Overworked, Over-washed, Chapped Hands

Overworked, Over-washed, Chapped Hands How many times a day does a nurse wash their hands? Aside from the fact no one has time to count, it is a lot. Of course, there is no choice. You must keep your hands clean for yourself and the protection of your patients. So how do you prevent hands from being chapped, dry, and sore? 

Wash with care. Depending on what type of soap your hospital uses, it may be necessary to fill a small bottle with liquid soap from home, just make it one that will fit in the pocket of your scrubs. If hands are very dry and chapped, mix mild unscented hand soap with a rich hair conditioner that is labeled moisturizing. Use about ¼ hair conditioner to a small bottle of soap. The soap will clean sufficiently, and the conditioner will add moisture to hands when washing.

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When it comes to home, make a mixture of moisturizing soap, adding a little olive oil or coconut oil. To make a scrub. Use moisturizing soap, olive oil, or coconut oil and add a small amount of sugar. Scrub hands with warm water rinse, pat dry and apply lotion.

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For hands that are extremely chapped cuts and with cracks, a more intense treatment may be needed. Using Band-Aids, medical tape, or skin bonding glue to cover the cracks until healed can help prevent infection. If these remedies don’t work it may be time to use a prescription cream or ointment to heal small cracks and cuts.

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Paraffin treatments work pretty well as soothing, moisturizing and relaxing hands. However, you don’t need to go out and buy a paraffin machine, simply buy paraffin wax and melt in the microwave using a small bowl or gallon size Ziploc bag. Be very careful not to overheat and get the wax too hot. Dip hands one at a time in the solution and coat. After wax has cooled remove and coat in lotion. For an added treatment wear cotton gloves to keep lotion moisturizing for an hour, or overnight.

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Avoid harsh cleansers or solvents; be sure to wear gloves when using cleaning products at home or at work. Also, wear winter gloves in cold weather to protect hands, cold weather can make hands chapped, cracked, and painful.

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Infections Those minor cracks and cuts may seem harmless; however, they are an entry port for bacteria. One patient came in with a very minor crack type opening on his finger. He was actually there for another reason, but mentioned that his finger was very painful for this very small cut. He failed to mention it to the doctor, and returned four days later with a severe staph infection that required hospitalization. That very small opening on his skin allowed bacteria to enter and cause an acute staph infection that required being treated with IV antibiotics. It’s important to keep any open wounds covered while at work, sources of bacteria on many surfaces and hands are high risk of contamination. Be sure to consult with a doctor if any wounds become red, warm, or extremely painful as you may need to be on an oral antibiotic. Most experts agree continue to use an antibiotic ointment is not a good idea. Skin cans development an immunity, and it can cause slow healing.

Be sure to look for moisturizing soaps, as a general rule foaming soaps are gentler, and avoid scented soaps, which often contain ingredients that can irritate skin. Always be sure to moisturize after washing hands. It can be time-consuming to have to dry hands and apply lotion, and then give them time to dry, but it’s essential in keeping dry hands healthy. Another trick is to buy vitamin E capsules and break one per hand open and use the E oil to rub on hands and fingers. High-quality skin bonding glue can cover open areas and will not wash off or come off as bandages too. Just to be sure you use high-quality skin bonding glue and read the label to ensure it doesn’t burn. Keeping your body hydrated followed by taking vitamins is health from the inside out. Pamper hands when especially chapped, wearing an ample supply of rich lotion or hand cream, with white cotton gloves.

A little prevention and care will help keep hands healthy by maintaining proper moisture. Those small cuts and cracks are extremely painful, and can be dangerous if left untreated.

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