Jam

this is always bugging me.... argghhhh

ive been washing dishes for the past 3 months... leaving the job in 2 weeks.. but for a little while now my hands itch like crazy i want to chop them off i stuck them under hot water last night cause it felt cold and hot and not itchy.... tooo much water or something... gah i cant stand it.. ive tried putting on the medicated gold bond itch stuff but it doesnt help... im going to go insane here

apeman

use gloves would be my amazing hindsight ... that's about it i'm afraid

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maleficent

Most drug stores sell white cotton gloves - coat your hands with vaseline and then put on the white cotton gloves when you go to bed - it should help you out a bit. (or put the vaseline on and put clean white cotton socks on your hands.

Lubriderm is another pretty potent hand lotion -- put lots of it on - and cover your hands -- prefereably wiht cotton.

Or if you can get to a doctor/dermotoligist there might be a prescription strenght cream that you can use --

Wear gloves when exposed to all that water, and detergent.

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saltfish

From my past experience, dishwashing/presoak chemicals have a LOT of nasty things in them. These alkali/acidic chemicals are not friendly on the hands. From this point on, you need to wear gloves, you really don't want to damage your hands any more than you have done so far.

Look for elbow-length gloves for now, and make sure that you put a thin coat of lotion on your hands before you put the gloves on.

Best of luck with that...

-SF

Jam

i wear latex gloves when i do the dishes there... but they eventually get ruined and soaked inside


oh god i hope i havent become allergic to latex :O

gonadman

Sounds like dyshydrosis- excessive drying and cracking from the constant exposure to dishwater.

I think maleficent's comments are excellant

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Kazic

Yeah it might be a bit late but the longer the glove the better for you. and use some Vasiline water proof lotion in em' to keep you a bit more protected.

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CityOfAngels

I'm not specialist, but it might also be exzema. I had it for quite awhile; on the hands, on my neck, and it even reached my face for a week. It took a long time, and I've experience discoloration in my hands, but keeping it away from heat and using hydrocortizone cream (prescribed by my doctor, of course), got rid of it. Seek your doctor's advice and make sure you mention what people have said here.

lady

If it's really bothering you, go see a doctor.

How long do you keep the gloves on? If your hands get wet inside (from water or lotion), it puts them at risk for maceration - potential for skin breakdown from being exposed to moisture for too long. That said though, you're young and in good health so the chances of that happening aren't as high.

I'd try to avoid exposure to chemicals and industrial strength soaps as much as possible and moisturize every chance you get. Look for something that's glycerin based, they're goopier but they work better.

It's rough on your hands having them in water so much, my hands are always freaking out from washing them so much when I'm in hospitals.

Another suggestion, go buy yourself a pair of non-latex gloves and try those to see if the problem is latex.

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Cynthetiq

when i have really bad bouts of it... I take benedryl.

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CityOfAngels

Your exzema must be allergy related, then. When I first saw a doctor about mine, he gave me some benedryl and said, "Take this for a few days so we can see if it's allergy related." It wasn't.

Lasereth

Sounds like latex to me. About 2 months ago I developed an allergic reaction to latex gloves at work. My hands start itching and burning and would stay red even after work if I had them on for any amount of time. I'd stop using the latex gloves. My boss ordered special gloves for me and my girlfriend after we found out that we're both allergic to them.

-Lasereth

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