Cream for Cracked Knuckles?

My hands need some HELP!  The winter is always harsh on them; but right now I'm dealing with one stubborn crack on my right hand.  It's small; but deep on the knuckle of my first finger.  I wince every time it cracks a little more! 

My hands are in the water a lot and I think that's part of my problem.  I do wear gloves to wash dishes if I'm doing more than one or two things; but I can't do gloves for the kid's baths unless I find some to go up to my armpits or something.    I suppose I could wear a latex type glove to change DS's diapers. 

I really need some relief!  Any advice on what kind of creams to try? 

I've got CeraVe cream that I use on my DD and an overnight cream that DH likes on his hands (his get dry and start to crack too) but I think the water during the day is hampering the effectiveness of anything I do during the daytime.  I'm just glad it's he knuckes that are cracking and not the palms or underside of my fingers.

Have you ever tried (unrefined) Shea butter? That's what I use for really dry, chapped skin.

Don't laugh or be put off but Udder Butter is great for chapped hands and cracking skin. Any udder preparation Is made safe for humans as it is meant to be applied to cows by human hands and has just enough antiseptic in it to prevent infection from cracked skin, be ye human, cow, horse. It is mildly scented but it Is a clean smell rather than perfume.

I agree about udder butter. My hands used to crack so bad they bled. Try after a warm soak before bed, slather on udder butter then put on saran wrao then cotton gloves. I used cotton socks. Worked like a charm

I will see if I can find either of those!  DH and I have both been bleeding from these cracks!  It itches the rest of the time. 

I think Walmart carries Bag Balm (Udder Butter). Amazon has both it and Shea butter.

I just looked up the Bag Balm; I think my Grandparents used to keep that around.  

I use George's special dry skin cream. I love it.

Our hands always need help, and the BEST stuff we have ever used is Blue Goo:

It's available at WalMart and is really cheap, less than $3.  It works!

I think I've tried every hand cream on the market! I have eczema on my hands so many, many of them really irritate the condition. (Forget anything with a fragrance, they are the worst offenders). Some creams just don't help with the dryness and others leave my hands really greasy, ugh.

I like Prevex, used it for years, it stays on even after putting your hands in water (several times). But current favorite is Gold Bond Ultimate Restoring with CoQ10 - it's in a big tube. Gives such relief right away and melts right into your skin. 

Eucerin Original Healing Repair Cream by day and Aquaphor at night. That's the only way my hands can survive all the hand washing (nursing clinicals). But the secret isn't completely in the lotion/cream used, it is the method. Make sure your hands are freshly washed and not "bone dry" before applying any creams. The point is to use emollients (cream/lotion) to lock in moisture (water). When my skin has been really dry, I've put on lotion/creams/oils BEFORE gently patting dry to increase the moisture underneath the barrier I've put on. I can't reuse towels much this way but it beats discomfort.

I also love the saran wrap and sock method, even if you can only do it for 30 min. Maybe add a little neosporin?

I've used udder cream for years.  It's not greasy, which I think is a big plus.  I have contact dermatitis and, while I do have prescription salve for when it flairs up badly, the udder cream is my day to day moisturizer.  I also wear rubber gloves to do anything that will get my hands wet.  The juices from fruits and veggies are particularly bad (for me, anyway); even peeling potatoes causes problems. 

Walmart carries udder cream and bag balm.  If there's not a Walmart nearby, any farm supply store will have this type of salve, too.  And for extra conditioning, get a pair of plain white cotton gloves, slather the cream on, put the gloves on, and wear them to bed.

I've had luck with this Aveeno:

Creams won't help heal the crack on your knuckle, they are a good preventative but you need more than moisturizers to heal cracked skin on a joint. I get those cracks on my fingers, they are really painful and awful because you keep using the finger and they keep re-opening! 

Try a bandaid overnight with polysporin on it - I do this all the time and it's usually almost healed by morning! You can wear the bandaid / polysporin during the day, too, if it's really bad and to speed up healing (a waterproof bandaid will last longer during the day). 

Also, soaking your hands in epsom salts will do wonders! The epsom salt + bandaid with polysporin will heal it up in a day.    

I agree with all the other advice so far! They took all my best tips . But one left: put a bunch of lotion (whatever kind) in your hand, and add some sugar. Regular old white granulated sugar. And rub it all over your hands until the sugar is dissolved, rub it in some more, than wash it off and apply a normal amount of lotion. I don't even know why this works, some people say it's the abrasive action of the sugar but I don't think so (because I've used other exfoliating products and they don't work the same). I think something in the sugar must be healing.

For bad cracks on my fingers I'll superglue them shut :tongue2:. But for one on the knuckle a bandaid at night would be better.

I've used super glue!

Thank you ALL!!  I'm making a list of everything to see what Walmart has when I go grocery shopping tonight.  I'm going to look for some cotton gloves too.  I may even try to convince DH to give that a try.  It seems red heads (DH) are more susceptible to things like this.  I usually tease him and tell him it must be because he's a southerner at heart; he's didn't grow up having to handle the cold.

SwampWitch said:

 
I think I've tried every hand cream on the market! I have eczema on my hands so many, many of them really irritate the condition. (Forget anything with a fragrance, they are the worst offenders). Some creams just don't help with the dryness and others leave my hands really greasy, ugh.

I like Prevex, used it for years, it stays on even after putting your hands in water (several times). But current favorite is Gold Bond Ultimate Restoring with CoQ10 - it's in a big tube. Gives such relief right away and melts right into your skin.

Click to expand...

DD and I both have eczema; DS gets a few little patches here and there, but not like DD.  She seems to be outgrowing it a bit; but still gets awful rough patches up and down her legs.  Not like the itchy cracks she would get with the eczema though.  Blood testing revealed only environmental/seasonal allergies and a mild peanut sensitivity.  Since she's outgrown it so much I've not pushed for further testing. 

My eczema on my hands seems to be doing much better right now.  It's cracked some too this winter; but not where the stubborn cracks have been. 

sk_pacer said:

 
Don't laugh or be put off but Udder Butter is great for chapped hands and cracking skin. Any udder preparation Is made safe for humans as it is meant to be applied to cows by human hands and has just enough antiseptic in it to prevent infection from cracked skin, be ye human, cow, horse. It is mildly scented but it Is a clean smell rather than perfume.

Click to expand...

I know a lot of nurses who use that for their hands.  I've never been able to find it so I just use Lubriderm unscented.

Neutrogena is only hand cream I use.  I like how my hands feel after.

Could get some farm animal exam gloves for bath time  I also am one who has super glued my hands and feet.  My husband just looked at me first time I did THAT.  It is cheap and works for the deep cracks when I can barely walk.

MoochNNoodles said:

 
DD and I both have eczema; DS gets a few little patches here and there, but not like DD.  She seems to be outgrowing it a bit; but still gets awful rough patches up and down her legs.  Not like the itchy cracks she would get with the eczema though.  Blood testing revealed only environmental/seasonal allergies and a mild peanut sensitivity.  Since she's outgrown it so much I've not pushed for further testing. 

My eczema on my hands seems to be doing much better right now.  It's cracked some too this winter; but not where the stubborn cracks have been. 

Click to expand...

Throw in some epsom salts in the kids' baths next time you notice any rough patches on their skin - will stop any itching and heal them right up. I tell you epsom salts are some kind of miracle thing, I wish I knew about them decades ago! Also for any bites or poison ivy, any itching or skin problems or infections, it works wonders.