my hands do this every winter

[u/Fratzenfresse]

It doesn’t hurt but it’s annoying as hell

YES I MOISTURIZE

[u/Dazzling-Exercise761]

As a pharmacist I recommend not listening to “life hacks” from random redditors. A lot of these recommendations can be dangerous. Over soaking your skin in moisturizer can lead to irritation and worsening dryness over time. Overdosing on Vitamin D is a problem if your Vitamin D levels are fine and you don’t know what dose to start with. Urea cream can cause damage and discomfort at higher concentrations especially if your skin cracks… etc, etc. you get the idea. Just because someone else had success with something doesn’t mean it will work for you.

The best advice I can give is if you can, go see a dermatologist or doctor. If you can’t, try to stick with relatively neutral OTC options like moisturizing creams. Just know that not all moisturizers are made equal. Try brands like CeraVe or Aveeno in the mean time and apply it a few times a day if necessary. Also taking a daily multivitamin can help. The Vitamin D levels in those are relatively low and the odds of overdosing are also low. They also contain Vitamin E and A which are great for your skin.

But a dermatologist is the best option. They can figure out what’s causing it and recommend a treatment based on that.

[u/BlackPlague1235 → u/Dazzling-Exercise761]

This is great as long as you're not in America. Over here, we get charged too much for even something like this.

[u/kinkycarbon → u/BlackPlague1235]

Usually dermatologist is a specialist. Most people go through primary care before they get there.

[u/Southern_Feature_821 → u/kinkycarbon]

I don't. I go straight to the specialist. The copay is higher but then you're going to someone who is doing less guessing (like a GP would). Many insurance doesn't require any referral (unless it's an HMO).

[u/sincerely0urs → u/Southern_Feature_821]

Same. I go directly to whatever specialist I need.