any alternatives to hand lotion for dry skin ?

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This is probably a completely ridiculous suggestion, but why not simply use water?

it only moisturises the skin very temporarily, in fact once the water dries skin tends to be drier than before.

Try to find some St. Ives Oatmeal and Shea Butter body wash. I get it at Target and Wal-MArt here in CA. I have 2 adopted black children who have very dry skin and one has exzema too. It's a much better alternative to any soap I've found. I use it myself now and don't usually need moisturizer any more. It's wonderful.

there are a number of body washes out there - we like the one made by the dove brand - that will clean you during a shower and leave enough of a residue that it helps with extremely dry skin. it doesn't really feel like you're wearing a lotion.

my daughter also hates the feel of lotions/oils. when her skin is particularly bad, we use something called "cornhuskers lotion" that does come out of a bottle like an oil (you pour it, not squeeze it). it feels a bit gross initially, but it is absorbed into the skin and does not leave an oily or lotion-ey feeling. it does work wonders on her feet, when they crack and bleed. just don't get it in the cracks while they're open and raw or you get to do that "oh, oww oww oww" dance a bit.

perhaps she'll outgrow the cat-grooming thing. if not, there are some rather unpleasant tasting substances that can be dripped on the skin (they use them to discourage nail biting and thumb sucking) that you might want to consider. (?)

thank you all for the advice.....am going to take her to Body Shop tonight and see if i can get her to try some of the samples~ great idea !.......hate to spend tons & find out she won't use it....hope it goes ok.....will keep you posted

got her body butter....she tried a tiny fingerful, but hasn't used any since. hope that i can get her to use it .

Perhaps you can attack it from another direction.

Diet.

I had itchy dry skin as a kid, still do as an adult in fact.

We had a large garden at home, and mom would make and can
a beef based fresh vegatable soup.

In my case, eating that once or twice a week, seemed to reduce the problem.
my eczema would heal up, and the itchiness would vanish.

Perhaps it is a vitamin or mineral difficiency...
Perhaps there is a food allergy involved.

My best wishes to you and your family.

evilteach~ hadn't thought about allergies.....will have to look into that

Has a dermatologist examined the child? We found out that my daughter does not sweat (no sweat glands, most likely reason!) and also has minimal skin oil production only after years of wondering why her skin was so very dry - and having doctor after doctor recommend this or that cream. Just in case - hate to see what happened to us happen to anyone else.

Last edited by Nan on 13 Nov 2007, 4:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

just went to the pediatrician....he's usually good about picking up on allergies~ daughter's skin isn't that dry.

I too have resolved to suck it up and used the oily kind. I remeber complaining to my mom that the lotion "stung" my hands ( eczema sucks). Really didnt sting, just really didnt like the feeling.

Nowadays i use the lotion then coat my hands in parafiin wax. Really cool feeling, warm, and you also get a ball of wax to play with afterwards.

I almost don't sweat at all except for my face. My skin gets very dry especially around this time of year and into winter. When I worked at the library (dry air and handle moisture absorbing books), my fingers would crack and peel apart. It got really painful and they would even bleed on bad days.

First make sure that she is drinking plenty of water. I have found that by making sure I drink plenty of fluids each day that helps my whole body stay moisturized. I have to consciously drink water even when I don't think I am thirsty because by the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated.

Second I found that the Aveeno brand lotion that is made from oatmeal works great. I hate using hand lotion due to either a greasy or always on feeling. The Aveeno goes on nice feeling and not greasy at all. Moisturizes very well without constantly feeling like you are wearing it.

Also if she can stand it, wear some light mittens to bed and whenever she goes outside. The mittens will help trap the moisture in around the hand and especially when outdoors where the dry air sucks water right out of them.