Tips to Combat Dry, Cracked Hands from Hand-washing

20 seconds is a LONG time – 2 “Happy Birthday” songs for start to finish sure. Now multiple that by the tens of times we are washing our hands these days and couple it with the 70% alcohol hand sanitizer we’re using 5 times per hour in between. All of this hand washing is a must-do, of course, but it certainly is causing major damage to our hands. As a doctor, I already had dry hands because of all the hand washing I do on a daily basis. But now, they look really, really bad. Dry, cracked, fissured in places – not to mention not having a manicure in 6 weeks… – and my hands look 100-years-old. 

Here are some tips to prevent your hands from looking like mine do right now.

• Moisturize  
  • Moisturize your hands immediately after washing them and preferably while the skin is still damp (which helps the moisturizer absorb into the skin better). And use a thick moisturizing emollient like OTC Aquaphor ointment or EltaMD Intense Moisturizer. And if you find the ointments a little greasy, simply towel off the excess once it has penetrated the skin. And when using hand sanitizer, it’s also essential to put on moisturizer afterwards because the alcohol active ingredient is incredibly drying. Just remember to let the hand sanitizer absorb into the skin for a minute before applying the moisturizer – that way it’s not diluted.

• Use topical medication creams on severely dry hands
  • If your hands have gotten so dry and irritated that they are red, scaly and itchy, you may have developed hand eczema. In that case, use an OTC hydrocortisone cream on the affected areas for a few days to a week until the redness and inflammation subsides. In addition, if you get cracks or fissures in your hands, this can be an opening for bacteria to get in and cause a skin infection. So you may want to ask your doctor if you should be using an antibiotic ointment on the areas until they heal and seal up.

• Take advantage of bedtime
  • When have you had this much time to extend your bedtime routine? Take a couple extra minutes and right before you hit the sack, apply a LOT of moisturizing ointment on your hands. Then put on some soft cloth gloves or socks, which will trap the moisture into your hands allowing deep absorption overnight. You’ll wake up with the soft, supple hands to be proud of!

And remember these tips even once the pandemic has passed. Because once normalcy returns, constant hand washing is going to be an engrained habit for all of us (which is a good thing!).