D-I-Y liquid gloves?

[Mike Halmarack]

Over the last few years in my current home, there's been a saddening decrease in the production of half finished jobs.

I blame the onset of hand eczema, which flares up after contact with many household and workshop chemicals and stops me in my tracks. I've tried latex and nitrile gloves. The ones thin enough to allow reasonably precise handling usually disintegrate just at the wrong moment. They also become disturbingly moisture filled during quite short periods of use.

I've been Googling around on the subject and have seen several versions of "Liquid Gloves", such as this one on ebay:

until now I've used a lot of Neutrogena concentrated hand cream which is pretty good, though quite expensive when used in generous quantities. It also tends to wash off a little too easily in wet conditions.

Can anyone recommend an effective product from their own experience, or even offer a formula for producing a batch of home made variant? I see that a lot of the more resilient hand creams contain glycerine which is quite easily available.

[NT]

Barrier cream shouldnt cost that much

NT

[Mike Halmarack]

Maybe barrier cream is a different name for the same kind of stuff. I remember using Rozalex a lot when I was a teenager. While this may be good stuff for normal hands, with such reactive hand conditions it may be necessary to use something more impervious to chemical penetration than standard barrier cream.

Then again, standard barrier cream may be adequate. I don't know, which is why I wrote here for advice.

[Bruce]

I suffer from contact dermatitis. I have a particular aversion to cement, which has been difficult considering that most of my career has had at least some connection with concrete, bricks and mortar.

I use Savlon barrier cream. It is cheap and effective. I don't know if it will work for you, but it must be worth giving it a try.

If using latex gloves, sprinkle some unscented talcum powder inside them before you put them on. It absorbs moisture and gives you a longer time before your hands begin to get clammy.

[Dave Osborne]

Diprobase.

it every day to moisturise and extra as a barrier cream. Best stuff on the planet short of steroids, which cure the eczema, but prematurely age and thin your skin.

It comes in 100g tubes or 500g pump-action dispensers. Ask for it at your pharmacist. You can get it on prescription and save a few pennies on the larger sized dispenser.

[Andy Dingley]

Partco's French barrier cream in the yellow tubs PX90?

There's a _big_ difference between barrier cream (pre-use) and hand cream (post-use) Barrier cream also needs dry hands before applying it.

For gloves, nitrile (usually blue or purple) rather than latex, as they're far stronger. Avoid powdered gloves if you're wearing them a lot. For the best gloves, get a medical or dental catalogue (dentists seem better for small one-off orders). They offer several ranges, including some extra strong and extra-thick. Prices per glove are good too, although you may find yourself having to buy a big box.

[Mike Halmarack]

After years of putting up with the condition, or faffing around with largely ineffective remedies I recently took this to the GP. He prescribed steroids and Diprobase. The steroids seemed to clear up the condition quickly during the time limited 2 week period, after which further use of the steroids was proscribed.

Persevering with the Diprobase hand cream use, the condition kept cycling through it's different stages continuously, without any apparent chemical trigger (other than perhaps the Diprobase itself).

Also, the smell of the Diprobase was ringing alarm bells for me every time I used it. Others commented on the nasty smell of the stuff too. So, perhaps mistakenly identifying this as the culprit, rather than the recent steroid use, I chucked the Diprobase in the bin. 3 weeks later I'm back to normal Contact Dermatitis, or hand Eczema.

[Mike Halmarack]

Cement was the first to affect me, before the inclusion of glue, oil and a lot of household cleaners. It comes as quite a shock after playing around in the stuff for years with no obvious ill effects.

It will be worth giving it a try, so thanks for the advice.

I'd love this to be true for me but somehow latex, talcum powder or both together usually seem to coincide with a flare up.

[Mike Halmarack]

Thanks, I'll get some and try it out.

I guess that 'liquid glove' will belong to the former group, though how effective it might be compared to the barrier creams that have been suggested I don't yet know.

I recently got a box of blue nitrile gloves via ebay which were described by the seller as 'mechanic' quality. they weren't man enough to survive the changing of a bike tyre though. I'll try your suggestion of the dental catalogue variety in the hope that they're a bit more sturdy.

[John Rumm]

If doing something that I know will perish the glove, then I usually wear two pairs on the hand doing most work. That way you get a chance to swap the outer one without getting whatever on you in the process.

[Dave Osborne]

OK, I can't relate to your experiences, other than to say plaster dust used to be the number one trigger and made DIY impossible if it caused a big flare-up.

My hand eczema (genetically based condition; runs in the family) has been quiet for months and I use Diprobase most days. If my hands start to dry out because I have neglected to moisturise them, then liberal application of Diprobase settles them down.

I'm expect the condition will cycle again at some point this year and I am reasonably sure that I will not be able to pinpoint the trigger (unless it's obviously DIY-related). Diprobase won't be the culprit, though.

As to the smell, I quite like it :-)

DaveyOz

[Spamlet]

Latex and rubber are well known for causing dermatitis, and I believe surgical gloves now use 'corn starch' - corn flour - instead of talc. Not only does my skin react to rubber, but rubber gloves and even balls, often turn into horrible sticky messes after I have used/handled them. Also, wearing gloves can be dodgy because one often does not notice when there is a hole, until taking them off and finding no finger nail etc...

Sadly, there is not much the allergic can do in the long run but stick to jobs and tasks that minimise exposure. Those who have not yet become sensitised will reduce their chances of becoming so, with the barrier creams and after washing hand creams, others have noted: once you have become sensitised you are usually stuck with it.

S

[Mike Halmarack]

That's something I usually do now, although it can get a little frustrating where fiddly jobs are concerned.

I'm currently servicing some bicycles and this is mainly done wearing some butch (black) Marigolds over the standard disposable blue nitrile gloves. Handling the small nuts and bolts for fitting racks and mudguards is a bit of a challenge. Wearing 2 pairs of nitrile gloves in the past has sometimes resulted in oily fingers and thumbs, then it's goodbye workshop for a couple of weeks or more.

As compensation my computer skills have improved accordingly. It's just a matter of keeping the bits of skin from clogging the keyboard by means of regular vacuuming sessions. Typing with gloves on really is a chore and using the touchpad on the laptop is also a memorable experience thus clad.

[Spamlet]

Hi Mike,

When I worked in a lab and regularly also on motorcycle's (as I always tended to buy them just before they blew up...), I got my contact dermatitis and have had to be careful ever since. From the need to wear gloves and wash often in the lab, and from the petrol and oil in bike fixing, my hands got into a right state and I was given betnovate by the gp. I found that this would quite quickly reduce the condition but never completely got rid of it. Only when I stopped using the steroid and kept on with regular use of ordinary moisturising creams did the rash on my fingers finally go. So I would say you were on the right track by clearing the worst with the steroid and then continuing with the moisturiser. I found that almost any moisturiser would help, but you may have to find one that suits you. I notice the chemist direct link also lists other products: one that looks particularly popular is Cetraben, which might be worth a try:

possibly the main route to success for me was diligence: it is so easy to get fed up with regular application or just forget, but I currently have psoriasis, and it does gradually reduce if I keep moisturising morning and night - and does creep back again if I don't.

Good luck. S

[Mike Halmarack]

Yes, fending the condition off with preventive measures is definitely the thing to do, as the cures aren't up to much.

[Mike Halmarack]

Thanks S, I'll give the Cetraben a try. There's no doubt that a lot of self discipline and regularity is called for. Like with so many things, the damage can be done in a fraction of a second, then take weeks to repair.

It took me a long time to get even this careful because I resented not being able to handle things like I used to. Numerous periods of down-time eventually changed that and I can get a lot further through a job before it gets abandoned now.:-)

[Mike Halmarack]

You could be quite right about Diprobase if used regularly. There must be a lot of variation in the way people react. It's a bonus for you if you like the smell of it. i don't know if I'm surprised or not that there are so many people on this NG with similar problems. This thread may be useful to some as a cautionary tale. I'd certainly advise people to use any means available to avoid developing the condition because treating it is a lot more troublesome than preventing it.

[Spamlet]

You might find typing with these on easier - though the finer scales may still get through. You generally see them in use to keep grease from the hands off valuable books and tat, while still maintaining some sensitivity:

may also help when contact with the drier irritants or surfaces is the problem - as in fruit picking, say.

S

[Andy Dingley]

Marigold make good industrial gloves, as well as the Happy Shopper sort. They do both extra-thin and extra-thick. I think Arco had them?

[Bruce]

That's why I suggested unscented talcum powder. I think it used to be known as French chalk. As Spamlet suggested further down, there is also corn starch, from Johnson & Johnson's baby range.

I have used cotton gloves in the past, either on their own (with unscented talcum) or with latex gloves over. I don't know if they would work for you - your condition does sound quite severe - but they may be worth trying.