I agree 100% with what Eduarda said about wearing gloves. Prevention is the best solution to the problem. I have also found that if I wash my hands often and use a soft nail brush, cleaning my fingers and hands to remove all dirt (and bacteria) that my fingers don't crack and get sore. Really! The best cream for hands & feet is Crisco shortening. Just a dab is all that you need. The best oil for healthy, glowing skin, especially when you're out in the sun all day, is Pure Virgin Olive Oil. I used olive oil on my babies years ago. No diaper rashes or skin problems of any kind. I also use it to "set" my nail polish. And as a bonus, I get smooth fingers and hands. The odor dissipates quickly. I rather like the smell myself, however. I use Olive oil to clean pet's ears. It doesn't burn and really smothers out ear mites, too. I put a dropper of olive oil on ears of corn to get rid of corn worms with beautiful results. Good stuff, Maynard! Try it! You might like it! :) Now make me use it! I forget half the time and then, boy am I sorry!!! :( ~ sweetannie4u

Thanks everyone ... I keep one of those little 7"x 4 1/2", six ring, loose leaf notebooks for all my camping and fishing references, and made a page with all your recommendations. Went to see the ole Doc for followup on some previous tests I've been going through and sprung this cracked thumb skin business on him. Although he's a general practioner and not a dermatologist, he did prescribe a moisturizing lotion with 12% lactic acid, called AmLactin, and says it's good for dry skin that is about to crack open; says to use it only on my thumbs and finder tips, especially around the nails and especially at bed time. He says for a everyday hand lotion, he personally likes "udder cream" that they use for the milking cows! Guess he's an old farm boy at heart! Anyway, found some of that at my local Wally-Mart and it's called "Udderly Smooth" and it was only $1.50 (4oz tube). Kinda like the stuff! Thanks again, Dale

normally no...but this week has been a killer...my lips are chapped and hurting...and my thumbs both have splits...I usually lather on Lanolin grease I got thru Amazon and sleep in gloves...that clears it up in a couple of days...Hubby ordered four huge bottles of Amlactin for Christmas...he uses it and we sent a bottle to his Mother and gave the other ones to the kids...it doesn't work for me...I got a bottle subscribed a few years ago and hubster ended up using it...Now that its on Amazon he loves it! There is a lanolin grease called Lansinoh you can find at some drugstores and also back in the baby department at Walmart...its sold for nursing mothers...lather some of that on your hands and sleep in gloves...you'll be amazed at the results! I think every one of our bodies are different and you just have to keep searching till you find what works for you!!

Boy, skin must differ a lot from person to person, which I guess makes sense. I have a lot of winter damage to my hands. I start out with dry skin, and then I develop sores from Raynauds that often crack and bleed. I'm amazed that a dermatologist would advise against using skin creams for crack-prone skin. If I didn't use some serious products on my hand I'd probably have gangrene at this point. No exaggeration. For me, nothing heals existing damage like Working Hands. Other products like the Aveeno I mentioned above might prevent cracks from starting, but I don't know that for sure. I never heard of Gloves in a Bottle, but I just looked it up on Amazon and will probably try it. Thanks! This post was edited by alisande on Thu, Dec 18, 14 at 16:55