Cracked/Split Fingertips - HELP!!!

Bag Balm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_Balm

really great for anything.
Look it up online.
Amazon and E-bay has it.

I used to get this. When I switched my cleaning products to Shaklee's, it has never happened again. The dish washing liquid and cleansers would be the most important.

I have used vaseline on my fingers- be sure to rub it all around the tips of your fingers, and cuticles. Bag Balm is another thing which has worked (we have gotten it at the hardware store, or animal feed store, as it is used for animals, but also works great for people.

Vaseline also works wonders in your nostrils if you are prone to bloody noses.

Good luck.

I have this problem every single year when the weather gets cooler. Here's a couple of things that I do that work:

If you handwash your dishes, get yourself a pair of Playtex gloves, no other brand works as well and protecting your hands.

Go to Bed, Bath & Beyond's bath section. They carry a product called O'Keeffe's Working Hands. It sells for $6.99 and comes in a little round green container. It is especially made for dry hands that crack and split. Also, Bed, Bath & Beyond carries these fuzzy gloves that help heal your hands. They have some sort of lotion in them that helps heal. Rub the O'Keeffe's at night and sleep with the gloves on.

See your doctor and ask if they can prescribe for you Triamcinolone 0.1% cream. You apply a thin layer and it works wonders. Be careful not to use more than prescribed because it is a steriod and will thin the skin on the top of your hands if you use too much.

Also, Eucerin makes a cream especially for this problem. You can find it over the counter. It works well also.

Hope this helps.

I have a solution that just may work for you. My husband and I have used this often for our dry cracked hands. It's called: CORONA Ointment. It's used for Horses, Cattle, small animals to help keep their hoves from cracking. You can get this at a Feed Store. Just ask the clerk where they keep the Corona Ointment. On the jar it will have the wording: Corona original Lanolin-Rich Ointment.

Put this on at night before bed, and you can wrap your fingers with a bandaid and you will be on your way to healing! :-)

Hope this works for ya. It's done wonders for us!

Hi there-

I use Nexcare Skin Crack Care when I have cracks in my hands. I've purchased it at Walmart, Walgreens, and Jewel just to name a few.
It helps me out so much! It is in a bottle and looks like it's clear nail polish. You brush on just a bit over the area and the pain is gone and the crack is covered invisibly. I actually found a youtube video that explains how it works. Here's the thread if you want to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjlUP0_AlqE

I use Lubriderm between hand washings. At least a couple times per day I use antibiotic ointment, rubbing it in just like hand cream. At night I use bandaids and the antibiotic cream when I have painful splits. I have bought those little white gloves to wear when I put hand cream on heavy. I am with you. I don't like it. I carry medicated lip balm in my purse and at red lights I rub it into the dry places or cracks on my hands.

Utter cream (used on cow utters originally) They sell it alot of times in sewing shops. Also Bag balm its probably similar to what Geri M is talking about. put it only thickly at night (when your skin absorbs the most moisture) and put on cotton gloves.

I deal with this a lot, esp. in the winter. A couple things that help are using Palmolive (dawn makes mine worse), wearing gloves anytime I use cleaning products like windex, throwing away all the lotions/hand cream containing urea, and using Lubriderm Intense Skin Repair Ointment (in a tube) when my hands start to feel really dry. I use Lubriderm lotion and the generic Aveeno with oatmeal the rest of the time. Drinking lots of water helps too.

It's a fungus. I used to get it all the time, as well as cracked heels. I went to the doctor and got on a medication for fungus and it all cleared up.

I'm not fancy schmancy. I use Neosporin and bandaids. Works pretty good for me.

My next door neighbor has this problem..

What she does is use Aquaphor on her hands and then put latex gloves over that..her hands MAY still crack - but DEFINITELY not like they were...

She puts extra on before she goes to bed and wears the gloves to bed.

If you can't do latex gloves, any gloves that are thin that allow you to "work" and "feel".

When it gets REALLY cold here in VA - I use Mary Kay Night Time Emoilient Cream and then put gloves on...
GOOD LUCK!!!

Thank you for asking this!! I am fairly new to MN from FL and this is the first year I remember experiencing this. I am not one to put lotion on so I guess I need to get in the habit. I have been putting Neosporin on the crack itself and loading on the Eucerin Cream at night and it seems to help. I am going to have to keep an eye out for Bag balm and the Working hands lotion (I have heard wonderful things about both in the past)

I have this problem but I have it year round. When I was in to see a doctor for something else they looked at them and said that it was eczema, I have been using a cream on them and they are looking much better!!

In addition to the external creams, etc., see a nutritionist and see what dietary changes you can make to make strong nails internally, too.

Lots of people go on low-fat diets (and aren't actually losing weight, most of the time) and end up suffering from dry skin, nails, and hair. We need fat in our diet. Not bad fat from processed food. Get the healthy fat from nuts, olive oil, avocado, and free-range, organic meat and dairy.

If you consult with a certified nutritionist, you shouldn't worry about becoming overweight. When we eat the proper amount and type of fat, we actually eat less food overall, because our stomachs stay satiated.

I started eating this way a few years ago, and now I get a lot of compliments on my shiny hair. My skin still gets dry at the office in the winter, so I use Eucerin for that, too.

I have the same problem. I thought it was just really dry skin but @ 2 years ago I finally went to a dermatologist & it turns out it's eczema of the fingers. I didn't know you could get it on just your fingers. She gave me a cream that I use & it works great!

http://www.nocrack.com/

I don't know what's in this stuff, but it works. I slather the Night Use lotion on every night before I go to bed. It's pretty goopy, sometimes I'll put mittens on after I goop up, just to keep it off the sheets. But it totally works. You can't find it everywhere, but they have a good "where can I buy it" search function on their website.

I've also been recently (over the summer) using a shea butter lotion that I've found really helpful, and not so greasy for during the day. You can get it at Target.

http://sheamoisture.com/

I used to be a hand model and had to keep my hands looking perfect all the time. You can go to Walgreens and get Bag Balm, it's in a green square can. It works wonders on any skin issue, from cracked skin to diaper rash. You can put on a thin layer and cosmetic gloves or if you can find them the type of gloves women wore years ago. Vaseline works also but doesn' have the healing ingredients the Bag Balm does. Keep several bottles of lotion around the house, I got the small pump bottles from the dollar stores and fill from a larger bottle and keep them by my couch, kitchen and bathroom sink, and next to my bed. Lotion hands several times a day. When doing dishes and cleaning always put on rubber gloves before putting hands in water.

I didn't read through the other answers but try putting on Aquafor at night - cake it on -- and put socks over your hands and let it soak in overnight. Do that every night until it's better...we do the same w/my son's toes and I use it on dry fingers, too! Once they're so cracked they bleed it takes awhile but it will get better and if you keep up with hydrating lotion and drinking fluids that should help, too!