All my life I have washed hands after questionable acts like sneezing, handling trash, using the toilet, washing my body, after shaking hands or touching strange surfaces, etc. So, to do it more for a pandemic was not that great an inconvenience.
I was browsing through tv shows a couple of weeks ago, and I came across a doctor talking about wearing masks and washing hands. (Sorry, I forgot to write down the show it was on.) What stood out to me was the part on washing hands. The doctor showed pictures of people with really abused hands from washing them. She said that we forget to put lotion or moisturizer on our hands each time we wash them. Even before the pandemic, I’ve seen some really rough hands on men as well as women. We all need to keep our hands moisturized.
No matter which kind of moisturizer we use, our hands and other body parts need to be moisturized after each time we wash them. I have a problem with the skin on my hands beginning mid-November to March of each year. My hands start looking and feeling like soft parchment paper if I don’t put on lotion several times each day. I still have tiny scars and rough patches on my hands from skin that itched and cracked to the point of hurting in spite of my wearing gloves and applying lotions in winter.
I and other people I know have used various brands of moisturizers like Avon’s Silicone Glove Protective Hand Cream, Gold Bond Extra Strength Medicated Lotion, Vaseline Intensive Care, Lubriderm Advanced Therapy Moisturizing Lotion, Palmer’s Cocoa Butter, Olay Body Quench Rapid Repair Lotion, Jergen’s Hydrating Lotion, etc., and love them. But, a few years ago, a fellow coworker suggested Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion and even gave me a small tube of it. Some people have told me that Eucerin is too thick and gooey for them, but it’s just right for me.
“In most cases, dry hands are caused by environmental conditions. Weather, for example, can cause dry hands. Frequent handwashing, exposure to chemicals, and certain medical conditions can dry out the skin on your hands, too.” The article includes 10 remedies for dry hands. [Healthline.com. “How to Heal and Prevent Dry Hands” by Chaunie Brusie, updated March 7, 2019]
“A body lotion’s key benefit is to bring hydration back to your skin, but these days, more and more formulas are delivering added benefits. From improving your skin’s elasticity to reducing the look of cellulite, there’s a perfect, multitasking body lotion out there for you”. The article goes on to mention body rubs, body scrubs, body washes, body creams, etc. [Birdie: All Beauty, All the time—For Everyone; “We Found the 16 Best Body Lotions of 2020 (So You Don’t Have To)” by Syden Abrenica, updated November 3, 2020. https://www.byrdie.com/best-body-lotions-4159935 ]
While I’m talking about hands, another article covers topics such as weak hand grip; tiny red bumps or blisters; numb or tingly hands; trigger finger; red scales or pus-filled bumps; the symptom: white, blue, or red fingers; hand tremors; purple finger nodules; hand pain, stiffness, and swelling; and long ring fingers. [Health, “10 Things Your Hands Can Reveal About Your Health: Hands Rely on a Symphony of Body Systems to Function Properly, so Doctors Often Look to These Appendages for Signs of Illness and Disease”, by Karen Pallarito, May 15, 2018. https://www.health.com/condition/skin-conditions/hands-health]
Written by Rosa L. Griffin
nervikularose 