Last night, I thought I was on fire. My skin was all hot and itchy. But not a hot flash. Hot flashes go from the inside out. This was from the outside in. At first, I thought maybe the flea season had arrived... after all there were three cats sleeping on my bed. But when I turned on the lights, there were no little black hopping dots in the bed. So maybe I was suddenly sensitive to my fabric softner. But that wasn't it either. Finally, the sensation subsided and I slept.
In the morning, I got in the shower. I've been taking some pretty warm showers to help ease the stiffness that starts my days sometimes. As I stepped in, it felt like someone had poured gasoline on me and set me afire. And it reminded me of something.
My days in Oklahoma - more specifically, my winter days in Oklahoma.
I was born and raised a Florida girl. And Florida was a humid place. Fog. Showers on a near daily basis. Oklahoma was much drier than Florida - and the winters were both bitingly cold, windy AND dry. My skin used to crack and scale and split on a regular basis - feeling like it was on fire. And there didn't seem to be anything I could do about it. Lotions didn't help. Keeping the thermostat turned down didn't help. Then one day, I was driving to work with my bleeding hands and I heard Paul Harvey and the Rest of the Story on the radio. During the break between the setup and "the rest of the story", he did a commercial for Neutrogena Hand Cream - the one fishermen use for dry, cracked hands. Huh. I decided to try it, and it made the rest of my time in Oklahoma much more bearable.
I don't really think of Florida as being dry, but we've been in a drought pattern for over a decade now. Even on the years we reach normal rainfall, it's not because of the daily rains; it's because it's all dumped on us at once by a tropical storm.
So it dawned on me that I was once again suffering from DRY SKIN. A good dousing of Jergen's all over helped a lot, but my hands were still a mess and stinging. Diving into the bathroom drawer, I came up with an old tube of Neutrogena Hand Cream. It took repeated applications, but my hands have finally stopped burning. I will be keeping it nearby for a while...
8 comments:
I have to wash my hands a million times every evening (or weekend day) from changing JEDI's diapers so much. My knuckles crack and bleed. I found Aveno works wonders, and JEDI's pediatrician has us use it for his Excema.
I suffer dreadfully with dry skin and I have to moisturise from head to toe every day.
Have a look for Dermalogica Barrier Repair I add a tiny drop to my normal moisturiser and it has made a heck of a difference. It's not cheap but you do only need a tiny amount.
http://www.dermalogica.com/us/
Hey sayre! It's nikki from Everybody can bite my ass. I'm sorry to hear about your hands. May I recommend you try dr scholls FOR HER ultra overnight foot cream. Works like a dream. I tried lotions for years and had pretty much given up until my sil sent this to me. I know it says foot cream but I also use it on my hands and I don't have hangnails or dry cuticles. Been missing you. Hope you and yous are doing well. Nikki
Dry skin? Interesting. The way you were describing it at first sounded like nerve damage. However since everyone else is jumping in with advice I will too! Hehe! I have always had very dry skin and dermatitis since I was a kid. All expensive lotions aside the best thing I have found is good old Sorbelene and Glycerine. Its cheap and it works. I keep it all over the house. The trick is to use it every time you wash your hands or get them wet as the water even dries out your skin. If its that bad that its making you itch you can also use the sorbelene instead of soap. Fresh Aloe Vera straight from the plant is also very soothing and cooling for the itch.
Hope it clears up soon for you.
I have no recommendations. But if your old skin creme works why change?
Perhaps you could also squirt the cream at me while at work, when I get a little hot under the collar??
heheh, Birthday Twin
Thanks everyone - I was quite surprised to have this problem right now and was relieved when my old standby did a fair job of returning the use of my hands to me. However, it didn't seem quite as satisfactory as in past years, so it's good to have other suggestions.
Hey, Nikki!!!! How's your chewed upon ass? Do you have eyebrows now or have you burned them off again??? Still.. a woodstove still sounds nice! Come back and see me again! I've missed you.
OMG...I hear you. As I type, I'm aware of the cracks in my hands that are (sorry) splitting and bleeding as my fingers move. DC, for all its summertime humidity, might as well be a desert in wintertime. It is dry as the proverbial bone here. Just one more reason why I dream of moving to Florida.
Glad you found a fix. I've had good luck with Eucerin but often have to switch to a prescription cream.
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