Splits on fingers, feet (cracked skin dry)

[Smelly5]

Has anyone dealt with this problem or linked it to a particular defficiency?
Particulrly on fingers

 

[youngsinatra]

• Low thyroid
• Bad circulation into the periphery (typically due to high stress hormones and/or low cholinergic tone) leading to cold hands and feet due to poor blood flow there.
• B vitamin deficiency (riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin..)

 

[Dolomite]

I have cracks on my thumbs mostly in the winter. I probably have low thyroid but I take energin or separate B vitamins and do not have cold hands or feet. I think it has to do with sunlight, cold temperatures, hot water for dish washing and possibly fungus.

 

[DanDare]

Assuming my cracked skin is not systemic, I do the following:


1. Any time I wash hands, or think about it, I moisturise afterwards. Whatever cream stops the skin going hard and looking flakey/dry, or returns it to looking normal again. So I will be moisturising 10-20x a day.
2. Avoid extremes of cold or heat. Protect from sun or drying wind.
3. Avoid chemicals touching the skin (all). Particularly washing up liquid, shampoo, shower gel and anti fungal/ anti bacterial additives such as methylchloroisothiazolinone, or its brothers and sisters.
4. I avoid latex gloves as they irritate my skin!

The above is not advice, medical or otherwise.

However there are also systemic causes obviously. Vit A, vit D, nightshade family are top of my list.

 

[BrianF]

Dairy consumption seems to give me cracks on my fingers, like some sort of weird endotoxic reaction.

I often get cracked heels and I'm not sure if they have the same cause or if perhaps even two different causes.

 

[mattmm24]

Has anyone dealt with this problem or linked it to a particular defficiency?
Particulrly on fingers

Something not talked about enough is how stimulating is your diet. Do you eat a ton of meat? Dairy? I’ve found making cooked vegetables a higher percentage of my diet has helped me heal. The less stimulating (less phosphorus, Iron, low sugar) your diet is, you’ll activate parasympathetic activity which will allow your thyroid to heal. Which dry skin is definitely hypothyroidism. You’ll definitely have to supplement too, in particular b vitamins are good for speeding up your metabolism. Calcium magnesium zinc are huge. And alot of sea salt.

 

[food fortunato]

I had very dry, itchy skin (probably cracks now and then too.. it’s been so long) when i was vegetarian/vegan lol. I used to run vaporizers in my house 24/7 all winter, used lotion religiously/multiple times throughout the day, and could barely tolerate the cold. As soon as i switched to a high meat, high fat and low-carb veggies diet (11 years ago), i never use lotion, never run the vaporizers, and i’m fine in the cold. It was completely caused by a diet of beans and grains. For the past year and a half i’ve added fruits and dairy back into my diet, and still have no dry skin whatsoever.

 

[pondering]

B1 and B3 I’ve found helpful for cracked, dry, peeling skin on palms/fingers especially. Biotin may also help. Zinc may be a factor too. I mainly try to eat the foods though. I’ve also noticed that it happens more when I eat dairy. I know there’s an interplay with Vit A but I don’t believe its a toxin categorically, only when you have too much. I’ve had both too much and too little at different points, and both have caused me issues.

 

[Smelly5]

Thanks for the suggestions. Im going to take Energin and report back

 

[BrianF]

I recall once going through a period of repeated cracks in my feet when it stopped completely.

I had experimented with Blackstrap mollasses and cider vinegar consumption in order to combat the early signs of greying hair. I did not continue with the experiment to find out if it would change my hair colour but (whether it caused it or not) the cracks on my feet dissapeared and my skin was as smooth as it had been since childhood.

Even when I do not have cracks or fissures, I always have dry skin and what appears to be some sort of hyperkeratinosis. So reverting to entirely smooth skin was strange to say the least and I do think there was a connection to the experiment.

 

[lilsticky]

you should try lanolin