Cracking bleeding hand skin

[OakLeaf]

Is it possible you have eczema/dyshidrosis? If it's an autoimmune issue, then reducing your overall allergic load should help, as will sparing use of steroid creams. Sun exposure usually helps too, if it's not too cold where you are.

Also make sure you're hydrating enough from the inside. It's always hard for me to drink enough water when I'm cold.

And +1 on checking the ingredients of your hand cream. If you're sensitive to an ingredient it will only make things worse; IME petroleum based creams damage the skin and get me "addicted" to them. Pure shea butter before bed works well for me, too - it's too heavy to use throughout the day if you need to be touching phone screens and/or computer keyboards, but if there are days when you're onsite using fiber-based information storage systems you could use shea butter any time.

[Blueberry]

+1 on 100% shea butter. We're packing/doing house chores for getting our house on the market and my hands were a mess last night - much better after a liberal application of shea before bed. If I actually get cracks, I use something like neosporin on them to help them heal.

I also find that I need to use a light lotion throughout the day in the winter (after washing).

[malkin]

For me the magical and beloved hand sanitizer and 'germ killing soap' is the culprit. Can't use it at all, which is a pain, because it means toting my own little soap dispenser at work.

I also avoid normal house cleaning chemicals by wearing cleaning gloves with cotton gloves inside.

It makes me feel like a complete priss, but at least it keeps my skin from falling apart.

[shootingstar]

Marni, I try to avoid using hand sanitizers. I don't work in a hospital so going around using hand sanitizers often doesn't make sense to me. I get cold/flu once a year or not even that.

Just washing my hands under the tap is great with a touch of soap.

Very interesting Murienne. Thank you for this thorough list!

[Sky King]

as I type this without using my right thumb because the crack it deep and it hurts I use liquid bandage and have a friend who uses super glue (but I think that stings too much) Muireen thanks for the tips, I will on "non soap" and other lotions

[goride]

I normally get painful/bleeding cracks on the tips of my fingers and thumbs from October through April (roughly the winter heating season). I also react badly to hand sanitizers as others here have mentioned. This season, I have been massaging a small amount of vitamin E oil into the tips of my fingers at night. During the day, I use CeraVe moisturizing lotion. It is light and soaks in so doesn't leave a greasy or oily residue. I have developed very few skin cracks this season, and they remained small, not too painful, and healed quickly. Murienn - outstanding list. Looks like you speak with the voice of much experience.

[zoom-zoom]

If you're not using a humidifier, start. Without a humidifier I will constantly have cracked and bleeding knuckles. Our house is old and poorly insulated, so the heat runs a lot and dries the air terribly. I also lotion up my hands before bed, every night.

[NbyNW]

+1 on a humidifier.

And if my skin were cracking, like what you describe, I would use a bit of antibiotic ointment on the worst areas while they heal.

[Owlie]

I have eczema, but it's stress-related rather than allergy related.

Liberal application of hand cream (foot cream is even better) after I wash my hands. And in between. I've put mini bottles of lotion in my purse, next to the bathroom and kitchen sinks, backpack, etc for any time they feel a bit dry, especially after using the evil institutional soap. What are your gloves made out of? Fleece and even Thinsulate linings suck moisture right out of my skin.

Hydration is also important. I've got electric baseboard heating (hate it!) and it dries the place out. It's like living in poorly-insulated toaster.

[Biciclista]

You need to move to the tropics!
You are a dry person (check out ayurvedic stuff) and need way way way more moisture in your diet. Lots of rice porridge, lots of drinks...

[TsPoet]

I had that problem almost my whole life until I stopped using soap, and reduced the allergen load (as Oak said).

I just wanted to +1 this - except I don't use anything. My hair hasn't seen anything other than water in 2 years. No soap, not even bathroom soap to wash my hands (studies have shown it doesn't do anything to 'clean' your hands anyway, friction and a good amount of water and you are good to go).
I very very rarely use the purist aloe vera I can find. That's it.
Soap is designed to dry, and removes natural body oils - so it isn't necessarily even an allergen load.
BTW - my hair looks fine. It feels a little different, but I don't look like a grease ball.