Hand care

[backman]

I've been fighting fisherman's hands 3-4 years now with cracks and cuts not healing all summer and eventually smoothing out by Nov when our northern season is over. About 2 winters ago; the cuts never healed and my fingers started cracking in the cold and dry air. Its been downhill since; cracks would heal and peel and I have not been able to get smooth skin back in over 18 months.
Dermatologist says hand eczema,stop fishing; my physician says moisturizer and a cortisone cream.

I can maintain them on a day's trip by being really careful; not rigging bait or cutting fish without gloves and being especially careful to continually rinse salt off with fresh water and then re moisturize with hand cream.

36 hr trip; lots of salt; I was bait boy #1 and they are back in hell again. By the end of the trip they were so cracked I needed help to close a 300# snap swivel. Today they are cracked and swollen; tomorrow the cracks will start peeling.

Going to the dermatologist and getting the "stop fishing/stayy away from salt and salt water" is a non starter.

I can't be alone here; I'm sure some of you southerner's fight the same thing year round, especially in the cold winter conditions. I am curious how others deal with the inevitable salt water hand cracks and keep your hand cuts and cracks from degrading over a long season.

[Jesse Lockowitz]

keep several pair of gloves on hand perhaps..

if i get cuts this time of year, and air starts to get dry/cold, my hands crack like you said, mainly on my knuckles, and its a royal bitch to get them not to crack.....

specially when working and its cold, i started wearing thin mechanics gloves when outside working/installing, and they help alot.

my dermatologist told me that sun has a major roll to play. as does alot of the kayaking i do, constantly wet/salty hands, and im not going to stop kayaking/fishing/working anytime soon, so the "stay away from the water" thing isnt going to work.

especially my line of work, where im working alot with pool chemical installers etc, i always get some kind of chem on my hand, wether it be a testing kit, or a chem from an automatic feeder just installed, hands get crap on them...




Jesse

[RWW]

I have a friend that is a mechanic and he uses this stuff called invisible glove so his hands are not stained black. Some sort of hand cream that you put on before working with your hands. He said he has to re-apply every couple hours.

[PLAN 9]

Try looking at a farm supply store for some "bag balm". Used on cow udders.
Worked on a long range boat out of Cali in the early 90's, it was a savior to us deckhands.

[Sea Draggin]

Pee on them. I'm not being rude or joking. Somewhere along the line I heard it works.

[Thin Blue Line]

Ditto on the bag balm. Put it on at night and cover your hands with cotton gloves while you sleep...my old man use to get it bad in the winter when he was delivering mail for the post office. He did this for a while and it worked.

[Deep C]

My hands basically are scars over bone... I used to get that crackin stuff and it went away on its own. I cant be sure but I notice myself clenching and moving my hands frequently during the course of most everything I do. Perhaps this keeps them supple.
I dabble a bit with a guitar and of course type on the keyboard ... a lot. Again constant movement seems to help. I too have heard about pee but am not ready to go whizzin on my money makers just yet...
I have to remind myself to wear gloves... I get in trouble comming off the wheel to help my mate and either leader or bill a fish bare handed. This sets me up for trouble again. Handling small fish with spines is another one that sets up issues. Make a conscious effort to avoid nicks and cuts as often as you can. Get the salt off too. I keep a bucket of fresh water wuth a little bleach at hand on long trips. More to slow down infections than to avoid cracking but it helps too.

[gottaflylee]

Originally Posted by Deep C

My hands basically are scars over bone... I used to get that crackin stuff and it went away on its own. I cant be sure but I notice myself clenching and moving my hands frequently during the course of most everything I do. Perhaps this keeps them supple.
I dabble a bit with a guitar and of course type on the keyboard ... a lot. Again constant movement seems to help. I too have heard about pee but am not ready to go whizzin on my money makers just yet...
I have to remind myself to wear gloves... I get in trouble comming off the wheel to help my mate and either leader or bill a fish bare handed. This sets me up for trouble again. Handling small fish with spines is another one that sets up issues. Make a conscious effort to avoid nicks and cuts as often as you can. Get the salt off too. I keep a bucket of fresh water wuth a little bleach at hand on long trips. More to slow down infections than to avoid cracking but it helps too.

An ounce of prevention...this is the best advice you can get. When I Grouper Snaper fished commercialy, gutting fish a lot, my hands were eaten up till I started with fresh water & bleach. Kills all infection and your hands will stop cracking. Just stick you hands in it each time your hands get fish slim on them. It works...

[BeachBarb]

This might sound funny, but get yourself a paraffin spa. You can get them at Bed,Bath and Beyond (or places like that). It keeps paraffin in a warm liquid state. You put a good thick layer of hand cream on and dip your hands several times into the paraffin. The paraffin holds the heat for a good while and basically forces the ceam into your skin. Randy has the problem of cracking skin on his hands in the winter and when we do this, no problems. You can also do elbows and feet the same way.
Getting one for home may make you more comfortable than going to the spa or nail salon to get the treatment.

[giantfan]

Bag Balm works great but I found this stuff and It works better.

In case you can't read the addresses here they are.

16 Alden Ave, Greenland, NH 03840

It lists on the can " for re-orders, email doduckinn@aol.com

Hope this helps, cracking hands and line cuts hurt like hell.