It Must Be Winter: My Hands are Bleeding

You ever have one of those days where you think, “man, my hand’s been hurting for like 15 minutes” then you look down and your thumb is covered in blood?

Yeah, me too.

Welcome to winter skin season, where even the smallest tasks can turn into a battle against the elements. Apparently, taking my hands out of my pockets for five minutes without gloves—just to pick a song on my phone—means my hands pay the price with dry skin and the occasional bleeding crack.

II bought a pair of those fancy phone gloves for winter, the ones with touchscreen-friendly fingertips. But of course, I lost them two weeks ago. I’d buy another pair, but it’s only a few weeks until Christmas so maybe someone will buy me some.  I have a few pairs of normal gloves to last me until then.  Maybe I’ll cut the top of the thumb off the gloves for phone use.  Poor-man’s phone gloves!

I’ve gotta get a band-aid now. In the meantime, here’s are:

Winter Skin Care Tips to Save Your Hands

It may be too late for me, but you don’t need to suffer. Here’s a few things I should have done:

1. Moisturize regularly

Keep hand cream in your coat pocket, in your bag, by your bedside and in the bathroom for every time you wash your hands. Bonus: it’s usually sold in gift packs during the winter, so you can get some good deals.

2. Wear gloves

Even if they aren’t special smartphone gloves, just wear whatever you can find. Don’t rely on your coat pockets. And if you plan on being out in the snow, make sure they’re waterproof.

3. Hydrate from the inside out

Water, water, water! I know people enjoy their coffee during the winter, but make sure you follow that up with plenty of water. Coffee dehydrates.

4. Use a humidifier

I noticed every winter that I would wake up with dry sinuses, so I finally purchased a humidifier last year. They really don’t cost that much and you breathe much easier when your room isn’t completely dried out. Tip: They’re called “Luftfuktare” in Swedish.

And if anyone has some extra tips (or even products) for dry skin during the winter, please let me know in the comments.

Updated December 2024

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.