My GP and my Hands (19th February 2007)
In the past my doctor has prescribed steroid creams and suchlike to try and help the skin on my hands. Since none of these has worked, she now reckons it’s just the type of skin I have, rather than due to something I’ve caught.
The condition is often aggravated by stress. This rings true to me since it flared up in the midst of a demanding website layout I was working on commercially last year.
Apparently it’s all to do with how the skin oils itself. When stressed, it retains this oil and the skin gets dried out (aka gets skanky). Her advice is to avoid soaps and to wear gloves when washing my hair. She recommends using a special shower gel when washing and applying a hand moisteriser occassionally throughout the day.
The moisturiser is like a small vat of gloopy goo...quite nice if you like that sort of thing. It seems to be having a positive effect so hopefully it’ll do the job. I haven’t tried the new shower gel yet. And I need to get some gloves somewhen.