How can I heal dry cracked fingers? What causes dry cracked fingertips? Learn what causes cracked fingertips and how to heal dry cracked fingertips with vitamins that are deficient in the body and other topical treatments.
Cracked fingertips are as painful as dry cracked heels. I know this because I used to get them from cleaning with bleach. It took me a long time to realize where I was going wrong for me to stop using it often. While the use of harsh chemicals is one cause of cracked fingertips, they are many causes, as I will outline in this article. If you have been getting cracked fingertips for a long time, you will need to look at all your activities and see where you could be going wrong.
Cracked fingertips are not only painful, but also unsightly. You can imagine having a split on any of your fingers, where the nail bed meets the rest of the skin of your finger. It is the most excruciating pain I ever felt, I could not type on my computer, prepare meals or even bath my body because the water temperature would make it worse. What causes dry cracked fingers? How can cracked fingertips be healed? Find out shortly.
What Causes Cracked Fingertips-General Causes
For most people who have had split fingertips, they wonder what causes them and even imagine it is a condition specific to them only. However, cracked fingertips occur in many people due to various reasons. What causes cracked fingertips?
- Low humidity in homes due overheating
- Going outside in winter weather without gloves to offer warmth
- Not moisturizing fingertips properly
- Dehydration
- Using harsh chemicals in cleaning such as bleach, soaps, and detergents
- Psoriasis
- Eczema
- Fungal infection
- Muscle inflammation -polymyositis
Cracked Skin on Fingertips – Element to Avoid
Some people complain to have experienced cracked fingertips for several years. If you are one of those people, it is important to identify what could be causing cracked skin on fingertips. A common element found in soaps, washing detergents, petroleum products and bleaches among others is sodium lauryl sulphate.
Find out if the products you use in washing or that meet your fingers contain sodium lauryl sulphate. Once you find it in most of your cleaning and grooming products, avoid it completely as it could be making your cracked skin on fingertips worse.
Cracked Fingertips Vitamin Deficiency- Vitamins to Include in your Diet
Cracked fingertips are also caused by vitamins deficiency. If you suffer from this skin condition often, you may have to include the following vitamins in your diet. Cracked fingertips vitamin deficiency includes that of:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B1, B5,and B7
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
Some minerals such as zinc, sodium, potassium and calcium could also be inadequate in your diet.
Cracked Fingertips Winter-Why they occur in Winter
Cracked fingertips are a common phenomenon in winter because of the cold weather, which is dry. Inside the houses, cracked fingertips winter is exposed to air with low humidity. Therefore, the lack of moisture in the air makes the cracked fingertips to occur. Some people have dealt with cracked fingers by humidifying their homes during winter. You too can do the same by installing a humidifier for use in winter.
Furthermore, avoid going outside without gloves on. Prior to wearing gloves, ensure that your hands and fingers are heavily moisturized. This will provide them with moisture and the much-needed warmth in the cold climate.
Dry Cracked Fingers Prevention Tips
You can heal cracked fingers with home remedies for cracked hands. However, prevention is better than the cure in the first place using these prevention tips. You can do this by first avoiding too much contact with water. As much as the water does remove dirt from your hands, do it only when necessary and follow the washing of hands with a moisturizer, which should also be spread on your fingertips.
Do not use liquid soaps on your hands or sanitizers as they contain alcohol. You can check for the alcohol content to ensure that you are getting the least in your sanitizer. Even with alcohol, a sanitizer might be your best option instead of using water on your dry cracked fingers. Too much water would make them worse while sanitizing can ease the cracks. All harsh soaps and detergents should be avoided as well.
When cleaning and doing any damp or dirty jobs using your hands, ensure that you wear appropriate gloves. For doing dishes you need to vinyl gloves or else invest in a dishwasher. Gardening requires cloth made gloves. Your hands should also be kept moisturized even under the gloves.
Always apply moisturizers that will give you fingers barrier protection and moisturize them effectively. If you cannot afford drugstore hand creams and lotions, you can always make use of Vaseline, which is available in most homes. Make a habit of moisturizing each time your fingers are exposed to water. Furthermore, do it 5-6 times in a day just to make sure your fingers are covered throughout the 12 hours in a day.
Make the habit of sleeping in cotton gloves to moisturize deeply your fingertips. You have to apply your moisturizer generously before wearing the gloves overnight. For best and quick results do it every night.
You can also prevent dry cracked fingers by eating plenty of fruits and green leafy vegetables. Ensure that you eat fruits and vegetables of different colors to ensure that you have all the required vitamins for healthy skin. Furthermore, drinking water should be necessary each day. You should meet the daily requirement of 8-10 glasses.
How to Heal Cracked Fingertips – Natural Oil Treatment
Healing cracked fingertips at home is the easiest and the least expensive. There are various natural oil treatments at home, which revolve around heavy moisturizers. This is how to heal cracked fingertips with natural oils, use:
- Myrrh
- Cajuput
- Lavender
- Sandalwood
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Flaxseed oil (taking flaxseed oil capsules also recommended)
- Tea tree oil
- Almond oil
- Vetiver
- Calendula
- Patchouli
- jojoba
Thanks for the great information. Twice I have had my fingernails and fingertips split; lasting for 18 months at a time and often involving 9 fingers at a time. Both occasions were a direct result of Coumadin. I wish I had known what to do those years ago, but glad I have this info if it every happens again, for whatever reason and even share with someone else if the run into this problem.
My Fingers looked EXACTLY like that~!! The best treatment I have found is not topical. topical treatments did nothing for me. I had to attack it systemically with a mineral hydration formula with magnesium potassium sodium zinc and chloride plus a vitamin supplement. That did the trick.