Raw Obsession: Need Suggestions

[PrimeTimer]

Help! I am obsessed about hand washing before touching anything in our "treatment area" at home (we do home hemo). I swear, I probably wash my hands dozens of times in a 3.50 hour session before using hand sanitizer and gloving up and...my hands are RAW! And they HURT! I've been trying different things (Nivea cream, Corn Huskers Hand Lotion and Vaseline) at bedtime but does anyone else know of something that helps to heal raw hands that is cheap or can be found at Walmart??

[amanda100wilson]

Maybe you do have an obsession if you are washing your hands as often as you say you do.  Do you think that it is the soap, have you tried switching?  your skin is breaking down, then you are doing more harm than good, washing your hands should not be that extreme.  Do you think that you could be susceptible to obsessive compulsive disorder?  Are you like this at other times?  If you think that this may be the case, then you may need to get some therapy to overcome this.

[willowtreewren]

I agree with Amanda.

When we were doing home hemo (2.5 years), as a care partner I washed my hands before setup and before pulling the needles.

I also was on IV antibiotics for almost a year. There I could only wash my hands before connecting. I was tethered when it was time to disconnect, so I couldn't wash my hands again.

In neither case did we EVER have an infection.

 

Aleta

[PrimeTimer]

Thanks, amanda and willow. I wash my hands any time I am going to touch anything in the "treatment area" and of course, if I am going to do anything requiring me to glove up, such as setup, connections and removing needles. This also includes; touching the cycler to adjust numbers or mute alarms, checking blood circuit tubing and/or blood connections for air, leaks, clots, etc or anything on the little treatment table I use where I write down vitals on the treatment logsheet every 30 minutes and where I store small supplies. I probably do have a compulsion but I am also paranoid of causing my husband any infections. Anyways, my hands are dry, rough and hurt! I always wash thruout the day, depending on what I'm doing, where I've been and what I've touched but my hands weren't so rough like this before we began doing home hemo. Need some relief! 

[Jean]

Vaseline under soft cotton gloves?

[okarol]

It sounds like overkill on the hand washing. Were you trained to do this much??

[PrimeTimer]

It sounds like overkill on the hand washing. Were you trained to do this much??

No, I wasn't trained to do all this handwashing for dialysis but I was when I went through an intense dental assisting school in my younger days. No joke, we were taught and then graded on handwashing and if the instructor ever saw that we touched anything, ANYTHING, then we had to get up and go back to the sink and wash again. We also learned about germs and bacteria. We actually had to clean/disinfect areas in the school clinic and then as a lesson/project, take sample swabs of the same areas and grow cultures in petri dishes. You'd be shocked at the amount of bacteria left on surfaces even after being swabbed down with alcohol wipes. We used different cleaners and disinfectants, etc and the best one that killed more bacteria than any other was -Mr. Clean. Yup, that's right, the household cleaner. Of course we couldn't use that to wipe down treatment trays or things that touched patients or went into their mouths but it was a real eye opener to discover that plain old alcohol wipes don't do much. Anyways, I guess ever since that is why I have been so diligent about handwashing. And perhaps I still fear my old dental asst instructor.. 

[PrimeTimer]

Vaseline under soft cotton gloves?

Thanks. I may go back to doing that, except that I used old cotton socks because I didn't have gloves. Vaseline is messy so I stopped using it but I don't know that there is anything that works better. Maybe I need to cut back on the handwashing just a bit and just use hand sanitizer

[okarol]

Hand sanitizer can also be pretty rough on the skin, and as I recall, studies show it's not nearly as effective as soap and water.
Have you tried Bag Balm? "It's a time-tested solution for soothing and softening chapped and chafed skin, as well as promoting healing of cuts and scrapes." http://www.bagbalm.com/
I use it when my feet get rough. It was originally for cows udders, to keep them from chaffing!

[PrimeTimer]

Hand sanitizer can also be pretty rough on the skin, and as I recall, studies show it's not nearly as effective as soap and water.
Have you tried Bag Balm? "It's a time-tested solution for soothing and softening chapped and chafed skin, as well as promoting healing of cuts and scrapes." http://www.bagbalm.com/
I use it when my feet get rough. It was originally for cows udders, to keep them from chaffing!

Thanks! I will look for that! That sounds familiar, the part about the cow udders. Might be less messier than vaseline. Thanks!

[cassandra]

Maybe also use more gloves? I thoroughly wash my hands once, glove up, set up, and change gloves about 2/3 times while doing connections, and the like, so I have clean hands to do the needling. I used to wash my hands obsessively too, but bacteria will infect your hands through the dryness of the skin, so sort of defears the .....

[Jean]

Bag Balm is really great stuff.

[obsidianom]

Ok I will add my input as I have had to deal with this for years in the OR and at home dialysis.
What I found works the best is CVS brand "Advanced Healing Ointment"  which is similar to Aquaphor healing ointment.  The key is to put in on thick at bedtime and wear a pair of nitrile gloves (like the kind we use for dialysis) all night. When you wake up take off the gloves and you will see the softess hands ever. Do it every night until they heal or just forever if you prefer. It saved my poor hands. It heals cracking and wounds.
The ointment is 41% petrolatum so it is messy but the gloves keep it on just your hands at night. I would avoid the hand sanitizer as the alcoholis very drying to the skin., Just use the antibacterial soap to wash. I wash 20 times per day and this all works in the office and at home .

[PrimeTimer]

Want to thank everyone for their advice and suggestions. That's why I like this site, people actually participate and talk to each other, so big thanks!
Okay, so I started washing a little less. For instance, I don't go to the sink and scrape (wash) my skin off just to record my husbands numbers every 30 minutes anymore. Finally got brave enough to realize that if I am not touching him or making a blood line connection, no need to wash. I have also stopped using the disinfectant gel, even the kind that claims to not have any alcohol in it but burns anyway. I also found a cheap generic dry skin lotion (compared to Vaseline Total Moisture Body Lotion) and that seems to work pretty good for my hands and not nearly as messy as just plain 'ol vaseline. Ahh! Relief at last! But THEN...I noticed the handwashing escalated again tonite and ouch, raw hands again! I connected it to being stressed out about my husband's appt with the vascular surgeon tomorrow. His AV fistula is acting up. AGAIN. Higher pressures on the cycler, pulsating, oozing around the needles. Probably will need another angioplasty. Third one in 6 months. More loss of income. So I've connected my handwashing obsession to times when I feel things are spiraling out of control and when I'm stressed and the only way (I guess in my mind) to contain it, is to do something that I can control, like wash my hands to get back the feeling of everything being all neat and tidy and orderly. Would so rather have a pill to take for this but cannot take on anymore expenses or doctor appts. My new cheap skin lotion will have to do for now! Was so much easier when I was younger just to have a strong drink and relax. Nowadays, if I had a drink I'd probably have just one and then have to go to bed or else it would make me sick. Wow. Never thought I'd get to the age of when I'd be too tired to have a drink. Ah well... 

[cassandra]

Dear PT, how did you get on?

Love, Cas

[PrimeTimer]

Dear PT, how did you get on?

Love, Cas

Doing less handwashing, only when I touch blood line connections, needles, etc. Also stopped using the disinfectant gel. Found a cheap hand lotion that is a generic of a Vaseline brand lotion and my hands are much better off now. Husband had to have another angioplasty on his fistula today but all went well and it's working fine, so less stressed out, less handwringing/handwashing...thanks for asking. Stress sure can have multiple effects on us!