[Jerry]

I'm wondering what everyone else does to maintain relatively healthy hands.  I don't really regularly use skin care products aside from the typical washing solutions (hand soap, shower soap etc.,).  I ran into this problem last year as well, but it's starting to become an increasingly difficult to deal with situation.

When I get to various parts of a standard synthetic route I use, I have to wear nitrile gloves for pretty long periods of time.  My skin is taking a beating.  I'm not sure if I have some weird sensitivity, or if it's just purely dry/irritated skin, but I have to figure out something to help reduce this problem. 

If you have any suggestions on a lotion or anything really that would help that also isn't going to have anything that I need to worry about as far as degrading glove quality or anything, I'd appreciate any input.  My hands are getting unbearably painful, and I've tried using various lotions nightly, but it's really helping as far as I can tell.

Thanks again for any help.

[fledarmus]

I've always used the flock-lined dishwasher-type nitrile gloves. I know they look stupid in the lab with everybody wearing the little thin ones, but I'm a lot more comfortable with them.

I know a lot of people that wear thin cotton glove-liners under the lab gloves if they have sensitive skin, or if they are worried about getting sensitized to latex. We also have a barrier-type skin cream that gets stocked in the labs that a lot of people swear by. I don't like it because it makes my hands feel hot and greasy, but your mileage may vary.

[Halogenator]

I developed a bit of nail fungus from wearing them all the time, rather the opposite of dry skin.  Could you have gotten some sort of skin fungus?

[Dan]

I get the occasional bout of dry knuckeles. It started after about 2 years in the lab and now comes up about every 6-9 months. When it does I use moisturising cream, successful products for me are "Vaseline Intensive Rescue Moisture Locking Body Butter" and "Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Concentrated Hand Cream" - I always keep one in the office. If I use either of those for a few days the problem goes away. If I used them more regularly it would probably not come back.

A colleague of mine does not get on with purple nitrile at all, he gets really nasty cracking and peeling on his hands using them for a couple of days. Since switching to white latex gloves has had no problems at all - maybe an option to consider.

[Honclbrif]

Come on, where are your "chemist's hands"? I bet chloroform just dries them right up and you have to use insulated gloves to take flasks out of the drying oven.

 

/Goes off and smokes next to an ether still while using strychnine to resolve a racemic acid.

[edwards.kevin41]

You might want to try a barrier cream. You should be able to pick up a tube at any store that sells medical supplies.

[Yakimikku]

Well I think a lot of people gave you good ideas already, but I'll recap my recent experiences in case it is helpful!

I've always had issues in dry weather, my hands dry up and if I don't use a lot of lotion they will crack and bleed. Also, I can get minor sweat rash that's never been a problem. When I wear gloves in the lab (used to always use purple nitrile) for long periods at a time in dry weather, I seem to sweat a lot. If I ignore it, I start to get little bumpy rashes on my wrists where the gloves cover. I was able to heal with the use of lotion multiple times a day (some generic brand, cocoa butter fragrance because it smells so good!). I also switched to using AloeTouch nitrile gloves (I like the light green instead of purple too, I think it's easier to see dirtiness). Since then, I got into the habit of using lotion once a day before going into work. I haven't had a problem thereafter. I might try going back to purple nitrile because the AloeTouch gloves I get are examination gloves and are thus much thinner. Alternatively I might just double glove at times when I feel I need extra protection.

[MichaelJ8]

hows neoprene for you? could you wear the nitrile over thin neoprene gloves?

[Jerry]

So for a quick update...I've had, what turned into a ridiculous wild goose chase, health issues. It turns out that with a very messed up endocrine system, the problem of dry skin is very much exacerbated by wearing gloves all the time. I no longer have nearly the same degree of an issue with wearing gloves as I had before now that I'm receiving treatments for the wacked out endocrine system.  I took some of the advice given here and tried it out, but then had to take some time off because of the health problems, and once I came back, I noticed I didn't have really much of a problem at all.