UKH

Hi all, hoping for a few ideas or solutions.

The skin on the thumb side of  the joints of both my index fingers is splitting regularly. It's a bit like if you squeeze a sausage and the skin splits from the inside out. The splits are pretty sore, although rarely in contact with the rock / plastic. They heal but then reappear again pretty quickly. 

I'm keeping them moisturised but to no avail! Any 'tips'?

Thanks,

BB

Available from all good agricultural merchants. I kid you not! Great stuff.https://www.davidsons.direct/product/udder-cream/

Ha! I was going to recommend nipple cream and jelonet dressings 

Udder cream - not just for udders.  What a tag line!

Crumbs. Ok well, I hope it doesn't smell too agricultural. Thanks!

BB

Thanks, I'll give these a go!

Does your chalk contain a drying agent?

You know, I don't know but will check. 

Makes sense that could be a problem! 

Thanks

"Also great for humans too, chapped hands, as a face cream, and any other dry skin conditions."

Face cream 🤣

For me, it helps to sand-paper down any spit. Try and convert a split into just being a raw patch that can then heal evenly and so not split again. 

What you want to stop is the situation where the split induces growth of hard thick skin but as fast as the skin grows, the split propagates down and the skin stiffness exacerbates that whole sorry situation. Sanding prevents that split propagation

I got a pack of orbital sander paper about 20years ago and that has worked well ever since. A disposable nail file also works well. 

Stop full crimping!

Its your thumb pulling the skin down that causes the split. 

Hard and thick -> splits, soft and supple -> bends. So try and make sure you haven't got hard skin on your fingertips.

I suffer from splits, usually on my thumbs - I think age related as much as anything in that dry (and hence hard) skin becomes more likely as you get older. But I think the problem is not so much dealing with the split, rather it's making sure I do the right things once the split has gone to stop it happening again - it's far too easy to forget when it's not currently a problem. So keep on moisturising, and keep on filing off anything dry and hard.

Just need to follow my own advice now 😁

Oh man. You've got me all figured out. Guilty as charged!

Thread, thank you - these suggestions are really useful. 

Apart from winter walking and climbing, I used to work out on the hill stock-fencing, and the mixture of constant cold, wet,  and acidic soil cracked my skin on my hands terribly.

All of the advice above is good, particularly the 'be bothered and do something about it before it gets a lot worse) sentiments.
One other really good recommendation that works for me is Snowfire (google it). It used to be pretty much pure parafin wax, but has now been changed to be more environmentally friendly, but applied regularly and timely, it's brillian stuff, (even the new, watered down version).

As featured on QI...

Lanolin and paraffin wax.

There's also this recent thread:

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/starting_out/specific_skin_care_issue_spl...

If this is splits on the side of your thumbs or fingers near where the nail changes from curve to straight then. They can get quite deep and resplit easily. 

1) I used to get it when using chalk with drying agent aka super chalk - don't use any more

2) Tends to happen when doing lots of crimping 

Solution

- only one that worked for me was to use super glue to seal the crack and allow healing from the base of the crack, then sand down once I was confident it was healed. Always worked for me! 

Another vote for super glue.  It's a miracle cure for painful splits on my fingers that I get in winter.  Obviously it's a temporary solution whilst you remember to catch up on your chosen moisturizing regime that you've forgotten to do for a few months.

After a winter of outdoor work, farmers around here always say their cracked hands improve during lambing and shearing time due to the lanolin in the wool.

And so did mine when I was helping with shearing. Couldn't be much use at lambing, I don't like gore and mess!