Remedy for red, dry hands and lips?

[ralerin]

I'm more concerned about the hands than the lips at the moment. But my hands are really dry and cracked now, and red, especially the backs. It looks like I've got a light rash going, which I know I don't since they've been yucky all day. I'm thinking some sort of warm olive oil with mayonnaise treatment smeared over them and slapping on some gloves overnight, but I'd like to hear other remedies people have. (I should mention I have a fungus nail that's been there for several years and is currently confined to one finger after it tried taking over my whole hand several years ago...yeah, spare the details, it was gross).

My lips are dry and cracked as well, with the side of my mouth split. (>_< Can't eat salt, owies). I'd like to hear what people are doing to help them with their dry lips? I know, chapstick, but that's not too moisturizing in my experience. I need something with a bit more oomph.

Thanks in advance!

[Sarlon]

burt's bees lip balm and many of their products. if you don't know any place local to you that sells it, I know they have a website. can't hurt and its helped me in the past.

[ralerin]

I've tried Burt's Bees, mostly for my lips. Not too bad, really, but for the lips, I still need a bit more. =/ They're a bit like lizard skin at the moment.

[AdminAssistant]

Well, I use Carmex for my lips and constantly apply hand lotion. But if your hands are as bad as you say - I'd suggest a trip to the dermatologist or at least the student health center. Your hands sound like wind-burn to me.

Oh, and drink water. A moisturized inside = a moisturized outside.

[Food Lady]

As for your hands, heavy moisturizers will help, but only after you heal the inflamation (the redness). I suggest hydrocortizone cream for a few days. Run a humidifier. If you don't have one, periodocally run a veggie steamer or put a pan of water on the stove. I have no clue about lips--seems to be the problem I can't solve.

[pitmonkey]

The olive oil treatment is very good. Can you find a honey or sugar salve for your lips?

[Heksubah]

I suffer from chapped lips all year round and I swear by, and go nowhere without, chapstick medicated.

[AccountingDrone]

I'm more concerned about the hands than the lips at the moment. But my hands are really dry and cracked now, and red, especially the backs. It looks like I've got a light rash going, which I know I don't since they've been yucky all day. I'm thinking some sort of warm olive oil with mayonnaise treatment smeared over them and slapping on some gloves overnight, but I'd like to hear other remedies people have. (I should mention I have a fungus nail that's been there for several years and is currently confined to one finger after it tried taking over my whole hand several years ago...yeah, spare the details, it was gross).

My lips are dry and cracked as well, with the side of my mouth split. (>_< Can't eat salt, owies). I'd like to hear what people are doing to help them with their dry lips? I know, chapstick, but that's not too moisturizing in my experience. I need something with a bit more oomph.

Thanks in advance!

You know something? You might have had the fungus spread to your lips ... I just had a go around with thrush attacking my lips [thanks medicine ...] but delicately using a very potent antifungal cream on them [my doc hooked me up with the cutest little sample tube of the fairly expensive stuff] twice a day for a week cleared it up.

Of course I am not a doctor, your mileage may vary and it may just be really chapped lips .... but you can get fungus and yeast infections in random noncootchy areas and I love shea butter lip rescue

[It shouldn't]

I use "Zim's crack creme" on my hands. It's actually more like a oil.

My hands used to get so dry, the skin would crack open.

Now twice a week, before I go to bed, I slather them in Zim's and put a pair of gloves on them before I go to sleep.

[Green_Fairy]

i had lips all cracked and painful after a really nasty reaction to some lip stain from sephora. well, had them before that, but got really bad...anywho!!

neosporin lip health is uh-mazing. they have a day and night version that i totally swear by. the day version has spf 20, so it helps with that, too. it's a bit pricey...but it's totally worth it. healed in a couple days

as for hands, when my hands get gross, i put vaseline on my hands, then cotton gloves. all smooth by morning.

[trailerparkmedic]

When my lips get really, really dry, I use some of the thick greasy lotion I use on my hands on my lips. It's Burt's Bees hand salve, and it's not hand lotion but really thick stuff that comes in a tin. Not the tastiest lip stuff, but gets the job done.

[BookstoreEscapee]

My hands get dry in the winter and my cuticles start to crack. I like Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream. It's petroleum-jelly based, so it's really thick (a little goes a long way, too, so a small tube lasts forever). Aquaphor is good too (the dermatologist gave me some samples of Aquaphor for a dry spot on my ear, which doesn't heal because I have developed a habit of playing with it). Both can also be used on your lips if you like. I use Neutrogena lip moistrizer, normally (which I love because it's not as waxy as Chap Stick, and does not have a strong scent); I don't get chapped lips like I did as a kid, but every once in a while I need something a little heavier.

I also keep a bottle of Dove Deep Moisture hand wash on my desk at work, because the soap in the bathrooms kills me.

I also use Aveeno hand cream and last year I discovered Vaseline Intensive Rescue (they have one for hands and one for feet).

[AnqeiicDemise]

I use Egyptian Magic, this oil and bee wax based 'lotion' that I got from Whole Foods. Cost me like $40 for a 5 oz jar but this stuff is so good, it was worth it. I bought this back in August and I haven't even dipped into the first tenth of the jar. All I do is rub my fingertips agains the 'lotion', sort of like you would on a lip balm jar and spread it on against my skin. (I found this easier than the instructions to dab some out and then melt by rubbing your hands together to get the oil. It also keeps me from putting too much on.)

This stuff has ..

a) gotten rid of my dark circles.
b) reduced red marks from pimples and minimized the scars.
c) tamed my alligator elbows
d) got rid of my perma chapped lips I get during the winter.
e) the flaking around my nose and brows is gone.

I doubt I'd be using this stuff as much if it were summer time as it can be a little thick but despite its oil base it feels much lighter than say... if i rubbed carmex all over my face.

[Kogarashi]

For my lips, I use ChapStick Medicated like it's going out of style.

For extra strength, though, you might try Lansinoh lanolin, the stuff they sell for nursing mothers. It really helps with redness and cracking, and can safely be used on your lips. I've seen it recommended for chapstick replacement for toddlers who are likely to lick away at anything and everything that ends up on their lips. For nursing you just smear it on and leave it there, even when the baby gets their next feeding, so it's safe. I've used it on my knuckles a few times and it helps protect them when they're at their worst.

You may also want to try an antifungal cream on your hands and/or lips (small doses there) for a bit to see if it helps at all, just in case the fungus has spread again. We've had to do that on Daughter's diaper area since she's so sensitive and rash-prone down there, and has had a few rashes that were fungus-related.

[blas]

A bath with oatmeal

So messy and bad on the drain, but oh so soft skin...