My dermatologist recommended either Dove or Neutrogena soap bars also.

I know it sounds like I'm my own worst enemy. Hot showers, hot tub not to mention I'm a avid ice fisherman so I'm out in the dry winter weather or sitting in a shelter with dry propane heat quite a lot during the winter months. Fact is I had the same problem even before I did any of these things.

It's always been a seasonal thing when the weather changes. I'm fine once I can get out in the sun with a short sleeve shirt and shorts. No problem until things turn cold and dry. I think I'm just destined to live with this as if it's part of my DNA and all I can do is try to control it.

Water was mentioned and I drink over a gallon a day most days so hydration is more than adequate.

Whole house humidifier is essential. Aprilaire is very good.

I have severe winter itch. It's made worse by taking hotter showers and staying in the shower longer. I have used aloe vera gel for the last 30 years. It is amazing for me. Just the generic, green gel brand will suffice.

I think there have been a lot of good comments. srink more, humidifier, cooler showers, lotions, dove soap, etc.

 
I use Cetaphil for general dry skin areas that bother me.
 
I am also plagued each year by the cracking/splitting of the skin at the corners of the thumbs and index fingers. I have tried every cure that's ever been mentioned, all of the balms, creams, even genuine pharmaceutical lanolin, with and without gloves overnight.
 
There was a lengthy thread on this here on SIGforum a couple (few) years ago, and one product was mentioned that has finally worked for me. That is Gold Bond Ultimate Diabetics hand cream, (not the lotion). It comes in small tubes (2.4 oz), but a little goes a very long way. I'm still using last year's tube. Someone suggested that the magic ingredient was urea, and looking for, and seeing, the absence of urea in just about every other product bears this out. My fingers crack so they are painfully sore to use. It takes about a week of nightly application of the GB cream to bring this under control. I continue to treat the affected areas even after they've partially closed and the pain is gone.

My friend, a dermatologist, recommended Amlacton lotion. It is an OTC mixture of lanolin and ammonia. Doesn't smell bad. The ammonia seems to open the pores so the lanolin can penetrate. We use it in Nevada during the summer as it is very dry there.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
I am also plagued each year by the cracking/splitting of the skin at the corners of the thumbs and index fingers. I have tried every cure that's ever been mentioned, all of the balms, creams, even genuine pharmaceutical lanolin, with and without gloves overnight.

Just my thumbs, but me too. I’ll have to give this a try. Do you put the stuff on to keep them from cracking?

Eucerin lotion as needed and shower in baby oil once a day, after the soap and shampoo routine. Works great.

MDS

I feel for you guys with the skin that cracks open on your hands and fingers. A friend of mine gets that. It's basically open wounds on his fingers and thumbs. He uses O'Keefes but while it doesn't prevent it from happening it does help to heal but a long process.

Quite the laundry list of ideas and suggestions posted here. Thanks all!

I get the same and put lotion on every morning after I shower. You may also need to take fish oil or other supplements to help your skin.

I suffered for years and got no relief from lotions. The dry skin itch went away when we got a water softener. We're on a well and I had no idea what hard water did to the skin.

Curel Itch Defense works well for me.

Try a product called Secura it is made by Smith and Nephew. I got it when i was in the hospital and it is the only stuff that works for me.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
I feel for you guys with the skin that cracks open on your hands and fingers. A friend of mine gets that. It's basically open wounds on his fingers and thumbs.

I get that every winter, now. Not only is it annoying, but that's how my friend picked up an infection in his gym that nearly killed him. Small crack in the skin, right by the nail, on one of his fingers. He got to the ER just in time. He was told that if he'd waited another few hours it would've been too late. I now wear full gloves when I work out in wintertime.

I have one on an index finger I've been fighting for a week.

I use Gold Bond Healing. Goes on my hands every evening at bedtime. If I do that every night I rarely experience the problem. If it does happen I do that, as well as a small dab on the affected area several times a day, and massage it in.

The only other problem I regularly have is my legs below the knee and my ankles. I mainly use CeraVe for that.

I suffer from severe eczema, to the point in 2018, I was hospitalized for treatment. There treatment consisted of slathering myself with Triamcinolone Acetomide 0.25% (sp?) cream in a water washable base, all over, and spraying myself with water, and then putting on a rubber sauna suit for 6 houre. Then I would use Dove soap ( the kind without any fragrances or any added chemicals) to shower, and immediately applying CeraVu lotion .
So, after 2 weeks of that I came home. I keep my bedroom at 60% humidity, and I use the Triamcilinolone cream every day, except on Sundays. After showering every evening, I use CeraVu lotion. And the very very severe excema had got a lot better.

And the dermatologists at the U-M hospital have recently put me on this new medication named Dupixent. I have to inject myself every two weeks. I will be glad when this eczema is cured, it sure is a lot of work to just get comfortable.
The dermatologists tell me that in my case, my eczema is an effect caused by the tons of cancer chemotherapy medications I have taken in the past. Oh well!!!!!

I sometimes apply pure Coconut oil to my skin and scalp instead of CeraVu. It seems to offer some relief too. If you decide to use it, make sure to get pure Coconut oil without any added fragrances or any added chemicals which might irritate your skin.

Had the problem with dry cracking skin on my feet.
My doctor told me that for skin repair, the only lotions that did more than relieve the sytmptoms were those that contained urea. He gave me a huge sample bottle of a prescription one (the store preice was pretty high) and that stuff worked amazingly.
Ihave found a few OTC formulation that contain it, mainly some Eucerin brand stuff, but you have to read labels because only some of their products contain it.

I have had itchy skin issues since I was overseas. It was occurring frequently and at any temperature. My dermatologist recommended Sarna mentholated lotion and switching to Dove body wash. He also recommended CeraVe or Cetaphil cream. It has reduced itchy sensation and reduced the urge to scratch. I hope it can offer you some assistance.

quote:

And the dermatologists at the U-M hospital have recently put me on this new medication named Dupixent. I have to inject myself every two weeks.

I was going to ask my physician about Dupixent. How's it working for you? Does your insurance cover it?

kkina- Dupixent is one expensive drug, so much so that my insurance decided that they would not cover it. So, I got the insurance company to write a letter saying that, and my Dermatologist wrote a strongly worded letter to Sanofi-Regeron, the company that makes Dupixent. Sanofi originally balked, and so my Doctors called them and sort of lit a fire under their you know what, and they they asked me to send them a copy of my income tax return. When I sent that in, in about a weeks time, they put me on their patient assistance program, and every 3 weeks, I get sent 2 doses of Dupixent via UPS.

Now, Dupixent is working for me. Slowly, but it is working. First, the constant itching I had experienced in the past is a distant memory. And, the skin leisons are slowly beginning to disappear. The topical meds in the past would make the leisons dissapprae, but, if I missed applying the topical meds for 2 days, the leisons would reappear. But, after taking the Dupixent for approx 5 months now, the leisons are really beginning to dissappear. New healthy skin is appearing in spots that were covered with skin leisons. email me ( in my profile if you want to discuss this issue of Dupixent further). Best of luck to you. kkina.