Detailing and Dermatology

[stevehecht]

I'm curious to know how many pros and amateurs encounter skin problems on their hands. I have mild eczema on my right hand and there's no doubt detailing products wreak havoc. So on Sunday I decided to use a pair of common kitchen dishwashing gloves (the yellow kind) as I washed with OCW and waxed using Collinite 845. Wearing the gloves didn't seem to make any difference at all! My hand looked like a wrinkled prune and formed some nasty cracks in the skin. It seems whatever penetrated the gloves no problem. Anyone else have this kind of problem? Suggestions for solutions (like gloves that work, etc.)?

(PS--I use some incredible herbal ointments that can cure the damage, but I'm looking for prevention here.)

[Deatil Dr]

Hi,
I use the purple gloves from Wally World around $5 a box
Are you sure your not allergic to something your using?

Try some OTC hydrocortisone on it it's and anti inflamitory(Used to be a pharmacy tech)
But I would say to see a Dr. to be sure. Bob

[pmdureska]

your hands may "prune" if its inside a latex glove since you are working hard with your hands and sweating with no evaporation. you could have a latex allergy. i would recommend trying a nonlatex glove (which will solve a latex allergy but not the sweating). i would also recommend you wash your hands before working with the gloves with a white unscented or hypoallergenic soap to remove all traces of potential irritants such as dyes, fragrances etc. that are present in many hand soaps especially since you have eczema. finally you might remove and change the gloves several times during the job to dry your hands. i have a problem with cracked skin and irritation but only during the cold weather months and i can get by with a good moisturizer and no gloves!

[kaptain_zero]

After having spent years and years of putting my hands in stuff that I shouldn't have without any repercussions it has finally backfired on me.... now, I get reactions without knowing what caused them even! Very frustrating for sure, never mind painful and or annoying.

Regarding to your reaction not differing between gloves vs no gloves... Your "no gloves" reaction has too many variables... what products and what applicators did you use?!?!

The second reaction you had while wearing common rubber gloves on the other hand raises a flag for me as my wife has the same problem.... namely latex, commonly used in kitchen rubber gloves. She also reacts to wearing rubber boots, band-aids with latex based adhesive and so on. In your case, perhaps you were using a foam type applicator when not wearing gloves that may have contained latex or perhaps something you were cleaning, such as floor mats or what have you, might have contained latex and thus caused the same reaction.

Of course, I'm not a doctor, even if I did spend the night in that hotel chain advertised on TV, so I'm not diagnosing anything but rather just tossing out some ideas that came to mind.

As someone mentioned, try a pair of the nitrile gloves (mostly blue colored if I recall correctly) or even a pair of vinyl gloves, just to eliminate the latex issue. You could also try some tight knit cotton gloves if you're not getting your hands wet as some people (my wife again) react to just having their hands inside a non-breathing glove! Different materials have different resistances to chemicals and so I would suggest you do a google search for "Glove Compatibility Charts". The page that came up at the top of the list has a long list of links to such charts at the bottom of that page and that would make an excellent starting point for you.

For what it's worth, I've not had any particular problems with detailing chemicals but I have stayed with a couple of company's for the most part when the first couple of items didn't cause me any grief and so far so good (Meguiars/Collinite in my case).

Try to test only one or two things at the most and let a day or two go by if all is well, and then try one or two more until you find out what exactly bugs you.....

Regards

Christian

[cooksnj]

yes, you should only use nitrile gloves. go see a dermatologist, i had this problem for years, went to one, she gave me a shot (in the arse) and my quality of life has never been better. you're still gonna get dry hands when working on your car. when your done wash your hand very thoroughly and put on a lotion called "cetaphil" you can get this at your local drug store along with a soap bar. this well help allot also. good luck.

[stevehecht]

Nitrile gloves...can I get them retail at any auto care store?

[cooksnj]

maybe? you can probably find them at a drugstore or a medical supply place.

[A4 1.8tqm]

You should be able to find them in Auto stores.

I had some mild Eczema between my fingers (what I was told was mild was extremely itchy and didn't feel mild). Auto products have never seemed to affect me, it only happened last summer after doing yard work. Either way, Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment USP, 0.1% did the trick for me.

[Laura]

I'm curious to know how many pros and amateurs encounter skin problems on their hands. I have mild eczema on my right hand and there's no doubt detailing products wreak havoc. So on Sunday I decided to use a pair of common kitchen dishwashing gloves (the yellow kind) as I washed with OCW and waxed using Collinite 845. Wearing the gloves didn't seem to make any difference at all! My hand looked like a wrinkled prune and formed some nasty cracks in the skin. It seems whatever penetrated the gloves no problem. Anyone else have this kind of problem? Suggestions for solutions (like gloves that work, etc.)?

I had a related issue come up a few months ago, and the gracious forum members supplied me with the nitrile glove advice which I've been using successfully ever since. Here's the link to that thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/20602-ladies-i-need-your-help.html

PMDURESKA is right, though, your fingers will be wrinkly after several hours with the gloves on. Also, I'd recommend getting some that go well up your forearm if you'll be washing. Otherwise, it's easy to reach a little too far into a bucket and get water in the glove.

[kaptain_zero]

Just to add to the wrinkling issue, there are industrial weight nitrile gloves that are tougher and looser fitting than the usual "snap on the latex" types that can help by keeping some air circulating around your skin. There are also cotton liners available that can be used with either type of glove, tight or loose fitting, that also helps for a while. You could check out sites like Leevalley who stock both the thin and thick nitrile gloves and the cotton liners for ideas. As to where it's best to purchase from is another story all together. In Canada, Costco carries 100 pair boxes of nitrile gloves at an attractive price but most places have them at prices within a buck or two of Costco so I'd buy ones that fit me the best from wherever.

Regards

Christian

[stevehecht]

It's unclear to me whether these gloves come as both disposable and non-disposable, or only as disposable.


Just to add to the wrinkling issue, there are industrial weight nitrile gloves that are tougher and looser fitting than the usual "snap on the latex" types that can help by keeping some air circulating around your skin. There are also cotton liners available that can be used with either type of glove, tight or loose fitting, that also helps for a while. You could check out sites like Leevalley who stock both the thin and thick nitrile gloves and the cotton liners for ideas. As to where it's best to purchase from is another story all together. In Canada, Costco carries 100 pair boxes of nitrile gloves at an attractive price but most places have them at prices within a buck or two of Costco so I'd buy ones that fit me the best from wherever.

Regards

Christian

[kaptain_zero]

It's unclear to me whether these gloves come as both disposable and non-disposable, or only as disposable.

LeeValley carries the thin, disposable nitrile gloves and also carries heavy re-usable 15mil nitrile gloves that are significantly more expensive. The cotton liners can probably be used a few times before you have to break out a new pair but I have never handled them so I could not tell you for sure as to how durable they are. I'm fortunate that I have a LeeValley store in my town so I can go down and look at the products before buying and they actually have test gloves on display but I don't recall seeing the cotton ones. The heavy gloves will be much like any garden variety "for home use" rubber gloves such as those you would buy at the grocery store for doing dishes, washing floors etc. etc. and come to think of it, I've seen nitrile gloves there too as latex allergy isn't that uncommon.

I use only the disposable type nitrile gloves for handling stuff like paints, solvents and other finishes that ruin them anyway so I don't buy the heavy ones. The thin nitrile gloves give you good grip and feel as they are quite thin, yet do not tear easily. I was just at Costco today and it was about $10 for a box of 100 pairs of nitrile gloves.

If you go to the LeeValley website, just search for "nitrile" and "cotton" which will bring up links to the gloves we are talking about, other industrial supply houses should have them as well. I have not checked on the AG site to see if they carry any such things.

Regards

Christian