My sons' hands are extremely dry. What to do?

Question

Both of my two oldest sons' hands are so dry they are cracking and have places that look like carpet burns. They've tried all sorts of lotions, neosporin, etc. Last night I had them put diaper rash medicine on it (zinc). It seemed to help one son's hands some but not the other one's. Any ideas? When I was their age my hand would get really dry and crack but nothing like theirs are doing.

Answer 1

they might have exima, (I'm sorry if that's misspelled, by the way) it's a skin condition where you get a very dry, cracked rash on some portion of your body, usually your hands. Try talking to your doctor about it, he might perscribe them something. Or, then again, maybe they're not drinking enough water. I had the same problem for four years, until I finally asked my doctor and he told me I wasn't drinking nearly as much as I should have been. The problem is almost gone now! Or, there's a slight possibility that they might be allergic to some of the ingredients in the lotions you're using. I saw an allergist last year about my hay fever and told him about how lotions never helped, and how some of them made me itch, and he informed me that a common ingredient in lotion, called Collagen, could be making my hands worse because I might be allergic to it, and a lot of other people are. You should try shopping for a hypo-allergenic lotion. Either way, the only way to be absolutely positive is to talk to your doctor at your next check up, good luck I hope you find a solution!

Answer 2

It's the dry winter season. It's more important than EVER to be drinking plenty of water. It's better to hydrate the body from the inside out, especially since the body is mostly water anyway.
One recent recommendation is to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water. For example, if you weigh 190 pounds, drink 95 ounces of water - about 3 quarts - each day.

Answer 3

Hi there
I am not sure how old your sons are but I believe you are using the right angle in applying the diaper rash ointment. I would choose a diaper rash ointment with the highest proportion of zinc and the lowest proportion of petrochemicals (such as petroleum jelly). I believe that Virgin Coconut Oil would also be a great 'carrier' for the following blend of soothing pure unadulterated essential oils:
*1 drop of rosewood essential oil
*1 drop of patchouly essential oil
*1 drop of geranium essential oil

Mix the above blend into about 2 Tablespoons of the 'carrier' lotion (either zinc or coconut as above) and then put clean cotton garden gloves or thin cotton socks over your child's hands when they go to bed.

Encourage them to take in good quantities of virgin coconut oil, hempseed (and oil) and flaxseed oil, raw walnuts and raw almond butter. I would add it to a smoothie, along with sweet, raw, ripe, organic, fresh fruits and tender greens (a green smoothie). Gently remove the trashy stuff from their diets: sugars, dairy, any possible allergens like wheat, and highly processed foods, transfatty acids. If you are interested in expanding your healthy smoothie recipe collection you can join up at http://ningxia-red.ca/smoothie-moves.html to get 35 free smoothie recipes in a year.

Check out this mother's favorite high quality pure essential oils at http://tinyurl.com/ykxyuk

All the best!

Healthia Cynthia
Certified Comprehensive Coach
Moderator for My Monday Miracles
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/My_Monday_Miracles/

Answer 4

I was going to suggest diaper rash cream even before I read your question. A&D works great! I would try it again and have him wear light weight cotton gloves to bed with lots of lotion on his hands. They actually sell hand softening gloves that you wear to bed. it seals in the lotion so you skin absorbes it overnight. you can find those gloves at beauty supply stores, they sometimes come with deep conditioning cream. I tried them and it works great, they also have socks too! hope that helps, if not maybe you will have to see a demotoligist.

Answer 5

Coat their hands in vasoline, put socks on them, and do not remove them for 12 hours (tell them to go to bed).

You'll want to consider their line of work...are they washing up with paint thinner, gasoline, etc.

Finally, any health concern goes to a doctor. If you value your health, don't mess around. If you don't, no worries.

Answer 6

vaseline or bag balm (which you can get at a pet store- crazy i know but it works). Put on gloves or socks on their hands and have them do it for a few nights, over night and see if that don't help. It should- works like a charm for my footies and hands during the winter months.

Answer 7

There is stuff out there called Corn Huskers Lotion I have found it at a grocery store but ALL the men in my family use it and most of them work in construction. They put it on before bed and buy the 99 cent gloves and wear them to bed. Good luck

Answer 8

Sorboline cream or a cream for cracked heels on the feet..
Coat liberally at night and sleep with cotton gloves on...
Give it about 2 weeks to really start helping..
Good Luck!!

Answer 9

Go to www.thebodyshop.com and or visit their neasest location (can be found on the site) and pick up hand rescue cream it works miracles! I got it as a gift last year and I love it. I moved from Michigan to Wyoming and I really needed it.

Answer 10

Sounds like they both have exema (I am wicked misspelling it). I have a small case of it. Talk to your doctor. He can prescribe something to make it go away. It is usually set off by cold weather or chemicals (cleaning detergents). Hope this helps and I hope your kids get better soon.