Let's talk about skin protection

[six-point socket II]

Hi everyone!

Today I'd like to talk about skin protection, especially on hands and forearms - before the use of gloves/PPE.

This post is NOT medical advice!

Something I noticed during my latest projects is that my hands didn't take all the encounters with building materials, adhesives & other chemicals, used water from cleaning tools, (...) as well as they used to. I honestly never had much trouble, would wear gloves for a lot of things anyway but a couple of months back I saw the need to address this as the skin on my hands would crack open easily, every so often redness after working on projects and fairly long healing times. Part of that is owed to my overall health, I need to keep my hands moisturized - but my basic routine didn't cut it anymore.

I did some research on the topic and found that there are a variety of manufacturers and sellers for specialized skin care/protection products aimed at tradespeople of all sorts.

A pretty popular brand in the EU for such products is Dreumex which was founded in the Netherlands over 70 years ago and is still located there. I've used their hand washing products for years and had nothing but great results with them. Especially speaking of tolerability during high frequency of use.

->https://www.dreumex.com/handcare/cleansing/dreumex-plus

They also make protective products.

->https://www.dreumex.com/handcare/protection/dreumex-universal-protect

That said, I continued to look around and found that my currently favored supplier has their own line of skin cleansing and protection products as well. I don't know if they (or one of their owned sister companies) manufacture the products themselves or if it's supplied by a 3rd party - doesn't matter anyway as this is just for the sake of painting the whole picture.

So I found a product that would suite "mechanical stress" on the skin from working with tools, cement, chalk, various chemicals and chemical solutions, oil, grease, water-soluble and non-water-soluble stuff, (...). Let's be clear, this is not PPE!

->https://eshop.wuerth.de/Skin-protec...ROTLOTN-COMBI-250ML/0890600120.sku/en/US/EUR/

[attachimg=1]

Disregard the other stuff in that picture.

You use it before you start work and re-apply whenever you have washed your hands.

I've been using this for a couple of months now and it makes all the difference already for me. No more redness, no more cracks in the skin - and the skin feels a lot less stressed/taut after projects. I support it by strictly & always wearing gloves when spending a lot of time with my hands in the water to clean tools off building materials/cement/plaster and so on. This seemed also to be the #1 contributing factor to my issues in first place.

This is not advertising for the pictured product or supplier, it's just a heads up that there are a lot of great products on the market that can help protect your skin from materials used in projects/ on the job.

During my research I found a lot of interesting products, one is made by 3M for painters/bodyshops:

->https://www.mlperformanceusa.com/pr...tube-vitamin-b5-with-aloe-vera-contents-250ml

Another respected brand in this field would be Lordin:

->https://www.lordin.de/en/

Feel free to add manufacturers/products that you had great results with/ that you like!

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Packard]

I went to my doctor’s office a couple of years back—I forget what for. 

I mentioned to him that the skin on my hands were cracking in the winter and what to do about that (you can’t ignore that—more about that later).

He said, “Stop bathing and taking showers for the next 8 months and you will be fine.”

Normally, he gives good advice.  This was crazy.  Until I had my “ah ha” moment.

When I take a shower, the first thing I do when I step into the shower is squirt some shampoo on my hand and lather up my hair. 

Then I grab a bar of soap and wash my body.  I figure on average my showers take a bit less than 10 minutes.  Of that time my hair, arms, legs, etc, each get about 30 seconds each of lather.  But my hands are in the lather almost the entire 10 minutes.

I didn’t quit taking showers.  I grabbed a pair of nitrile gloves from my basement and wore them while showering.  Within 3 weeks my hands were healed. 

A couple of quick notes:

For some reason, nitrile gloves in this environment last from 1 to 4 weeks, with 2 - 4 weeks being “normal”.  So no cost really.  I reuse and I have never seen any mold. I’ve been doing this for 3 years and I have stopped checking. 

It can be difficult to pull on the gloves.  I squirt the tiniest dab of hair conditioner on my hands and wet them.  The gloves slide on and off easily, and the hair conditioner does not affect my skin.  Your experience might differ.

Untreated cracks of the skin of your fingers creates bacteria traps, which can result in serious infections.  Do not ignore them.

I have found Liquid Bandage to be the best for sealing the cracks.  The first application burns; but a second one does not.  I apply twice a day until healed.

The last bottle I bought was 3 years ago.

I stop with the gloves from April to the end of September.  The warm weather makes them unnecessary. 

I’ve told my doctor that I had “followed” his advice.  He said, “I could give that advice to 100 patients, and 99 would ignore it.  The final one would do it for a while and quit.”

My guess is that very few people will try this.  But it works.  You probably have the gloves in your shop.  And the cost is less than any fancy hand creams.

 

[Packard]

The Wurth hand cleaner is probably fine if you work alone.

It appears to have no bacterial or virus killing components. If you depend on this stuff to clean your hands, you still have to use Purel before eating.

Cetaphyl is very much the same.  Post pandemic, I no longer use it.

Also note that the cleaners they provide in supermarkets to clean shopping cart handles may not be up to the task.

Hanneford Markets origally put out the cleaners in the manufacturer’s packaging.I read those things.  It said:

To clean:  Spray on surface and wipe dry.

To sanitize:  Spray on surface, let stand 5 minutes and wipe dry.

To disinfect:  Spray on surface, let stand 10 minutes and wipe dry.

Like I’m going to wait 10 minutes to use a shopping cart.

I carry a 4 ounce capacity atomizer filled with 70% alcohol.  That spray disinfects in 20 seconds (but does not remove any dirt).

They sell the atomizer bottles in drug stores.  I think they are normally used for perfume. Mine has never leaked.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have noticed the same thing in the last few years. For me, it's a combination of the diuretic in my blood pressure meds, more hand washing than before (during the Covid thing) and likely some collagen loss due to age. The solvents that I come into contact with at work only exacerbate the whole thing.
I tried switching to a moisturizing soap and using Corn Huskers Lotion, neither did much. Then I tried O'Keeffes Working hands and it helped a lot. Their advertising says it forms a barrier to keep moisture in.

 

[squall_line]

As a desk jockey, anything that makes my hands greasy makes me grumpy.  I use hand lotion every night in winter, but it's the daytime stuff that will get me, especially if I'm out taking walks during the day (I wear gloves, but that doesn't fully account for the dryness of the air).

Something that would protect my hands during the day but not leave a greasy mess would be a godsend.

 

[Mini Me]

For dry cracking skin I use Vitamin E cream and for hand washing Amway LOC hand wash. Both do the intended job well and are inexpensive to boot. The LOC is branded as a multi purpose cleaner and I have no idea what is in it but it simply works.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Not sure if this thread reminds me more of a whine and cheese party among a bunch of our wives or a scene between Frasier Crain and his brother Niles.

Either way, I'll play. I use a product called Curel. It stays in the shower and gets used on my calves, arms and hands immediately after shutting off the shower. Seems to work well and there's no greasy feeling.

When I remember to use gloves (which isn't often), I am always grateful I did it, but can't seem to make it a permanent habit. Replacing them every time I rip a finger tip is part of the reason they don't get used more often.

 

[semenza]

    In recent years I have had a problem with the backs of my hands and knuckles becoming dry, irritated and itchy (beyond belief at times) . Especially during dry air seasons. But not exclusively, sometimes at other times as well. Some checking into the appearance and such indicates that it is likely one of those non-contagious dermatitis conditions ( I forget the name).

    I hate creams and lotions. That slick feeling on my hands and then on everything I touch just doesn't work for me.  And every one that I have tried that either is labeled as non-greasy or someone has told me doesn't feel greasy, slimey, etc ..... still feels that way to me.

    In looking into how to treat the skin condition one suggestion was to use petroleum jelly overnight and wear light cotton gloves on top. The jelly to seal your skin (allowing hydration to take place) the gloves to keep the jelly from getting on things. But the gloves don't really do the job and then I had to wash too much to get the jelly completely off cancelling out much of the overnight hydration. Ditching the gloves and doing the washing all before I could handle other stuff , like setting up my morning coffee and such.

    It struck me that I might be able to get around part of the petroleum / gloves issue by using nitrile gloves over the pt covered hands. That worked very well. Took care of the morning glove issue and seemed more effective as well. Then I tried one step further ........................ just wearing the nitrile gloves overnight no pt or cream at all.  Bingo! Just wearing the nitrile gloves worked just as well. In fact they work very well! Even if my hands are pretty bad, by morning they are nearly healed.

    I had also found that wearing regular gloves, work gloves or for cold weather, had a very accelerated effect on drying my hands. And making the skin worse. So I tried nitrile gloves as a liner barrier layer. And that takes care of that problem.

    Hope this helps. Give the nitrile (or vinyl) a try.

Seth

 

[hdv]

I've been using this product my SIL recommended for about 3 years now and am quite happy with it. The smell is neutral and it is absorbed by my skin in a few seconds. No oily sheen or feeling is left after it is absorbed.

I am in no way affiliated with this company, just a happy user a their product. Not sure if it is easily available on your side of the pond though.

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[Michael Kellough]

I have dry skin and have tried several “ointments”. Not extensively because every single one ends up getting in my eyes and I can’t stand that.

The only thing that works for me is wearing nitrile gloves as much as possible. When I don’t wear them enough during the winter the callouses on the sides of my thumbs crack and when I grip something it hurts.

This works for me because of the dry skin. People with normal skin tend to get sweaty hands inside the gloves.

The nitrile also solves my “butterfinger” problem. Without the gloves I need to put a death grip on something like melamine covered particle board to lift it, and that stuff is rather resistant to crushing by hand. With tight fitting nitrile gloves I can lift the same piece with two fingers, greatly reducing strain on my hand.

My nominal hand size is “large” but “medium” works better for me. Floppy fingertips are not a problem if the glove fits tight enough that the fingers stay put when pulled down from the ends.

 

[Packard]

In the second post of this thread, I described how I solved my hand/skin problem without  purchasing any ointments or salves.  If you skipped that post, then I think it is worth reading.

Also note, that dried cracked skin on the hands can lead to serious health issues.  The cracks and splits in the skin become bacteria traps that normal washing may not address. 

I knew a guy who ended up in the hospital because he had an infection of the blood. (Don’t ask me.  I have no idea what a blood infection is.). The doctors placed possible blame on the cracked skin. 

So this is not strictly speaking a cosmetic issue or even a comfort issue.  It is something that should not be ignored.

I just googled the blood infection bit: 
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/septicemia#

What is septicemia?

Septicemia, or sepsis, is the clinical name for blood poisoning by bacteria. It is the body's most extreme response to an infection. Sepsis that progresses to septic shock has a death rate as high as 50%, depending on the type of organism involved. Sepsis is a medical emergency and needs urgent medical treatment. Without treatment, sepsis can quickly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.

 

[woodferret]

The NA equivalent of that Wurth protection cream is Glove in a Bottle in case anyone wants to know.

 

[Sparktrician]

I use Eucerin Advanced Repair Hand Cream on my mitts (not to mention other places where I get dry skin).  It's available in grocery stores and pharmacies everywhere.  It's best to use it right after the morning scrub so that it's absorbed by the time I start picking up tools. 

 

[rst]

Having excema my whole life, Eucerin has been the recommended treatment.