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qwert
Jul 31, 2013, 7:02 PM
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…and my fingers are totally fucked up!
I cant boulder for more than two hours. I cannot build any calluses. I have to wash my dishes about twice a week, and thus i have nice, soft fingers. 
Is there any way I can get my fingers back into a useable state without having to rely on plastic dishes?
Should i use more moisturizer, or should i get totally rid of that? Or am i just using the wrong moisturizer? Are specialized climbing products worth it?
What about rubber gloves?
My experience with those is limited, but so far when i had to use rubber gloves, those were always giving me wetter fingers than no gloves. But those were heavy duty chemical resistent gloves, would thinner household gloves work?
I am totally lost. Never had this big issues with my skin before!
qwert
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walkonyourhands
Jul 31, 2013, 9:19 PM
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Antihydral might be for you...
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jp_sucks
Jul 31, 2013, 9:31 PM
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Are you serious? Just buy some yellow dish gloves and keep your hands dry.
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billcoe_
Jul 31, 2013, 10:16 PM
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qwert wrote: …and my fingers are totally fucked up! I cant boulder for more than two hours. I cannot build any calluses. I have to wash my dishes about twice a week, and thus i have nice, soft fingers. Is there any way I can get my fingers back into a useable state without having to rely on plastic dishes? Should i use more moisturizer, or should i get totally rid of that? Or am i just using the wrong moisturizer? Are specialized climbing products worth it? What about rubber gloves? My experience with those is limited, but so far when i had to use rubber gloves, those were always giving me wetter fingers than no gloves. But those were heavy duty chemical resistent gloves, would thinner household gloves work? I am totally lost. Never had this big issues with my skin before! qwert
Sounds like the girlfriend has your number:-) 
Assuming you can't negotiate your way out of that, have you tried Kramers Tuff Skin (or liquid Benzoin Tincture same same) and spray them before bouldering? It will wear off, but it helps. I bought some large bottles of Benzoin, split it up in smaller non-breakable plastic bottles and use the stuff early in the year before the skin toughens up and it helps me.
Here's a link of what I'm talking about: http://www.theonlinedrugstore.com/...7f2rgCFSVgMgod5HkA8Q
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granite_grrl
Jul 31, 2013, 11:16 PM
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jp_sucks wrote: Are you serious? Just buy some yellow dish gloves and keep your hands dry.
This.
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markcarlson
Jul 31, 2013, 11:40 PM
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I have persistent finger skin issues, and washing dishes sucks for me as well. My issues are not solved simply by wearing gloves, although I wish they were! If gloves work for you, use them.
I use this strategy when washing dishes, to prevent my hands from absorbing too much water, and it seems to work:
Wash a few dishes at a time, careful not to let your skin absorb too much water. Dry those dishes with a towel. This also dries your hands a bit. If you are ready to wash more, repeat. If you are not ready, do another chore near the sink.
I try to wash dishes while I am cooking, which gives me quite a few breaks to dry my hands out.
You can also try a milder soap (or just less of it,) although I think anything that works for getting dishes clean is going to be the same in this regard.
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jt512
Aug 1, 2013, 4:55 AM
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qwert wrote: …and my fingers are totally fucked up! I cant boulder for more than two hours. I cannot build any calluses. I have to wash my dishes about twice a week, and thus i have nice, soft fingers. Is there any way I can get my fingers back into a useable state without having to rely on plastic dishes? Should i use more moisturizer, or should i get totally rid of that? Or am i just using the wrong moisturizer? Are specialized climbing products worth it? What about rubber gloves? My experience with those is limited, but so far when i had to use rubber gloves, those were always giving me wetter fingers than no gloves. But those were heavy duty chemical resistent gloves, would thinner household gloves work? I am totally lost. Never had this big issues with my skin before! qwert
Please, leave trolling up to those of us who understand the concept.
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singletrackmike
Aug 1, 2013, 9:39 AM
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Man, I had the exact same problem, so I went to the doctor. I thought he'd say "Put de lime in de coconut" but he said to eat all my meals at McDonalds. Breakfast, lunch & dinner.
So I've been doing that for the last 6 months and my hands are 100% healed! I will need to wash them real good though as they seem really slippery now.
I plan to start climbing again as soon as I lose the 77 lbs I've gained since my new diet.
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meanandugly
Aug 1, 2013, 11:10 AM
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qwert wrote: ...I have to wash my dishes about twice a week... qwert
I do dishes daily and have no probs, maybe you have something else going on.....maybe the wrong moisturizer during your no-climbing solo sessions.
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qwert
Aug 1, 2013, 3:36 PM
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jt512 wrote: qwert wrote: …and my fingers are totally fucked up! I cant boulder for more than two hours. I cannot build any calluses. I have to wash my dishes about twice a week, and thus i have nice, soft fingers. Is there any way I can get my fingers back into a useable state without having to rely on plastic dishes? Should i use more moisturizer, or should i get totally rid of that? Or am i just using the wrong moisturizer? Are specialized climbing products worth it? What about rubber gloves? My experience with those is limited, but so far when i had to use rubber gloves, those were always giving me wetter fingers than no gloves. But those were heavy duty chemical resistent gloves, would thinner household gloves work? I am totally lost. Never had this big issues with my skin before! qwert Please, leave trolling up to those of us who understand the concept.
I have been caught!
Seriously, I am not trolling.
I am hesitant to use rubber gloves, since my experiences with those have been rather bad. But I think I could try wearing my thin poly liner gloves inside rubber gloves to absorb some moisture.
Could it have to do with the chemistry of the water? How does the Ca content of the water affect the skin?
All my life I have been living in areas with very hard water, and I recently moved to an area with soft water.
qwert
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derpy
Aug 6, 2013, 12:22 PM
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I have mild psoriasis on my hands. Luckily it doesn't affect climbing much, but it is certainly a pain. Hot water plus washing up liquid set it off pretty much automatically (leading to days or weeks of irritation) so yep, I make an effort to keep my hands out of it.
The easiest thing to do is to minimise the washing up required. I avoid creating mounds of dishes if possible, I swap for other chores if I'm sharing a kitchen with others, etc. I leave stuff to soak as soon as it's off the hob so it doesn't require too much actual work.
I use one of those brushes with a handle for most kinds of washing up. A bit awkward until you get used to it, but it works fine and keeps at least one hand safe and dry.
If I'm just rinsing a couple of things under the tap I'm usually too lazy, but any more than that and I wear gloves. Standard yellow rubber gloves work just fine for me, perhaps you need to try a few brands or sizes? I find if they're too big they get clammy inside which is a problem, but if they fit neatly they do the job. My grandma (who has it worse than me) uses those disposable gloves you can buy at pharmacies. She re-uses them by washing and drying her gloved hands when she's done washing up, then peeling them off. Could work for you maybe?
Just a thought after all that, but are you really sure it's the washing up that's the culprit? Have you ever had a couple of weeks off from it (e.g. on holiday) and noticed a difference? I don't remember washing up ever having that effect on my skin.
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jamesnater
Sep 3, 2013, 5:48 AM
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Wash your dish(es) immediately after you're done using them? It can't take longer than 2 minutes, and if that softens your hands too much, I don't see how you're not complaining that taking showers are softening your fingers...
On another note, I've used antihydral before, using that then washing the dishes (or swimming laps, or sitting in a Jacuzzi, taking a bath, etc.) will turn your dry hard skin (as a result of antihydral use) real soft and pruny real fast. I got the worst looking flapper as a result. The skin just peels right off, and thick too. I've never used it since.
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patto
Sep 3, 2013, 10:42 AM
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Am I the only one who thinks callouses are the antithesis of good climbing hands?
Healthy hands are soft hands and healthy hands are good for climbing. Even when I've been on half year climbing road trips I've never had problems.
Oh yeah and I washed my dishes.
(This post was edited by patto on Sep 3, 2013, 10:42 AM)
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