BEYOND dry skin: What to do?

[Matt Till]

This has been a problem since I was young, but now it's getting really really bad (I think since I switched to a super heavy gauge of strings).

I've always had super dry skin, it would occasionally crack and hurt a bit: Now, my hands are always covered with open wounds. I lotion all the time, I've tried special creams and ointments. I keep bleeding all over my bass, which is a little metal... but mostly painful.

Anyone have any secret treatments (don't say doctors, because they cost the $$$ )? I'd like to stick to heavy strings... maybe I'll go back to flats. But I love the click of rounds.

[bongomania]

The best lotion for serious cases like that is udder cream from a veterinarian supply place. Some pharmacies sell it as well.

You might also consider your diet. It may very well be short on the sort of "good fats" which may help your skin regenerate and retain elasticity. Or it might even be high in some component which would block those good fats from helping. I would talk to a naturopathic nutritionist.

Also, one common cause of extra-dry skin is poor circulation. You might try aerobic exercise, as well as ingredients like ginger and capsicum (in food or in capsules) which are known to improve circulation.

[Brummie]

Hi,
I have eczema that gets worse as seasons change and my hands get bad, different cures help different people but I tried covering my hands and finger tips with what we call 50/50 - it's a mix of 50% white soft paraffin and 50% yellow soft paraffin. I put it on at bedtime and cover my hands with thin cotton gloves until morning.
It works for me and I can carry on playing without pain & only need to do it again every 3rd day. The problem is washing the grease off as soap then dries out your hands again - I try not to wash my hands as a lot of the stuff is absorbed by my skin and the gloves.
Try it you never know.

[Happynoj]

My knuckels crack when it getd scold so I use norweigoni formula hand cream and it aworkls really well and they don't craxck opne any more.



EDIT: Sorry about that. I was quite drunk. In fact I still feel a bit drunk.

[Masher88]

My GF used to cover...slather her hands in lotion (good thick stuff, Aveno or whatever..not the crappy Vaseline or Jergins) and then put clean socks over her hands before going to sleep. When she'd wake up...smooth!

[Pacman]

I've got two suggestions, and one of them is weird, but worth checking out.

The first is called Bag Balm - it's the stuff for sheeps' udders mentioned earlier. Really good for all sorts of things, and it's an antiseptic, too.

The second I've heard does WONDERS for people who have that really nasty hard skin on the bottom of their feet. They say Vick's Vapo-rub is great for it. Good thing is that it's only a couple bucks, so if it doesn't work you're not really out anything.

[xifr]

See a dermatologist.

[mtizzle]

I used to use something called 'Utterly Smooth' for my feet as they were very dry. After a day or two with that they were perfect. It's the utter cream as mentioned before. That stuff works wonders.

[Matt Till]

Cool. Thanks for the advice everyone. Maybe I'll try bag balm in combination with the cotton gloves overnight method. All the advice is appreciated and taken under consideration.

[Stumbo]

I had similar a similar skin problem that was confined to my fingers and tried all the above mentioned lotions/ointments and more.

I had to finally get to a dermatologist who prescribed Clobetasol Propionate ointment.
It was some kind of rash/infection. It took about a week to resolve.

Good luck.

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by Stumbo

I had similar a similar skin problem that was confined to my fingers and tried all the above mentioned lotions/ointments and more.

I had to finally get to a dermatologist who prescribed Clobetasol Propionate ointment.
It was some kind of rash/infection. It took about a week to resolve.

Good luck.

I do have a feeling it is something more than just dry skin. And it's confined to my fingers/feet. Strangely, my hands themselves are girly soft because I lotion so often to try to combat my dry fingers. Unfortunately, I can't afford anything involving a doctor.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Unfortunately, I can't afford anything involving a doctor.

Welcome to America!

[funkalicious101]

Superglue.

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by funkalicious101

Superglue.

I do use superglue to hold the wounds together, it's the new wounds that form that have me in a bit of a pickle. I'd post pics of my hands, but they are gross and that's too much work. It's dry patches randomly around my hand and cracks/cuts around these dry spots.

[gold_member_321]

Last time I knew you could buy an Udder cream called "Udderly Smooth" right at your local rite-aid, gnc, etc. It's in a cow print container, and isn't expensive at all.

I had the same problem as a child, and that stuff really helped.

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Welcome to America!

Visit england!

Or cuba if you need sex change

[Rakie]

Save up and go to the Doctor.

It's that important.

[Lorenzini]

I'm going to recommend you start taking supplements to combat this from the inside. Lotions and balms will only work on the outside, but I bet your problem starts from under the skin.

You should be taking essential oils and fish oil and omega-3 oils.
That's my suggestion!

[ROON]

Hi Matt,

Why don't you try adjusting your diet or taking vitamins/supplements to help?
Just an idea, it might be worth looking into.

My skin used to have the weirdest PH levels ever, one drop of water on my hands and it would soak up and my whole hand would go super super dry and really irritated. For some reason it doesn't happen anymore, I dunno why.

[cavemusic]

Further to the dietary supplement suggestion, I've heard that taking flax seed oil helps dry skin conditions. I've never tried it myself so I can't confirm that.