Has anyone else ever experienced this - finger problems.

[gully_jones]

Similar issues, paraffin wax treatment is the only thing that worked for me.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Are you allergic to metals? Its worth finding out, a very famous bass player plays with gloves when i asked him why he said he had an allergy to most metals.
Other things i can think of, do not wash your hands just before playing, do not wash hands too much as most soap is not good for the skin.
Try ozone oil, it helped some friends with this kind of a problem.

Still haven't read through the entire thread, but caught this because I was alerted , and think I should chime in on some realizations I had last night/this morning/just now...

Right now it's really only one finger that's giving me a problem. It WAS my pointer and middle finger, but my pointer seems to be healing up. I played last night pretty much using ONLY my pointer, and worked my ring and middle finger in when necessary. Fun thing to do, by the way . My ring finger is fine. My pointer is still healing. Makes me think it's nothing to do wit allergies or metal sensitivites. Also, by left hand finger tips are all fine.

I am beginning to suspect that the crazy glue might be keeping this problem alive.

 

[stringedonbass]

I think you should see a doctor. Talk through what's causing it, and ask for advice about how to build up proper calluses.

Have you ever tried Nuskin? It might not be as hard core as crazy glue and will help you develop calluses.

 

[mobdirt]

Still haven't read through the entire thread, but caught this because I was alerted , and think I should chime in on some realizations I had last night/this morning/just now...

Right now it's really only one finger that's giving me a problem. It WAS my pointer and middle finger, but my pointer seems to be healing up. I played last night pretty much using ONLY my pointer, and worked my ring and middle finger in when necessary. Fun thing to do, by the way . My ring finger is fine. My pointer is still healing. Makes me think it's nothing to do wit allergies or metal sensitivites. Also, by left hand finger tips are all fine.

I am beginning to suspect that the crazy glue might be keeping this problem alive.

yes , the word crazy should give a clue lol
sorry couldnt help it

 

[Ant Illington]

Still haven't read through the entire thread, but caught this because I was alerted , and think I should chime in on some realizations I had last night/this morning/just now...

Right now it's really only one finger that's giving me a problem. It WAS my pointer and middle finger, but my pointer seems to be healing up. I played last night pretty much using ONLY my pointer, and worked my ring and middle finger in when necessary. Fun thing to do, by the way . My ring finger is fine. My pointer is still healing. Makes me think it's nothing to do wit allergies or metal sensitivites. Also, by left hand finger tips are all fine.

I am beginning to suspect that the crazy glue might be keeping this problem alive.

Also, beware of any balms people have suggested

 

[gustobassman]

O'Keeffe's Working Hands hand cream. Green container, you can find it at CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens... This stuff is the bomb. I sell organic smoothies so I'm constantly going from wet to dry (we blend onsite at Farmer's Markets).

I live by the stuff. It is by far the BEST treatment for cracking fingers. I don't know if it has been mentioned but this is all you need. A tiny bit does the job.

 

[fcappi]

When I played using stainless strings I had the issue! Nickel all the way

 

[BusyFingers]

This is not medical advice, go to a doctor for medical advice. This is just something I know: Glycine, an amino acid, is known to thicken up skin. Gelatin, which contains glycine, has this affect, too.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

I know this topic comes up frequently. I even started a thread on it a while back, but lack of a solution is having me post again in hopes that someone will come up with something I haven't yet tried.

The tips of the fingers of my right hand are getting cut up - NO MATTER WHAT I DO!!!!!

• I've tried putting various creams, lotions, oils, and even prescription meds on them daily.
• I cover my hands when washing dishes or doing anything with soap outside of washing myself.
• I practice cranking my amp big time, and playing with the touch of an infant.
• I crazy glue my fingers at every gig now. I have to (maybe that's exacerbating the problem?).

Even when practicing in the house with the gentlest of touches - after about a half an hour they start cracking.

I'm playing fingerstyle bass for 30 plus years. I've played digging in like a MoFo playing super heavy music 5 nights a week - never had a single issue.

I've gone to several dermatologists - they've become my least favorite doctors at this point. They say it's eczema, just dry skin, or they don't know what it is and give me one cream or another. Been through 3 creams and ointments now, nothing did a thing. I get the sense the dermatologists aren't even listening to me when I talk. If I get 30 seconds of their time, it's a lot.

I'm frustrated. I've resorted to using a pick a lot more than I'd like to.

I'm confident there's a solution, but I haven't found it yet.

Anyone experience this besides me? Anyone have any ideas outside of the options above which haven't been working?

Chet Atkins talked about this same problem as he had this.

Many of the everyday items people use had a variety of things that softened skin.

He found shaving cream to be a particular problem.

I find the dry skin thing amusing as most of the things that touch our hands chemical wise are emollients, say it with the proper metrosexual inflection. These emollients or skin softeners are doing exactly the opposite.

Skin needs to be supple but not Kleenex tissue soft or it will wear.

Crazy glue is just fixing a symptom.

I would think.........I do occasionally, just not before talking, that application of ANY cream would be useless during the daytime. I know my hands get used and washed multiple times. If it were me, I'd apply it after bedroom olympics with the wife and maybe even wear gloves. You get close to 8 hours of the application to work into the skin.

I'd also back away from alcohol-based hand sanitizers as those have ALL de-fatting tendencies that eliminate the hands natural oils.

 

[trailer]

Had this problem for several years after I switched over to bass. And I'm not sure what got me over it... but I feel like I was trying to hard, practicing ALL the time. Try to give your fingers time to rest and heal. I dunno, I know I didn't use any kind of cream or ointment or keep bees lol. The nickel thing might be an issue, I only use SS.

 

[TomB]

I'm not sure this has come up before, and it may sound crazy, but it worked for me after years of dealing with this issue. I now wear gloves on my hands outside religiously any time the mercury dips below 40F. The problem disappeared pretty quickly, and now only recurs if I violate that rule. Honestly! I do use hand cream in the winter, but avoiding dry cold air seems to be the key for me.

 

[jasper383]

What is the humidity level in your home?

The tips of my fingers would split every year about the same time, and I finally figured out it was just dry air in the house.

If I keep the humidity in the house above about 30% all winter, my fingers don't split.

 

[still learning]

had this problem for years particularly in winter
when the air is drier until i found this
Invalid Link Removed

after initially using daily for a couple of weeks now only use it once every week/2 weeks...no more cracks

 

[guy n. cognito]

If it were me, I'd apply it after bedroom olympics with the wife

Maybe just a tad TMI.......

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

Maybe just a tad TMI.......

I mentioned it that way because "once upon a time" there was a drug called minoxidril. While some of us know it for growing hair in places where skin is more popular, that was not its original intent. Minoxidril had originally a gynecological use.

Bald men were experiencing hair growth. Turns out their wive's used the product.

Do the math.

Just didn't want "unintended consequences" to be a problem here, so the caveat.

 

[ThudThudThud]

Try tapewound strings. I was surpised at how 'zingy' they are.
Also, liquid bandage. None of that cyanoacrylate stuff on your skin.
Also, stay away from hand sanitizers, soap, detergent. Get something more gentle.
Moisturize.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Update:

Vaseline + gloves + Eucarin + diligence seems to be doing the trick.

• I started wearing gloves every time I go out (even when it's not that cold) and continued using rubber gloves for dish washing and cleaning.
• I started putting Vaseline on my hands a few times a day. And I've been committed to it. Especially before bed.
• I quit using crazy glue, and I now believe that was REALLY exacerbating the problem.
• I greased up with Eucarin before each set this past Friday and Saturday. I was concerned with slippering up my bass but it ain't no big deal. I have plenty of strings, and I kinda liked the way it felt. This might be a new habit.

Anyhow, my fingers are still a little dry but they're not all hacked to hell like they've been after every weekend when I was using the super glue. And the cuts that were still there before the weekend have actually healed. I think I'm going to be all good with this new routine.

Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[dtripoli]

This probably is not the cause of your condition but I had a similar skin ailment and it turned out to be an allergy.
My finger tips and callouses would dry up and peel off leaving tender skin. Sometimes all the skin on my fingers would flake off. Just when I got them back to playing condition, they would peel again.
My regular day job requires me to use disposable glove for various things. Turns out I am allergic to latex.
I switch over to Nitrile based gloves, the ones that are usually blue or purple and have not had a skin problem since then.