finger splits/cracks

[Barney]

I've been fighting some pretty bad cracking this year and can't get rid of the splits. Tried every cream I can think of plus some kind of steroid cream the doctor gave me. Nothing is clearing it up. Carmex heals it short term but as soon as I shoot a couple dozen arrows, my glove is full of blood. Middle finger tip is the worst so far.

Any ideas?

[ishiwannabe]

Bag balm. It is made for cow udders, but it works wonders on chapped skin. You can usually find it at feed stores and such.

[zilla]

Zim's Crack cream.  

I also use Bag Balm, I slather it all over my hands just before I go to bed and then put on a pair of cotton gloves..

One more thing.  We keep  a bottle of mineral oil in the shower. Just before exiting, I add a capful to one hand and rub it in all over my wet bod.. Really helps dry skin..

[Soilarch]

Taking a vitamin, drink lots of water.  (Our skin is very sensitive to being dehydrated...and most of us walk around from day-to-day being 'somewhat' dehydrated.)

Bag balm is good stuff, don't know if it's better than everything else you've tried though.  It comes in a tin cube that's green with a little vine pattern partially covering it.  (or at least it used to)

My feet use to split like that when I was young. (Very Strange) you can take everything to the next level by putting a very generous amount of cream or whatever on your hand before you go to bed and then putting a cotton or jersey glove over it.  (Of course, I used socks instead.)

You'll look like Michael Jackson in underwear when you go to bed...but it may just be the price you have to pay.    :D

[Barney]

Bag balm was one of the first things I tried, didn't work though  

[zilla]

OK then try one of those hot wax things ..   The wife has one, you melt it full of an oily wax and then pput your hands in and pull em out covered in wax.  Let it cool a while and peel..

One more thing, I close up bad cracks with super glue..

[Aeronut]

I have reduced the severity of splits on my fingers by taking daily vitamins with a fairly large dose of vitamin E.

Dennis

[Recurve50 LBS]

I found that vitamine E oil mixed in baby oil works best. One part vitamine E oil to two parts baby oil. I used to be able to get it from a place I worked for. If ya can't find vitamine E oil get some vitamine E tablets and break open and drain the oil out and rub onto your hands at bed time. Wear some clean white gloves or socks so the oil don't get on your bed sheets and bed clothes if ya wear any    :eek:  Any way I hope that this will cure your cracked fingers. This cure will not come over night try it but give it some time to work. You should start seeing signs of healing in a day or two. But just try to refrain from shooting your bow till you are all the way healed. Thats the hard part I know. Good luck.

[Pat B.]

Zilla hit on a fix.. Not the cure but Super Glue those cracks and it REALLY helps.. Keep 'em glued and they will heal...  I don't know what the cure is besides lube .... Try it tomorrow, tonight if you have the SG.. Promise you'll like it..

[pronghorn23]

Shea butter works great. Comes in a little plastic container. Can buy a small sample containter. It's very greasy though so only put a little on or before bed put alot on and then wear cotton gloves or something. Otherwise it will stain your sheets/pillowcase.

[Barney]

Might hafta look into the hot wax thing. Tried the vit E but not with baby oil. Burts bees hand cream works pretty good as does carmex and mink oil. But I think long term it either makes it spread or starts weakening my skin. I can get it to semi heal for a day or 2 but if I shoot too much it just cracks again.

Tried the super glue route but it just cracks 1 or 2 lines over.

[Killdeer]

I am a mailma'am, and in the winter my hands look and feel like Hell. The dry air, biting cold, paper cuts, hangnails and cracking all gang up to make me miserable. Another thing that makes them crack is just being outside in the wintertime. At hunting camp, by the end of the third week, they are just plain scary. The cracks begin, get deeper, invite their friends, and I am miserable.

Last year a customer gave me a tube of Gold Bond hand cream, the one with shea butter in it. Regular use does wonders. Wear gloves as much as you can, it helps keep the skin from giving up the moisture. I can't bring myself to wear them to bed, though. Creeps me out. But it would maximize the effects of the cream.

You may also wish to review your exposure to various chemicals, solvents, latex, or other substances that you may be sensitive or allergic to, including foods, and see if there may be any way to eliminate exposure to such agents.

Killdeer

[Red Beastmaster]

Super Glue the cracks. Usually grows together within a day or two. They invented it to close wounds in the battlefield. My wife and I use it all the time on fingers and heels.

[longstick]

I finally gave it up and went to a tab...fingers hurt so bad I couldnt shoot anymore. A friend of mine has the same problem and it hasnt helped him one bit but then again he shoots a LOT every day

[bentpole]

Working outside with metal does it to my fingers during the winter. Udder Cream and Liquid Bandage on the cracks so they heal. That and I take Fish oil three times a day Omega 3,6,9.

[Stick_N_String]

Barney,
I feel for ya man!!!!! I have the same problem, have had for years. Every winter my knuckles on both hands start drying out and cracking.
I haven't been able to find a cure, what I found that helps most is to keep your hands well lotioned, everytime you think about it 5 to 6 times a day and before you go to bed at night.
I also don't use water thats really hot, that seems to make it worse and when you wash our hands make sure they are dry before going outside.
You might also try some 3 in 1 ointment in the cracks themselves.
Good luck hope some of this helps
Daren Lewis

[findbows]

I had the same problem then I found Mane an Tail  from Stright Arrow it was made for horse hoofes Good luck

[KSdan]

Guys- I live in a house with my wife and FOUR teenage-20 year old daughters.  Along with one being a cosmetologist, others buying/selling make-up stuff etc. AND all their friends!                           I get more info. than I want. . .

For what it is worth- they tell me things with mineral oil in them (like types of baby oil) are bad for the skin because they actually plug the pores causing the skin to dry out even more.  Carmex actually has slivers of fiber in it to cause more irritation- thus needing even more. . . crazy stuff.

So- get GOOD lotion WITHOUT mineral oil.  Stay away from Carmex and chapstick- as they create dependance by drying out even more. Read the labels. You will be suprised what is in the lotion and that you may actually be making things worse in the long run.

[draco]

Confrey oil, you won't be sorry.

[Billy]

I work with chains and binders, steel trailers and equipment -snow, cold, rain, cold, then back in the truck for hours with the dry heat...
Fish oil and Cornhusker's Lotion.
Fish oil helps your joints and seems to help my knuckles and finger nail edges.
I also take a daily multi-vitamin and drink 48 to 64 ounces of water.
A cracked finger or thumb is the ONLY one, I ever bang against a hard surface !!! 'course it is the one that snags on my glove as I pull it off to find something in my pocket ,too..