Hands can get chapped when washed and exposed to air—warm or cold. While no single treatment delivers a quick and permanent cure, here’s help to safeguard your skin’s natural moisturizers and keep hands healthy all year from Barbara R. Reed, MD, Clinical Professor of Dermatology at University Hospital Denver, and dermatologist at Denver Skin Clinic.

• Use gentle hand cleansers such as Cetaphil, Cerave, or Aquanil. Reason: Soap and water eliminate natural moisturizing agents and contribute to drying.
• Wear gloves in the kitchen and when working with chemicals. Reason: Handling (not eating) tomatoes, onions, potatoes, fish, seafood, and citrus fruits may irritate the skin and increase dryness. Likewise for paints, polishes, disinfectants, and abrasives.
• Regularly apply lubricating cream or ointment such as Cetaphil, Vanicream, Eucerin Plus, Cerave, Curel, Aquaphor, or Vaseline. Reason: Applying the cream many times daily (preferably every time your hands get wet) can be a nuisance, but it helps.

So you did all that, but you’re still having chapped hands? First, apply cream. Then, slip on damp cotton gloves. Finally, cover hands with latex gloves or a plastic bag, and wear for a few hours during the day or at night. For significant redness, try an anti-inflammatory cream such as Cort-Aid or Cortizone several times daily. Last resort: see your doctor.

Help for Dry Hands The Saturday Evening Post

Q: The little finger on my left hand kinks up into a hook. Is this problem caused by arthritis? I can hardly tie my shoes. Please advise.

Lorraine Butler
Blooming Prairie, Minnesota

A: [Cory SerVaas, M.D., and Wendy Braun, R.N.] Your symptoms match those of Dupuytren’s contracture, a sometimes disabling (but not dangerous) condition that pulls fingers toward the palm and locks them there. It’s unrelated to arthritis. “Dupuytren’s causes painless contraction of fibrous tissue directly under the skin of the palm and fingers, and may be associated with nodules or cords in the palm. Over time, an affected finger may bend into a hook,” notes Dr. Taizoon H. Baxamusa, who is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Bone & Joint Institute in Morton Grove. “The cause of Dupuytren’s is not known; however, there is a strong hereditary association, especially among people of Northern European or Scandinavian descent. It’s more common in men than women, and risk increases with age.

“Dupuytren’s is sometimes confused with trigger finger, tendonitis, or arthritis. Try this simple test: Place the hand and fingers flat on a tabletop. If you are unable to do so, or the finger curls under, you may wish to seek a formal evaluation by an orthopaedic surgeon.”
New treatments include nonsurgical needling techniques and injections of the biologic drug Xiaflex.

Dupuytren’s Contracture Update The Saturday Evening Post