Ideas for dry skin?

[Joker]

We just moved a few months ago from sunny FL to the Midwest. Youngest is having issues with dryness and the backs of her hands. She is having to lotion up and sleep in gloves (the kind they sell for this purpose) a few nights a week. They get so red, dry, and cracked. In the beginning, they were bloody as well. They hurt her. 

 

She uses lotion daily. When she wears the gloves, she uses Eucerin (sp ?) intensive therapy lotion.  Someone did mention a humidifier but I then worry about oldest. She is allergic to dust mites and has asthma and I've read it can make things worse for her. 

 

Are there other things out there that might help? Any ideas?

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

Drink a lot more water. It makes a huge difference with winter dryness.

[happi duck]

Dd deals with painfully dry hands in the winter too. Last year we tried Okeefe's Working Hands and it seemed to help.

 

Another lotion that we've had success with is unscented Neutragena Norwegian formula.

[gardenmom5]

Drink water

Reduce sugar

Nivea lotion

[Ali in OR]

I like Eucerin cream for my face--I have a big giant tub of it. I use the Neutrogena hand cream mentioned above for my hands. I know I really should reapply both during the day, but I tend to just do the Eucerin in the morning the hand cream both morning and night. If my skin was worse, I would do better at making myself reapply midday too.

 

[sbgrace]

My husband and son struggle with this in the winter here (Midwest too).

Hubby responds well to the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula someone else mentioned.

My son's skin responds really well to Waxalene, and I have a friend whose daughter responds best to it as well. It's especially good at night (very goopy/very healing too) and hubby uses it at night as well.

She may know this, but make sure she completely dries her hands anytime they get wet. She doesn't want any water evaporating off the skin. While her skin may be able to handle this until the weather cools, it probably can't after. Hubby has to be really careful with this, and usually has a bad bout at the beginning every season until he gets really picky about drying every bit completely again. She can lotion up through the day too. If she has any general sensitivities, be careful with ingredients. It can be hard to know if you're reacting when you're just generally a mess all the time. Vanicream is generally safe for even very sensitive skin, and it's a lotion that can be used during the day easily.

[Seasider]

EFA supplements help (fish oil). So does vitamin D, it promotes healing. Sometimes for really dry skin I use olive oil, with gloves, socks, light pajama pants.

[zoobie]

Make sure your soap is not the antibacterial kind. Have her put lotion on while her hands are damp. DH's used to crack and bleed when the humidity dropped in late fall, but I read about adding glycerine to a dab of lotion, and that has made a huge difference to him. He adds a small amount to Aveeno unscented baby lotion in his palms and rubs it into damp hands morning and night. I ordered a bottle of Now brand glycerine from Amazon 2ish years ago, and we have not used it all!

 

Eta: can you run a humidifier (cool mist) only in her bedroom at night?

[MomatHWTK]

Use soap only on the palms when washing hands 

Dry hands thoroughly after washing

Avoid long hot baths

Vaseline will seal in existing moisture and help protect the hands from drying

Lubriderm is a medium to light moisturizer that might work

Vaseline Intensive Care lotion works well also

Eucerin (as others have mentioned)

 

You may need to experiment.  Lotions with a lot of mineral oil seem to irritate my skin.

 

For phase one healing, I've had the best luck with plain Vaseline as it seals in the skin and protects it while it heals.  

 

If she can't get healed up, you might consider treating with a steroid cream briefly to get the healing process started.  You might want to do some research or talk to your doctor first.  Steroid creams can thin the skin, but as a short term remedy they do get the skin to heal.   

 

[Joker]

Make sure your soap is not the antibacterial kind. Have her put lotion on while her hands are damp. DH's used to crack and bleed when the humidity dropped in late fall, but I read about adding glycerine to a dab of lotion, and that has made a huge difference to him. He adds a small amount to Aveeno unscented baby lotion in his palms and rubs it into damp hands morning and night. I ordered a bottle of Now brand glycerine from Amazon 2ish years ago, and we have not used it all!

 

Eta: can you run a humidifier (cool mist) only in her bedroom at night?

 

I think I should try the bold. Oldest is rarely in her room as they spend the majority of time in the main living area. Maybe her having it at night will help, though.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions! 

[MaeFlowers]

I had this problem for the longest time. With dry skin, you have to start by not sapping all the moisture out. So, you probably need to change your soap. Plain, unscented glycerine soap is the best. The soaps that foam straight out of the pump are awful. They are simply watered down and will make your hands crack and bleed if you are prone to dry skin.

Second, you need to add moisture. Like everyone else said, Vaseline is great for protecting the skin. When you buy lotion, don't buy anything in a pump. Go for lotions that are in tubs. The best I have found is Nivea and Atopalm MLE. The thicker the better.

[Joker]

I had this problem for the longest time. With dry skin, you have to start by not sapping all the moisture out. So, you probably need to change your soap. Plain, unscented glycerine soap is the best. The soaps that foam straight out of the pump are awful. They are simply watered down and will make your hands crack and bleed if you are prone to dry skin.

Second, you need to add moisture. Like everyone else said, Vaseline is great for protecting the skin. When you buy lotion, don't buy anything in a pump. Go for lotions that are in tubs. The best I have found is Nivea and Atopalm MLE. The thicker the better.

 

 

Those are the ones we use!! We've never had anti-bacterial soaps in the house but I thought the foam ones we use were okay.

[MEmama]

My son's hands get that way in winter. Pure Shea butter works wonders for him. Kiss My Face Un-Petroleum works well, also.

[MEmama]

Those are the ones we use!! We've never had anti-bacterial soaps in the house but I thought the foam ones we use were okay.

I tried foaming soap one time but never again. I couldn't believe how angry it made his skin. Definitely try unscented, extra gentle soap with fewer foaming agents. And if you can keep her from using it on the backs of her hands, that might help.

[Seasider]

I tried foaming soap one time but never again. I couldn't believe how angry it made his skin. Definitely try unscented, extra gentle soap with fewer foaming agents. And if you can keep her from using it on the backs of her hands, that might help.

Try Cetaphil or CervaVe lotion soaps.

[MyLittleBears]

Most of the grocery store brands have mineral oil or petroleum based products. While they may seem more moisturizing, the molecules are larger than your pores so they just sit on the skin for a while until they eventually rub off. I'd stick to more natural brands and check the labels for mineral oils. Even just plain coconut oil makes a really great moisturizer.

[StephanieZ]

Try "Working Hands" (available on Amazon, etc.) It really does work wonders. Dh is a veterinarian (washing hands and scrubbing for surgeries . . . over and over all day) and also works around the house hard on his days off, so in the winter his hands SUFFER. I always put good quality lotions by every sink at the hospital and also on his desk . . . and that helps a lot . . . but the Working Hands is the next step up and is very effective. 

 

So, I'd put good quality heavy lotion (Curel, Eucarin, etc.) by every sink in the house and by her bed. Then give her a thing of Working Hands to use at least before bed and in the morning after washing up. 

 

Also, pure sesame oil or coconut oil (or other similar natural oils) work very well as general moisturizers for all over skin. You can add a bit to bath water and/or rub down with it after a bath.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[Happy]

When my skin gets winter dry, I reach for olive oil. It works for me and I smell like a great Italian meal. :)

 

I have almond oil--lighter, less scent--that I rub on as well. Like someone else said, coconut oil is great, too.

 

I also have Aquaphor and Eucerin on hand.

[bettyandbob]

Drinking water is important.

 

Besides all the other things said, I also put a thick layer of lotion on during my shower (dermatologist suggest this years ago). I shower in the morning. It might not be as big a help if your dd is showering at night and then putting the gloves on.

 

ETA is she putting lotion on after every hand washing?

[Katy]

I totally disagree with the concept that mineral oil based products aren't moisturizing. I think it's natural product propaganda from people who are afraid of processed things even when processed things are clearly better. I find natural stuff to be drying, and everything a dermatologist will prescribe has a mineral oil base.

 

Drinking more water will help a lot.  Using vaseline at night with the gloves will make the biggest difference of all.  She might need more fat in her diet.

[mmasc]

My hands have done this ever since I can remember. Last year, I discovered something that made a huge difference. And like others have mentioned above, the worst culprit turned out to be my hand soap. I made my own foaming hand soap and it is awesome! Here's the recipe I use:

1 cup filtered water

2 Tbs Dr. Bronner's Unscented Baby Mild Pure Castille Soap

1/4 tsp oil (I like grapeseed)

That's it! Pour all that soap out of your current foam pumps, mix this inside with a good shake, and you're set. :)

I found that once I made this soap switch, my lotion didn't matter as much. (I still have to use some...I just don't get the cracks and bleeding anymore)

[Rachel]

My son struggles with dry, cracked, often bleeding hands in the winter. I make sure he knows never to use hand sanitizer, it gets pushed on kids all the time as a replacement for hand washing. I also replace his hand soap with Cetaphil.

 

Norwegian Formula and Eucerin Intensive Repair are two lotions that work well for him. I have him put it on throughout the day.

[PinkTulip]

We live in a place that has very dry, but very cold winters, and my kids hands are prone to crack and bleed. We use Aquaphor in the big tub - slather it on right before bed.

 

But another key thing is to wear gloves every time you go out and it's cold outside. The gloves make the biggest difference. I buy lots of those stretchy gloves at the Dollar Store that can fit anyone and be worn on either hand. We keep them in the car, coat pockets, etc. so everyone always has some gloves to put on.

[TammyS]

I tried foaming soap one time but never again. I couldn't believe how angry it made his skin. Definitely try unscented, extra gentle soap with fewer foaming agents. And if you can keep her from using it on the backs of her hands, that might help.

 

I found that problem with foaming soaps, too.  But I really liked how easy they were to rinse off my hands.  So now I've come up with a solution.  I make my own.  I get regular, liquid handsoap, stick about 1" in the bottom of a foaming dispenser and fill it the rest of the way with water.  Shake to combine, and bam!, foaming soap that doesn't tear up my hands.  It doesn't make quite good a foam as the store bought stuff, but how good does the foam need to be?

[Cinder]

Interesting about the foaming hand soap. We didn't use the foaming kind, just the regular liquid soap, but I've noticed that since I switched to using bar soap for hand-washing I need to use lotion less often. My hands just don't seem to dry out nearly as much. What works for us--ds1, dd and I--when our hands get really dry is Gold Bond Ultimate Intensive Healing Hand Cream. Ds1 was really impressed because he doesn't like his hands feeling greasy after using lotion and this one really is non-greasy.

[Chris in VA]

My dad has really thin skin on his hands, and gets dry skin--his dermatologist recommended Eucerin.

 

ITA with enough fat in the diet (or a fish capsule supplement), extra water to drink, and what you are already doing.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

We use a lotion bar on top of our favorite lotion at night.

 

 

 

For really cracked dry skin areas we use Lasinoh at night (the lanolin for breast feeding moms).

[J-rap]

Welcome to the Midwest!  :)

 

Does she have her hands in water a lot throughout the day?  (helping with dishes, or whatever)  If so, that will only make it worse.   If her hands are in water a lot, I'd get kitchen gloves.  And though you want to encourage your kids to wash their hands, the least amount of hand-washings as possible is better.

 

Otherwise, I think sleeping in gloves is the best trick.  I would smother my kids' hands with Vasoline under the gloves.