Conference napalm::guitar

    That use to happen to me all the time. What I do is when 1 pops up I
    coat the sucker in Vasiline and bandage it for the night. It's usually
    gone by the next evening. Those things are painful though aren't they.
    
    Brian
    

	There's nothin' wrong with guys using moisturizer if it works.
	I can recommend soemthing called Eucerin, which is odorless.  IF
	your hands get *really* bad, put this stuff on and wear cotton
	gloves overnight.

	Sandy

    A second for Eucerin.  My wife uses it...she has really bad problems
    with cracking and chapping in the winter.
    
    Rick, no sweat, learn to play with your teeth...
    
    						Brian				

    This problem seems to get worse for me every year. Not only
    more severe, but over a longer period of time. It's a pain.

    1.  Wear gloves when you drive (assuming you live in an area where you
    use the heater).  There is no warmer, drier place than the interior of
    your car in winter after you're on the road.  Keep some lotion in the
    glove compartment for long drives.
    
    2.  Use hand lotion the last thing before getting into bed...
        if you're not doing anything else  :7)
    
    3.  For small cuts, use a triple-antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin
    and a Bandaid and cuts will heal sooner with no risk of infection.
    
    4.  Watch out for other hobbies like cleaning guns or painting that use
    harsh chemicals.  Eczema is another problem in winter.
    
    I have found that since I started playing more seriously, that I really
    have to avoid all of life's hazards for hands (jamming fingers, cuts,
    hammers, doors, chapping/dryness, etc., etc).  Now that I have a reason
    to be more careful, I am less clumsy and "macho" about injuring my
    hands/fingers.
    \Gary

    5. Move south to the Sun Belt ;-)

>    3.  For small cuts, use a triple-antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin
>    and a Bandaid and cuts will heal sooner with no risk of infection.
    
    Excellent advice! Amazingly effective. Cuts practically heal
    overnite.

    
    
    
    
    
    Take your vitamins!  I've noticed that when I don't take my pills my
    skin gets flakey with these chilly 45 degree mornings.  God, I hate
    winter, well, except for the skiing part...
    
    

    I have similar problems... But more centered around the COLD.  We
    recorded our demo in our rehearsal studio and it was like 40 degrees.
    Brrrr...  Sure is tough to make your fingers move like that !
    
    Mittens are better than gloves.  Where 'em.  Armpits make nice moists
    quicky_warner_uppers.
    
    Also, I used to use Corn Huskers lotion.  Good stuff - cheap.
    
    :)
    

    What you guys really need is Bag Balm! ;-)

    Personally,I walk around with my hands in my underwear.Not only do you
    keep you hands warm,you get a cheap thrill too!
    
    
    
                                                   Staynz

        I have  the  same  problem  with my hands.  To the point now,
        where it hurts to type, let alone play. . .
        
        I've used Eucerin, Vaseline Intensive Care, Suave, ad nauseam
        and haven't found anything that helped.  I wear cotton gloves
        and smear the hands down with  whatever I have available, and
        it still doesn't seem to help much.
        
        Bacetracin and a bandage work well when the cracks open up to
        the point of bleeding.  Then it's just waiting to  get rid of
        the scales. . .
        
        Amphibian Matt

    
    But Matt, you live in BRRRRmont...  Try a humidifer for the home unit.

    Hey, some great responses here.  Thanks.
    
    Mike, you seem to mention Bag Balm as a joke, but I had this
    recommended to me seriously.  Tried some last night; the cuts
    aren't totally gone, but they seemed to have healed up some and
    aren't hurting at all today.  My dog went wild sniffing my fingers
    though, he must've thought I smelled like a sheep!

    Hi,
    
    I just saw this topic.  My $0.02 is to keep them warm and flexible.  I
    have thick gloves, they call them "Hot Fingers" and I use Power Putty
    in the office, when I'm not typing.  I don't have the cracking problem
    Rick has but I do have a severe stiffness problem, the joints will
    sometimes lock and the only I have found to do the above.  Or else as I
    said to my wife, how about a condo in Florida... :-)
    
    Joe who's house of 2 weeks keeps getting buried under snow

    
    stay away from the wood pile. now that my kids have out grown the
    early facination with bandaids, every winter i become the champ
    consumer in my house. of course, i blame it on the string bass...

    humidifiers are another good one that someone mentioned
    
    it's all you can do to keep water in them in the winter so they must be
    doing something... if you have static sparks in your casa, it's too dry
    \Gary

>    Mike, you seem to mention Bag Balm as a joke, but I had this
>    recommended to me seriously.  Tried some last night; the cuts
>    aren't totally gone, but they seemed to have healed up some and
>    aren't hurting at all today.  My dog went wild sniffing my fingers
>    though, he must've thought I smelled like a sheep!

I did, but only because of the smell ;-)

Bag Balm is probably one of the best ointments you can use, plus it is an 
Antiseptic.  If you saw the can, you obviously know what its mainly used for.

It's also great for nursing mothers (who experience some of the same
problems).  Just make sure your wife stays on her side of the bed ;-)

Mike

	I've been pretty happy with Lubriderm - it smells ok and works
	wonders.

	/ravi

    I don't know if this "cure" will cause more problems, but if you
    already have cracked fingers, why not try a little "liquid skin"?  I
    think that stuff would probably keep them from cracking further.   I
    did this when I cut one of my fingers (kinda badly) so that I could
    continue to play.  Worked like a charm.  However, it may tend to dry
    the skin out even more since (I think) it has a good deal of alcohol in
    it.

    You might use this stuff to get through the gig, then use the
    gloves/lotion to actually help cure the cracking.

    steve