Preventing Dry Chapped Hands The reality is, as a nurse, you are going to wash your hands many times during your shift. Another reality is, every time you wash them, a little moisture is depleted, and a little more dryness is noticeable. After a while, hands can become rough, chapped, and develop those annoying and painful little cracks that result from extreme dryness. Preventing Dry Chapped Hands The best solution is to prevent the extreme dryness in the first place, which, of course, is not easy to do. There are some things you can do to help keep your hands from becoming chapped, and it does not involve a trip to the spa.
Wash hands using lukewarm water. Hot water draws moisture from the skin very rapidly, so doesn’t go overboard on the temperature of the water.
Locate some very small plastic bottles that can easily slip in and out of the pocket of your scrubs. Using two of the bottles, fill one with a high quality hand lotion, make sure it is hand cream or lotion and not a body moisturizer. Also check to be sure it leaves a creamy feel to your hands, and not greasy, you are less likely to apply a lotion that leaves that sticky greasy feeling. For the second bottle, fill it with hair conditioner. Hair conditioner can soften the effects of hard water, and helps seal in moisture on hands, just as it does on hair. Mix a small amount of the conditioner in with the soap as, you wash your hands, the soap will still clean, but there will be an added moisturizer from the conditioner.
Be aware of the soap that is available to wash your hands. Some hospitals are now offering two variations of soaps, one being ultra moisturizing. If the soap that is available seems to dry, filling a third small bottle with soap from home will do the trick.
After washing hands, pat dry, and apply a small amount of the hand cream. Obviously time is of the essence, but a small bottle that can quickly squirt some lotion onto your hands will take only seconds, and you can rub it into your hands as you are walking to the room of your next patient. Using small refillable bottles will make it quick and easy to care for your hands, without taking up too much space or time.