Hi all,
I have introduced myself earlier, but have a chemo question.(Introduce Yourself Re:I've waited too long)

My husband has horrible skin cracking on his fingers, toes and heels from the weekly Erbitux. I've asked every healthcare professional we've run into what we can do, tried most of what they've suggested, to no avail. Maybe someone here knows of something we haven't tried.
You can quite literally sit and watch his hands and at an given moment the skin will crack and he will bleed.

We've tried lotions, wraps, band-aids galore. Antibiotic creams, and creams that say the help the 'working mans hands' and more.
Nothing ever seems to help. Is this one of the side effect we just have to live with?

Crazy glue? Duct tape - not kidding. Is it his fingers? Or whole hand?

Hi, Cheryl
my husband hit some of the cracking at the end of his chemo, and it is a distressing side effect. My husband found the Eucerin Aquaphor ointment to be soothing; if it helps Doug, you can get it in a fairly large jar. I am sure you are already doing laundry with fragrance-free detergent to avoid any additional aggravation of his feet. You might look at diabetic socks; you can get some that are padded and not constricting.

Besides the pain and annoyance these fissures cause, we in the developed world are just not used to dealing with these skin issues, and I think this makes it harder to deal with emotionally for us. When my father had terrible edema from congestive heart failure, I have to attend to his legs, and then move on - if I looked at them, it made it harder for both of us. Putting a good CD on helps. Distraction can be a good thing.

The other thing that occurs to me, remembering my dad, is maybe speaking with a wound-specialist nurse. His nurse was able to greatly improve his comfort level and quality of life.

Best wishes and hope you both can find some relief.

Maria

We have used duct tape in a pinch:) Liquid bandage too, but no super glue.
It's generally the tips of his fingers, sometimes knuckle too.
From the beginning Doug has had the worst of the worse side effects in everything!
The allergic reaction to the Ethyol in the first months of radiation were just awful. He almost died twice, his oncologist never thinking the first time around that thy Ethyol shots were causing the problem. It caused quite a stir at the CC.
Since then, you name the side effect, and my husbands had it.
It breaks my heart what he has been through, what so many of you have been through.

Cheryl you mentioned fissures, he has one of those in his neck too. Lymphatic fluid builds up so bad in his jaw, a fissure opens up from the pressure.
Did I mention bed sores? Yep those too, been fighting them for 6 months now, and they just won't heal, and yes we are seeing a would care doctor.

Such an awful ugly disease!

I had Erbitux last year, and the same side effect, along with Taxotere, another cause of "hand and foot syndrome." In addition to the above suggestions, I wore white hand gloves, put moisturizer on the hands underneath, aquaphor, Cetaphil, on them too, used crazy glue on the cuts, bandaids, tree tea oil, but didn't like the smell of tree tea oil. The thing is to watch out for is infections, so I used neosporin also, and minocycline was prescribed for the rash. Nothing really resolved it, except rash, but these may reduce the severity. Only when treatment stopped, did it resolve completely.

With some chemo's, like Taxotere, cyrotherapy is used by putting hands, feet, in cooler mittens or something similarly cold on head too, drinking something cool before, during or after infusion, or chewing on ice, helps reduce mucocitis, neuropathy, hair loss, etc. I don't know if it's effective with Erbitux alone.

I was in the hospital for 187 days in isolation in 2009/2010 just from 5 days of chemo, and bed ridden for a few years following, so I know what can happen, what it's like. I had bed sores (pressure wounds) for three years, and they hurt worse than anything, sometimes they still act up if laid up too long. Bed sores need to be treated daily, cleaned, dressing changed, sleeping and sitting positions changed often, pressure off-set, pain meds, otherwise they can get infected, cause sepsis. I still use a few pillows on my recliner to sit on, which helps, and when I'm more mobile. Any infection is not to be taken lightly.

I hope this helps.

I would invest in something called spa socks and gloves. They are like booties with lotion infused into the thread. They can be worn overnight to help keep both the hands and feet moisturized. I would get some good lotion like Eucerin Intensive Repair hand creme. Use alot so it takes a while to massage it in and then put the socks and gloves on and go to bed. Make sure you use enough so its not completely rubbed in and allow the creme to soak in the rest of the way overnight. Also drink more water.

Where I live its pretty cold. I have several pairs of the spa socks and wear them nightly to bed. Not all spa socks are the same, you want to get the kind that has lotion infused into them.

Little know but incredibly helpful is a product called bag balm. It is very soothing and really works well. It has a very greaselike texture and can be really worked into the cracks.

You can also slip on some thin latex gloves over the hands after applying the balm. This will keep the balm very moist and work longer into the skin. I would not leave gloves on all the time, just for a bit to let it work in. The balm will dry up some but still leaves the hands pretty supple.

The main use is to keep cow utters from cracking and stay moist. It is worth a try and very inexpensive; can't hurt.

Don

The humidity level in the house can also be an issue. If your furnace does not have a humidifier (or even if it does) adding a humidifier to the bedroom might help. It also generates white noise which may make it easier to sleep.
Maria

Thank you for the suggestions, I appreciate each of you.

Okay this sounds weird... part of the problem with this type of thing is they don't heal well. The skin becomes hard at the edges of the split and pressure to the area maintains the open wound. It's the same premise as a knife cut. As long as his hand isn't full of them ( one or two is okay ) then I usually take a clean (sterilize them if you have to - his immune system is compromised - you don't want an infection ) nail clipper or cuticle scissors and cut away the hardened ends. this exposes new softer tissue and brings the wound closer to the surface. Then put a little polysporin into the wound, and wrap with a bandage in a day or two it will heal from the inside out. Works like a charm!!! seriously. He could also use maybe a paraffin hand dipping too. It locks in moisture.

Bedsores are brutal. The cause of which is lack of mobility, and pressure points. He needs to move more in bed and not sit so much in one position. If he is laying down - maybe a gel pack to the areas most effected, but he's mobile so he really is the master of his own destiny here.

His problem it seems is wound healing overall. He is a big man, but I gather (since he has been sick) he's lost a lot of weight, and is not nearly as active.

Diet plays a big role in wound healing - he needs a lot of protein at this point and calories. If he is on a tube which I believe you said he is. Try adding protein powder to each feed, and mix it in with some water (it has to be thin and smooth - NO LUMPS). This will increase his overall health help with wound healing and circulation as he will have more iron/protein in his blood and therefore more for the O2 to attach to.

The other problem of course is O2 - circulation which come with diet as stated above - and movement. Even if he is sitting in a chair - leg lifts, arm lifts will help. Challenge him.

hugs...