Tuesday, February 05, 2008

the girl who couldn't stop washing her hands

This entry is more for my own self-interest than anything else, but--can anyone suggest a good hand cream? Like a really good, industrial strength hand cream. But light! Non-greasy. Preferably smelling good or at least odorless. I am aware that there is probably no lotion that fulfills all my criteria, which can be summed up thusly: I want a lotion that posseses none of the characteristics of lotion. Perhaps something gaseous?

Between the dry winter air and the fact that I wash my hands so many times a day, the skin on my hands has taken on a chalky, arid consistency reminiscent of those cracked mud flats that you see on the National Geographic channel. I was my hands for sanitary reasons, not craziness reasons (though I guess you could point out that a crazy person would also argue that sanitary reasons dictate 500 hand washes a day) but the effect is the same. My skin is damn near peeling off.

The hospital provides these little hotel-sized body lotions for patients that's actually reasonable (not too stinky, reasonably quick-drying once rubbed in), but I guess one of the real problems is that I wear gloves quite often too, and I can't stand the sensation of having lotion on under gloves. It's just slimy and gross and makes me think of all the little bacterial colonies that are breeding in there. And then I just have to take off my gloves and wipe my fingers down with alcohol wipes.

Maybe I should rethink this "not crazy" assertion.

2 comments:

  1. Sudriveraine2:40 PM

    Hi there, sorry for answering such an old post, but I am in the process of reading through your archived posts (which I find super interesting and witty, by the way)and I think I know just the lotion you're looking for. It's been suggested to my by my own doctor and it's called Prevex. It's clear, odourless, and great for super dry skin. Maybe you already know about it, but if not, it's definitely worth a try.

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