Solution to dry skin is at your fingertips

Q. Every year during the winter months, I have a problem with my thumbs cracking at the edge of my thumbnails. It takes weeks for them to heal, and the cracks are very painful. They do not respond to any crack creams or lotions. They clear up on their own, only to reappear a few weeks later. They look exactly like a cut, but they hurt a lot more. What can you suggest? Winter is almost here!

A. Many people find that liquid bandage can help protect these fingertip splits so they can heal more quickly. Here’s another reader’s report on this problem: “It can be extremely painful just doing everyday things: washing dishes, picking up small objects, buttoning clothes or writing. The only thing that gives me any relief has been instant glue. My doctor said I could use it as long as it wasn’t a big, gaping wound. The glue gets hard enough to protect the cuts, keeps out water, dirt, bacteria and stays on just long enough to let my cut heal from the inside out, and then it peels off.”

We are sending you our Guide to Skin Care and Treatment for many more suggestions on healing cracked fingertips and dry skin. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (65 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. S-28, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.>