Cracked fingers & fingertips - how to prevent and treat them

It's winter, the time of year when my husband gets the worst cracked fingers. You know, those painful little slits that look like tiny paper cuts but feel like major surgery. Some of them go quite deep. He used to suffer them constantly until I found a couple of good treatments for them. Treatments but not cures. Also be aware that this info is for cracks caused by dry skin or cold weather and NOT from a disease or other health condition that may require medical intervention.

Prevention is key but sometimes that's fairly hard to accomplish. Especially for a burly construction working man who isn't keen on keeping his hands slathered with scented creams and wearing soft white gloves to bed each night. I think he'd rather suffer the pain of the cracks than those minor indignities.

Steps to take to prevent the painful cracks. (If you've already got one, scroll on down to the treatment section then come back and read this prevention section.)

• First, be sure to keep your hands moisturized. But I must tell you that even though I keep lotion on my hands all the time, I still get an occasional finger crack in winter.
• Slather up and don cotton gloves at night to keep the moisture in while you sleep.
• Don't let the air in your home dry out too much.
• Drink plenty of liquids. In winter we tend to not drink as much as we do in summer. Our skin dries out a lot more in winter and consuming liquids will help keep us and our skin hydrated.
• Do a weekly paraffin wax treatment for extra moisturizing. You can have this done at a spa or you can save your cash and do it at home yourself. Here's a video of how to do this at home with a special unit. You can do it with a pan or crock pot but must be VERY careful not to get it too hot lest you burn yourself.
  

Okay. I've given you some tips on how to help prevent painful finger cracks. Now here's what to do if you already have them. One word to remember. Okay two. Super Glue. Yep. That's right. Super Glue. Also known as Krazy Glue and a host of other brand names. You've heard the warnings to be careful with Super Glue because it bonds skin instantly. It even says so on the package. Use this to your advantage with finger cracks, paper cuts, or other similar but minor skin wounds.

You'll be amazed at how much this single little product can help relieve the pain and speed healing. One of my doctors told me about this secret years ago and we've been using it on splits and cuts ever since. He told me that this is the same type of glue that is used for surgical applications.

Just a drop on the split will bring much welcomed relief. It might sting a little bit when you first put that drop on, but after that the results are amazing. My husband now carries a bottle with him when he works and has shared this little secret with others he works with. It's simple, cheap, and more effective than anything else we have found. It will keep dirt out of the wound and hold it together to help ease pain. You'll have to reapply, especially if you keep your hands well lubricated with cream. But the little effort to reapply is well worth it.

Here's an additional tip. I know a man who had a little paper cut on his lip from licking an envelope. Don't laugh. It happens more often that you think. Anyway, this cut on his lip was so painful that he couldn't eat. Every time he opened his mouth to take a bite, the cut split open, bled and left him in agony. When he called us to cancel the dinner plans we made together and told me why, I instructed him to put Super Glue on the cut to which he scoffed but I was insistent. He called later to thank me and to say that he kept the glue on the cut and was able to continue eating while it healed.

Try it and see the results for yourself. You'll never be without it again if you suffer with cracked fingers.