What are cuts and fissures on the hand?
Fissures are thin, elongated cuts that form on the fingers. Fissures are usually shallow and form on the stratum corneum, but can be deeper.
What are the causes of cuts and fissures on the hands?
- Dry skin caused by poor skin nourishment
- Use of aggressive detergents
- Use of drugs which can react with the skin causing dryness and cracking. Among such pharmaceuticals are some biological drugs used in cancer treatments such as: afatinib (Gilotrif), osimertinib (Tagrisso), cetuximab (Erbitux), panitumumab (Vectibix), gefitinib (Iressa), erlotinib (Tarceva), trastuzumab (Herceptin), lapatinib (Tyverb)
How to treat cuts and fissures on the hands
Cuts and fissures on the fingers and hands can be very irritating, painful and difficult to heal.
- Avoid getting the affected area wet, as water and detergents can cause further irritation and slow healing. Instead, dry wash the area with benzalkonium chloride aqueous solution.
- After cleansing, apply PEG Balm to the cut or fissure and cover with a cotton gauze. The gauze and PEG Balm dressing should be changed once or twice a day until the cut has fully healed.
When the cut or fissure has completely healed, resume normal cleansing. Use Eudermic Cleansing Base as an alternative to aggressive, foaming soaps and detergents.
