bad issues with cracked knuckles. Also, the children who deal with the chicken water use the outdoor faucets which only have hard water, so they tend to have worse problems.

 

- The cold wind tends to really chap our hands. I was working on the roof on a large solar project this winter and I could see a noticeable change in my knuckles (for the worse) after each day on the roof.

 

- I also feel that laundry detergent is a big factor. We had tried to switch from Dreft to something cheaper from Costco, but our hand were noticeably worse this winter. When our knuckles are badly cracked, it was *excruciating* to dry them on the towel with the other detergent. (Forget about thorough drying, seriously!) We have switched back to Dreft and the towels are much less painful now.

 

Again, we don't have all the answers, yet, but these are a few things you can try to address, anyway. Good luck!

[Corraleno]

I have a lot of trouble with cracked hands in the winter. Rubbing coconut oil into them twice a day made a huge difference.

:iagree:

That's what we do, too. When DS's hands were red, raw, cracked, and bleeding a few years ago, I tried so many different products and none of them made any difference. Then I tried coconut oil and gloves at night, and it cleared them up in no time. We all use it on our hands now, and none of us have dry skin, even though we live in the desert and it gets incredibly dry here in the winter. I also slather DD8 with coconut oil when her eczema starts acting up. It's more than a moisturizer; it also has anti-bacterial properties and it has nutrients that feed the skin. Wonderful stuff!

 

Jackie