Sore hands

[michiel]

When I'm out my hands are very sore from working with tools. After a few days they aren't as painfull and I can continue having fun with carving, chopping...

Is there any way I can "strenghten" my hands so I don't get blisters this fast?

Michiel

 

[Cairodel]

Wash/soak them in vinegar/salt solution regularly for a few days beforehand.
Also works for feet...

 

[gregorach]

Stay in practice...

I know exactly the problem, I've recently been back at trying to learn hand-drill firelighting. Sure, the blisters hurt, but it's the deep bruises that really get me...

 

[RobertRogers]

try sqeezing a rubber ball while you are reading, watching TV, etc.

 

[Glydr]

I heard a story once, during world war 2 in the north african desert, a british soldier sees an australian soldier paddling barefoot in a puddle, the brit asks the aussie what hes doing, whats that puddle? the aussie replies "urine mate".
The brit thinks the aussie is being rude and thinks "fair enough I only asked".
Days later the troops are on a long march through the desert and the british are having trouble with blisters but the ausiies aren't. The same british soldier asks an australian how they cope with marching long distances and gets the reply, "It's the urine mate, toughens the feet up a treat".

 

[Melonfish]

Glydr, it works m8, although i've not heard it about feet. guitarists usually build up calluses on the fingertips but its well known that you can use surgical spirit or urine to help build them up faster.
nothing like bleeding fingertips after a monster guitar sesh tho, its just proof that your getting there imo

 

[MrEd]

Stay in practice...

I know exactly the problem, I've recently been back at trying to learn hand-drill firelighting. Sure, the blisters hurt, but it's the deep bruises that really get me...

yeah especially on the balls of your hands.

moisturise your hands well and carry on, eventually you will build up calouses, i have them on the ends of my thumbs now from pushing needles thru leather and carving as well as on the side of my hands lol

 

[FreddyFish]

what about some leather gloves sometimes on sometimes off. That would cushion the repeated pressure and help you build workmans hands.

 

[Locky]

Gymnasts and cicus folk urinate on hands and feet to toughen skin. repetitive work generally toughens skin causes calluses etc.

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

how about try doing a bit at a time you dont need to do it all in one go...

 

[gregorach]

nothing like bleeding fingertips after a monster guitar sesh tho, its just proof that your getting there imo

Nah, it's just proof that your guitar isn't set up right...

 

[Paul_B]

Heard all of them, vinegar, urine, surgical spirit but for the feet not the hands. I guess they do work. However, One temporary solution until your hands toughen up might be mueller tape. It's used by climbers to protect the fingers not just from scrpaes and cuts fromt he rock but also the tendons of the fingers. It sticks to skin quite well and whilst not being ideal could offer up a sacrificial barrier instead of that being your skin. You can buy it from good outdoors shops that stock climbing equipment but also running shops stock something similar as runners use them on their feet.

Its just an idea and probably better than pissing on your hands, especially if they're blistered up already. reckon that would kinda sting a bit.

 

[Hugo]

When I was 16 years old and a hod carrier I was told about the urine thing, it worked a treat. Prior to this my finger tips were split two ways and very sore.

 

[Monk]

Wash your hands in lukewarm water and soap....regular soap. I have known folks who have been fans of HOT water and fancy bacterial soaps and I remember they were always prone to blisters on their hands.

Building up the repetition of labour with the hands gradually gets them used to it...but you have to keep this in practice otherwise you are back to square one. A tight fitting pair of gloves might help until your skin gets used to the work.

Interesting about the urine tip.

I heard this tip ages ago...but it was for getting rid of athlete's foot/stinky feet! The idea was that a person would pee on their feet in the morning whilst in a shower before running the water then rinse off without using any soap on the feet. Repeated application over time evidently gets rid of nasty athlete's foot.

I did not know about the hand application.

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Michiel

.....Is there any way I can "strenghten" my hands so I don't get blisters this fast?

IMO, there is two things to consider.

One is toughening the skin to prevent blisters and the second is toughening up the muscles to prevent the deep bruising.

There has already been some good advice about toughening up the skin (brine, urine, vinegar, alcohol, etc).

Regarding toughening up the muscles, IMO there is nothing that will take the place of using your hands for hard work.

A good analogy is pre-season training for Rugby.

You can be aerobically fit, but not match fit (ie able to take the impacts that comes from a contact sport). The only way to develop the match fitness is by taking the impacts that come from playing the game.

If you can use you knives daily in the activities that make your hands sore, push through the discomfort and within a month you wont notice it any more.

Works for me



Kind regards
Mick

 

[Tiley]

After far too many years of rowing, where your hands get fairly well butchered and blistered, we used nipple cream, as used by breast-feeding mothers, to relieve the problem. It worked well, keeping your hands relatively soft and malleable but still toughening the skin. When the blisters pop, mercurochrome or the mercury-free equivalent, which is widely available on the continent, is brilliant for keeping out the nasties and toughening the skin for the next onslaught. It does turn everything you touch red - a bit of a down side.

In terms of the bruising, it is, as has been said by many others, just a matter of keeping on using those tools. The best way to get fit for any sport or activity is to do it; this remains true for using tools.

 

[rancid badger]

what about some leather gloves sometimes on sometimes off. That would cushion the repeated pressure and help you build workmans hands.

Gloves will certainly be good in some situations but It's a bad idea to wear gloves when using any kind of swinging tool, as the tool can slip.

Surgical spirit has always been my skin hardener of choice, whether for hands or feet.

If you are getting cracked skin, try a small tube of Neutrogena Norwegian hand cream. It's really quite good

atb

R.B.

 

[Paul_B]

The one thing with getting blisters is when they detach. When I first got into kayaking I had to toughen up the inside of my thumb on my right hand (being a righthanded paddler it was my control hand that gripped the paddle quite firmly probably through fear). I used to come back with a semi-detached blister. Eventually it toughened up but occasionally the whole toughened skin would come off which was very painful.

My point being once you develop a callous you still have to watch out in case a hard session takes it off. I'm guessing if you are using tools and say carving with a knife you might be holding the knife in a different way to gain control for finer details for example. This might mean different sore points to the usual inside of the carpal area (where the fingers join the hand). This is like kayaking and from experience those callous' can be removed if you have a break and then return to that activity. My advise to prevent that is like R.B. above and that is soften it up slightly. It might seem wrong to soften toughened skin on your hands but if the callous is too tough it can come off.

Another tip is to go to the gym and use weights without gloves. I've found that being an office worker going to the gym has toughened up my hands a bit. Meant when I got my allotment they didn't even notice all the digging I had to do.

 

[michiel]

G'day Michiel


IMO, there is two things to consider.

One is toughening the skin to prevent blisters and the second is toughening up the muscles to prevent the deep bruising.

There has already been some good advice about toughening up the skin (brine, urine, vinegar, alcohol, etc).

Regarding toughening up the muscles, IMO there is nothing that will take the place of using your hands for hard work.

A good analogy is pre-season training for Rugby.

You can be aerobically fit, but not match fit (ie able to take the impacts that comes from a contact sport). The only way to develop the match fitness is by taking the impacts that come from playing the game.

If you can use you knives daily in the activities that make your hands sore, push through the discomfort and within a month you wont notice it any more.

Works for me



Kind regards
Mick

I'm surprised to see this thread again It's been almost 3 years since I asked this question.

My hands are a lot harder than 3 years ago. Mostly because of using them outdoors. Skin toughening goes faster than one might think. Muscles as you stated are a completely different thing. I played Rugby for 8 years untill I hurt my spine. I'm no longer allowed to play now sadly...

Best regards,

Michiel