Any obsessive handwashers out there?

[HeLiXe]

What lotion do you use? I wash my hands frequently and it has skyrocketed since I purchased a dog. The skin on my hands is like paper now and is cracking a little and bleeding. I put some baby oil on them today for relief, but I just wonder if there is a strong and better lotion out there.

 

[jhae2.718]

This is what we call taking things to the extreme...

 

[micromass]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive–compulsive_disorder

There are very good treatments against it!

 

[WannabeNewton]

Soap.

 

[jhae2.718]

Hydrochloric acid works wonders for cleaning off the skin...

 

[Monique]

Glycerona is a good hand cream, what do you use for washing your hands? It should be mild.

 

[HeLiXe]

This is what we call taking things to the extreme...

What.ev.errr.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive–compulsive_disorder

There are very good treatments against it!

I read this...but I do not think it applies to me...I was asking people who it does apply to for advice or anyone who knows of a good hand cream/lotion.

Soap.

you use soap as a lotion? omg

Hydrochloric acid works wonders for cleaning off the skin...

I see...I have some in my stomach I can lend you

Glycerona is a good hand cream, what do you use for washing your hands? It should be mild.

Thanks Monique ... I will see if I can get some. I usually use what is around the house like dishwashing liquid, Ivory soap, or liquid handsoap. Last night I bought a mild liquid handsoap with aloe vera. The skin on my hands tends to dry and crack easily in the winter for whatever reason. I haven't had to wash dishes in a while, but when I used to be the only one washing them I would really suffer in the winter--even with the most gentle dishwashing liquid. I tried using Aquaphor but I do not like the petroleum-jelly like feel on my hands.

 

[PhizKid]

I used to wash and scrub my hands until the skin started rubbing off and blood started seeping out but I don't do that anymore

 

[FlexGunship]

I wash my hands almost every time I go to the bathroom... as an experienced hand washer, I have no idea what to recommend. My hands crack and bleed in the winter also.

 

[Monique]

Don't use dishwashing detergent for washing hands, it's a sure way to wash away the natural defenses of the skin. My hands also crack in the winter, wearing gloves outside helps a lot in reducing that.

 

[dlgoff]

I wash my hands almost every time I go to the bathroom... as an experienced hand washer, I have no idea what to recommend. My hands crack and bleed in the winter also.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/graphics/2012/09/30/health-q-a-art-gftjedgu-10930-neosporin.jpg

 

[Monique]

Don't use antibiotics (neosporin) when you don't need them, unless you want to contribute to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

 

[dlgoff]

Don't use antibiotics (neosporin) when you don't need them, unless you want to contribute to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Trust me. Cracked and bleeding fingers is exactly why you need these. This is what we're talking about.

 

[Monique]

Why do you post that picture and not a picture of an MRSA-infected wound?

 

[EricVT]

I work in a hospital and see and touch patients several times a day. I use antibacterial gel every time I enter and leave a room plus lots of times when I'm just walking down the hallway. It probably amounts to a few dozen uses per day, plus of course I wash my hands anytime I use the restroom.

I've found this has affected my hand hygiene at home as well. I keep lots of little antibacterial gel bottles around and use them frequently and wash my hands every so often "just because".

 

[Monique]

Plain Soap As Effective As Antibacterial But Without The Risk

 

[Drakkith]

Plain Soap As Effective As Antibacterial But Without The Risk

Excellent. Good to know my non-use of antibacterial soap is based on valid knowledge.

 

[jtbell]

I wash my hands frequently and it has skyrocketed since I purchased a dog.

This awakens memories of a classic Peanuts cartoon strip. I haven't found the strip itself online yet, but I can reconstruct the dialog from memory, at least approximately:

CHARLIE BROWN: [patting Snoopy] I have to go to dinner now, Snoopy.
SALLY: And now you have to wash your hands again because you touched the dog.
CHARLIE BROWN: [walking off] Oh, good grief.
SNOOPY: [ears perking up] "Touched the dog?" [glaring at Sally] "Touched the dog?"
SALLY: [backing away] Stay away from me, my hands are clean!
SNOOPY: [chasing Sally] Pat my head and get a handful of germs! Beware the walking disease carrier! I'm loaded with bubonic plague!
SALLY: [standing on a dresser] HELP!
SNOOPY: [walking off] "Touched the dog." Good grief.

 

[rppc]

Hi!

Yes, I also suffer from this particular symptom of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, amongst a few others.

My hands always get extremely dry during the Winter, with painful cuts that will bleed if I do nothing about them.

I personally recommend this cream:

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/4333/niveahandsosintensiveba.jpg

I don't know if you can find it where you live, but if you do, trust me that this is the best thing you can get.

Not only is it the only cream I've ever tried that actually works, but it has also done true wonders for me, healing the cuts and hydrating the skin in my hands.

 

[lisab]

Because I work with chemicals, I wash my hands a lot. I wear disposable gloves of course but it's the powder residue from the glove I'm constantly washing off.

I use St. Ives hand lotion - by far the best of ones I've tried. Soaks in fast and it's not greasy. Pretty cheap, too.

 

[edward]

Trust me. Cracked and bleeding fingers is exactly why you need these. This is what we're talking about.

There is a liquid product called New Skin. It has been around a long time. It helps to protect those nasty cuts and cracks until they heal.

http://newskinproducts.com/products/liquid_bandage.aspx

 

[lisab]

There is a liquid product called New Skin. It has been around a long time. It helps to protect those nasty cuts and cracks until they heal.

http://newskinproducts.com/products/liquid_bandage.aspx

I've not used that product. But in a pinch, I've used Super Glue (or some cyanoacrylate equivalent) - a bit dicey until it sets up, but very effective.

 

[russ_watters]

I wash my hands almost every time I go to the bathroom...

Almost?

 

[HeLiXe]

I used to wash and scrub my hands until the skin started rubbing off and blood started seeping out but I don't do that anymore

Yes it's more like seeping than all out bleeding

I wash my hands almost every time I go to the bathroom... as an experienced hand washer, I have no idea what to recommend. My hands crack and bleed in the winter also.

Thanks FlexGunship :) I was mine everytime I go to the bathroom...sometimes before depending on what i was handling, but now with the dog I am washing them before and after I use the bathroom.

Don't use dishwashing detergent for washing hands, it's a sure way to wash away the natural defenses of the skin. My hands also crack in the winter, wearing gloves outside helps a lot in reducing that.

Thanks Monique! You are really such a great help to me with this.

Trust me. Cracked and bleeding fingers is exactly why you need these. This is what we're talking about.

yikes! Mine is not like this...its like cracks in the pattern of the skin and sometimes blood comes out visibly or i will see a lot of tiny scabs where i did not even know the skin was cut.

I work in a hospital and see and touch patients several times a day. I use antibacterial gel every time I enter and leave a room plus lots of times when I'm just walking down the hallway. It probably amounts to a few dozen uses per day, plus of course I wash my hands anytime I use the restroom.

I've found this has affected my hand hygiene at home as well. I keep lots of little antibacterial gel bottles around and use them frequently and wash my hands every so often "just because".

This seems perfectly normal to me although maybe I am not the best judge. I would guess I now wash my hands like three dozen times per day...maybe a dozen more if I am cooking a dish that requires me to prepare raw meat.

This awakens memories of a classic Peanuts cartoon strip. I haven't found the strip itself online yet, but I can reconstruct the dialog from memory, at least approximately:

CHARLIE BROWN: [patting Snoopy] I have to go to dinner now, Snoopy.
SALLY: And now you have to wash your hands again because you touched the dog.
CHARLIE BROWN: [walking off] Oh, good grief.
SNOOPY: [ears perking up] "Touched the dog?" [glaring at Sally] "Touched the dog?"
SALLY: [backing away] Stay away from me, my hands are clean!
SNOOPY: [chasing Sally] Pat my head and get a handful of germs! Beware the walking disease carrier! I'm loaded with bubonic plague!
SALLY: [standing on a dresser] HELP!
SNOOPY: [walking off] "Touched the dog." Good grief.

I would say this is 88% me lol I love to pet my doggie and pick him up and I got him groomed the day after I bought him, so he smells clean and looks clean...but he is still a dog lol.

Hi!

Yes, I also suffer from this particular symptom of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, amongst a few others.

My hands always get extremely dry during the Winter, with painful cuts that will bleed if I do nothing about them.

I personally recommend this cream:


I don't know if you can find it where you live, but if you do, trust me that this is the best thing you can get.

Not only is it the only cream I've ever tried that actually works, but it has also done true wonders for me, healing the cuts and hydrating the skin in my hands.

Thank you so much rppc! I will try to find this one as well, this is very helpful to me!

 

[russ_watters]

Plain Soap As Effective As Antibacterial But Without The Risk

Antibacterial gel and antibacterial soap aren't the same thing though.

 

[russ_watters]

What lotion do you use? I wash my hands frequently and it has skyrocketed since I purchased a dog. The skin on my hands is like paper now and is cracking a little and bleeding. I put some baby oil on them today for relief, but I just wonder if there is a strong and better lotion out there.

You can buy hand soap with lotion in it. How many times a day are we talking though? I probably wash mine 10-20 times a day and don't have any major issues except in winter, so I put on hand lotion at night in the winter.

 

[HeLiXe]

Because I work with chemicals, I wash my hands a lot. I wear disposable gloves of course but it's the powder residue from the glove I'm constantly washing off.

I use St. Ives hand lotion - by far the best of ones I've tried. Soaks in fast and it's not greasy. Pretty cheap, too.

Thanks lisab -- i totally did not even think about St. Ives! I used to use their collagen elastin lotion and apricot scrub.

There is a liquid product called New Skin. It has been around a long time. It helps to protect those nasty cuts and cracks until they heal.

http://newskinproducts.com/products/liquid_bandage.aspx

Thanks so much edward.

 

[edward]

I've not used that product. But in a pinch, I've used Super Glue (or some cyanoacrylate equivalent) - a bit dicey until it sets up, but very effective.

Yep they are using products similar to Super Glue in surgery now. Heck it probably is Super Glue. It can be dicey. Don't glue your finger to the refrigerator or anything too big to take to the emergency room.

 

[russ_watters]

I've not used that product. But in a pinch, I've used Super Glue (or some cyanoacrylate equivalent) - a bit dicey until it sets up, but very effective.

For a cut that won't stay closed on its own, superglue is the only way to go now that J&J discontinued Band Aid Liquid Bandages (superglue with analgesic). NewSkin has very little strength to it, so while it is good as a protector, I find little advantage over regular bandages.

 

[HeLiXe]

You can buy hand soap with lotion in it. How many times a day are we talking though? I probably wash mine 10-20 times a day and don't have any major issues except in winter, so I put on hand lotion at night in the winter.

I used to wash mine about 15-20 times per day but now it is like 35 times per day and if I am cooking something that requires preparation of raw meat it's probably 45+ times. I usually only have issues in the winter, but now with this escalated hand washing I'm not sure how it will be for other seasons.

 

[Drakkith]

I used to wash mine about 15-20 times per day but now it is like 35 times per day and if I am cooking something that requires preparation of raw meat it's probably 45+ times. I usually only have issues in the winter, but now with this escalated hand washing I'm not sure how it will be for other seasons.

Sweet jesus.

 

[AlephZero]

Maybe you need to stop and think how any of your ancestors survived at all, without all these modern aids to hygene. And they all DID survive, over thousands if not millions of years, otherwise you wouldn't be here at all.

There was a lot of sense in the saying from my grandparent's time - "you have to eat a peck of dirt before it kills you". That's a peck as in 2 gallons, not one grain of birdseed.

 

[Evo]

While it's prudent to wash your hands out in public to avoid picking up germs if you tend to put your hands in your mouth, or handle food that goes directly into your mouth after touching things strangers touch. You stand lest risk in your own home. Still wash after going to the bathroom, but otherwise at home, unless you're handling questionable foods like raw chicken, you shouldn't worry as much. Also, the amount of time you spend, the heat of the water, these can stirp your hands of essntial, protective oils.

I simply rub petroleum jelly on the backs of my hands especially at night when i won't be washing it off immediately, you can slather your hands with it and put on thin clean cotton gloves at night if your hands are in really bad shape, you will be astonished at the improvement in the morning. But if the cuts are open and bleeding like dl's I'd dab neosporin on them.

 

[jhae2.718]

Maybe you need to stop and think how any of your ancestors survived at all, without all these modern aids to hygene. And they all DID survive, over thousands if not millions of years, otherwise you wouldn't be here at all.

There was a lot of sense in the saying from my grandparent's time - "you have to eat a peck of dirt before it kills you". That's a peck as in 2 gallons, not one grain of birdseed.

I think this bears repeating...

 

[russ_watters]

Maybe you need to stop and think how any of your ancestors survived at all, without all these modern aids to hygene. And they all DID survive, over thousands if not millions of years...

But few of them more than 40 years. Modern hygiene and sanitation is one of the great advances of humanity that is primarily responsible for the doubling of human lifespans over the past 120 years or so.