Causes of cracked hands

Almost the entire human body is covered with a protective layer that prevents bacteria, viruses and other pests from penetrating inside. This protective barrier is commonly called skin. Unfortunately, the strength of such a natural barrier, even with proper care, is not as great as we would like. Skin damage can be the result of injuries, as well as a consequence of a disease that disrupts the structure of the protective layer, negative environmental influences, exposure to aggressive chemicals, etc. The skin of the hands is most susceptible to negative factors. But hands are the main working tool of a person, on whose health a lot depends. It is clear that cracks on the hands in this regard should be considered not only as a cosmetic defect, which is usually done on women's websites. Micro- and macrodamage to the skin is a weak point in the protective barrier that allows infection to penetrate the body, this is one of the factors that negatively affect a person's quality of life and his ability to work.

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External causes of cracks on hands

It is believed that the condition of the skin can be used to judge a person's age, and the skin of the hands and neck are indicators of the biological age of women. It is not for nothing that the weaker sex takes such good care of their hands. True, many people think that well-groomed hands are fingers with a beautiful manicure. In fact, a manicure should be just a nice addition to well-groomed skin of the hands.

And for the skin to shine with beauty, it needs proper care. But how difficult it is to provide it, given the fact that human hands are considered the main working tool. Water, earth, air, chemicals used in everyday life and at work, exposure to low and high temperatures do not contribute to improving the condition of the skin. Moreover, they can disrupt its structure, making it rougher, drier and less elastic. Therefore, often you do not have to go far to understand what provoked the appearance of cracks on the hands.

The following points can be considered as risk factors for damage to the integrity of the skin:

• Systematic exposure of unprotected skin of hands to sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation destroys proteins (including elastin and collagen) and amino acids, as a result of which the skin begins to lose moisture intensively. But it is water that is responsible for maintaining the elasticity and attractive appearance of the skin. The proteins in the skin, responsible for its elasticity and ability to withstand stress, are destroyed under the influence of sunlight, and the high temperatures that accompany tanning slow down the synthesis of such essential proteins. It is clear that all these factors cannot but affect the condition of the skin. And if you also consider that the hands, unprotected by clothing, are regularly exposed to such effects, it is not surprising that cracks most often form on the hands.
• But the sun is not the only weather factor that has a negative effect on the skin of the hands. Frosty air, cold water, wind, skin contact with ice also do not contribute to maintaining the health of the skin. Low temperatures, as well as excessively high ones, reduce skin moisture and slow down metabolic processes in it, making the skin more fragile and sensitive to mechanical impacts.
• No less dangerous for the skin is a sudden change in humidity. If after hand washing or washing dishes, when hands were in water for a long time, you go out into the cold or strong wind, the skin of your hands will become incredibly fragile and will begin to crack.
• Working in the soil does not add health to the skin of your hands. The skin becomes drier, more porous and rough, and cracks appear on it quite quickly.
• Cracks on the hands can appear even from water, if it is too cold or has a rich chemical composition. What can I say, abundantly chlorinated drinking water from taps is already a vivid example of an environment that is aggressive for the skin of the hands. This is water that does not moisturize, but rather dries out the skin. It is not for nothing that many cosmetologists do not recommend washing with it, or using moisturizing creams after washing.
• High temperatures, when applied regularly, dry out the skin like the sun's rays, and dry skin becomes less elastic and durable, so it can crack when stretched.
• Sometimes the cosmetics we buy to protect and nourish our hands contain components that can only do harm. Cosmetics of dubious quality are not uncommon even on the shelves of brand stores, let alone supermarkets, where the quality of cosmetics is not a priority. But we also need to take into account the individual factor, which manifests itself in the form of intolerance to certain components of care products.

If the use of hand cream causes symptoms such as redness, itching, peeling, rashes and cracks on the skin, it is better to refuse this product, regardless of how much money was paid for it.

• And, of course, household chemicals, which are supplied with various aggressive substances to perform the functions assigned to them. Much has already been said about the negative impact of household chemicals on the skin, but many of us still wash dishes, do laundry, clean surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom without protective equipment for hands (gloves). But household chemicals are terrible not only because of possible allergic reactions, but also because they strongly dry out the skin, destroy collagen structures, and reduce local immunity.
• Even relatively safe detergents (for example, baby and laundry soap) can reduce the moisture content of the skin when used regularly or for a long time. And if we consider that we use soap in combination with chlorinated tap water, we can say that it is a real dryer for the skin.

The situation is even worse with antibacterial soap. On the one hand, it helps protect the body from germs, but on the other, it dries the skin and reduces its natural immunity. As a result, inflammation, peeling and cracks appear on the hands.

Statistics show that every fifth person on the planet faces the problem of cracked hands due to dry skin. There is a correlation between the appearance of this unpleasant symptom and the type of activity of a person, since at enterprises the requirements for hand skin protection are not always met.

It cannot be said that women who regularly perform various household chores using household chemicals are more concerned about this problem than men. For example, motorists who are forced to constantly come into contact with various lubricants and aggressive liquids have cracks on their hands no less often than housewives.

As for age restrictions, this problem is usually typical for older people, whose skin undergoes not the most pleasant age-related changes. As for young people, cracks on their hands do not appear so often. And the appearance of such defects is associated either with insufficient hand protection when working with chemicals, or with health problems that have similar external manifestations.

Many hand care products provide nourishment, hydration and protection from negative environmental factors. This helps the skin to remain healthy and elastic for a long time.

Protective hand cosmetics, as well as fabric and rubber gloves, are likely to help protect our hands from various damages if the cause is external. But it is unlikely that such protection will help solve internal problems that affect the condition of our skin.

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Internal causes of skin elasticity disorders

Moisture provides elasticity to the skin. If the skin is not sufficiently hydrated, it becomes dry and rough, and when stressed, instead of stretching, such skin begins to burst. Having noticed cracks on your hands, it is logical to assume that they appeared as a result of the influence of negative factors on the skin from the outside. But this is not always the case. Some internal causes can change the structure of the skin, making it drier and more sensitive to external influences. Therefore, at first glance, it is sometimes even difficult to determine what causes cracks on the skin of the hands.

Speaking about internal causes, we again need to understand that they can be both pathological and physiological. A physiological (not related to pathology) cause can be called the natural process of aging of the body, when many processes in it are inhibited. For example, the synthesis of some hormones and collagen decreases, metabolism slows down, the efficiency and speed of regenerative processes decreases. It is clear that all these processes will have their effect on the condition of the skin of the hands, which are already regularly exposed to negative factors.

This is confirmed by the fact that, according to statistics, cracks on the hands bother older people more. For example, such defects often affect women in the climacteric period, who may not have had skin problems before menopause. The cause of such changes in the skin condition is a hormonal imbalance. The production of the female hormone estrogen during menopause is noticeably reduced. This hormone is considered to be a stimulator of the production of hyaluronic acid, thanks to which our skin maintains a sufficient level of moisture. What do we observe? A decrease in the moisture content of the mucous membranes and skin is observed in the woman's body. Dry skin becomes thinner, and a decrease in the production of elastin (for the same reasons) makes it less resistant to stretching.

If the skin becomes excessively dry and begins to crack in places of tension in a woman of reproductive age, and at the same time no other signs indicate a disease, it cannot be ruled out that the body of a still young lady also has a hormonal imbalance, causing the appearance of specific external symptoms. So the cause is not always hidden in external factors (inappropriate creams, use of detergents, insufficient hand skin care, etc.).

In men, sufficient skin thickness is determined by androgens, which stimulate collagen production. But the point is not even in the thickness of the skin, but in its elasticity, which decreases with age. Do not think that only thin skin can crack. This is confirmed by the appearance of cracks on the palms, where the thickness of the skin is 3-8 times thicker than on other parts of the hand. The lack of sufficient moisture makes the skin vulnerable. Therefore, even thick dry skin can crack.

Another non-pathological reason for cracks on the hands is a deficiency of certain vitamins in the body. A deficiency of vitamins A, C, E and P can manifest itself in peeling and cracks on a person's hands, indicating insufficient skin moisture. Most often, this phenomenon is temporary, because the body usually experiences a lack of vitamins in the spring and winter. It is at this time that it is recommended to include in the diet not only fruits and berries, which by this time have lost most of their useful substances, but also vitamin complexes, of which there are a great many on the shelves of pharmacies. Yes, the same "AEvit" in combination with ascorbic acid in two counts will help solve the problem of cracked skin due to a deficiency of vitamins.

Unfortunately, hand creams and vitamin complexes will not help to cope with the same problem if it is caused by internal pathological disorders in the body. There are a number of diseases in which the skin on the hands and other parts of the body becomes unusually dry and sensitive, resulting in redness, peeling and cracks.

For example, cracks on the hands can be found with dermatitis. Dermatitis is a disease that can have various forms and causes. But in our case, we are most often talking about atopic and contact dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis is a pathology of allergic nature, which in most cases has a chronic course. Most often it is diagnosed in childhood in people who have a predisposition to the disease. One of the features of the pathology is that it increases the sensitivity of the skin to various irritants.

Contact dermatitis is also considered an allergic disease, but its symptoms only manifest themselves upon direct contact of the skin and an irritant, which can be allergens, aggressive chemicals, ionizing radiation, etc. In essence, this is a kind of reaction of the body to a certain irritant. Symptoms of contact dermatitis appear upon the second and subsequent contact with the irritant. In the acute form of the pathology, redness, swelling, weeping of the skin and, as a result, the formation of cracks are observed. In the chronic course of the disease, cracks appear on the rough, dry skin.

Cracks on the hands can also appear with eczema, a pathology similar in nature and manifestations to contact dermatitis. Cracking is usually characteristic of dry eczema on the hands, when a dense, inelastic crust forms on the skin. When moving the fingers or wrist, it can burst, forming fairly deep cracks.

Cracks on the hands due to allergies and allergic diseases usually appear after skin contact with an irritant and are accompanied by the appearance of other symptoms characteristic of an allergic reaction.

Sometimes psoriasis reminds us of itself by the appearance of cracks on the skin. Scientists suspect the autoimmune nature of this pathology, and skin rashes in this light look like an inadequate reaction of the body and, in particular, the immune system to irritants. With psoriasis, specific rashes often appear on the hands (palmar-plantar form of psoriasis), which are most in contact with various environments, and therefore unusual reactions should be expected there: inflammation, rashes, peeling, cracks. The fact is that with this pathology, a dry horny layer is formed on the surface of the skin, which does not have the elasticity of healthy skin and can burst when stretched, forming multiple small ruptures.

Symptoms such as increased dryness of the skin on the hands and its cracking can also be observed in other pathologies that have external manifestations:

• With ichthyosis (a hereditary pathology manifested in excessive keratinization of the skin on different parts of the body, including the hands), cracks may appear on the roughened areas of the skin of the hands.
• Reiter's disease (a rheumatic pathology with complex damage to organs of various body systems, which is manifested by the development of urethritis, prostatitis, conjunctivitis and inflammatory diseases of the joints) in addition to other symptoms is characterized by the formation of reddened areas of hyperkeratosis with peeling and cracking on the palms and soles.
• In dermatomycosis caused by fungi and dermatophytes, cracks on the hands are also not a rare symptom. In fungal infections caused by microorganisms of the genus Candida, the lesions are most often concentrated in the interdigital space, where itching, thickening of the skin and the appearance of cracks with a white coating are noted. Diseases caused by dermatophytes (tricho- and epidermophytosis) have similar manifestations: itching of the skin, redness and keratinization of the lesions, the appearance of cracks on them. But the localization of the lesions is somewhat different: the back and side surfaces of the fingers, palms in the fold area. In this case, rashes in the form of nodules or blisters can also be noted.

The condition of human skin is quickly affected by metabolic disorders. Now we are not talking about skin diseases, but about systemic pathologies, the symptom of which is dryness and increased sensitivity of the skin. For what pathologies is this symptom characteristic?

First of all, it is worth mentioning deficiency conditions (avitaminosis). We have already mentioned that insufficient levels of certain vitamins in the body can negatively affect the condition of the skin. But certain rare types of avitaminosis can not only affect the condition of the skin, but also cause severe disruptions in the functioning of various organs and systems. Thus, a disease from the category of avitaminosis, caused by a deficiency of vitamin PP, proteins and amino acids and called pellagra, causes keratinization and peeling of the skin of the hands exposed to ultraviolet radiation (increased sensitivity to sunlight). That is, we are talking about damage to the entire hand, on which painful cracks subsequently appear. In this case, the disease affects both hands, but its foci can also be observed on other parts of the body, especially those exposed to sunlight.

With a decrease in thyroid function, such a pathology as hypothyroidism can develop. Deficiency of thyroid hormones leads to a slowdown in metabolic processes inside the skin, disruption of its nutrition. As a result, the skin becomes dry, its thickness increases, but its elasticity decreases. Such changes are most noticeable in the area of the elbows and knees, but dry skin and its cracking in some cases can also be observed on the fingers and palms.

Cracks on the hands are also not uncommon in diabetes. This endocrine disease is associated with a violation of glucose metabolism, but in fact, all types of metabolism are disrupted with this pathology. At the same time, the body constantly loses fluid, the water-salt balance and tissue nutrition are disrupted. The skin and mucous membranes with diabetes of any type over time become drier and thinner, and skin itching appears. Due to the weakening of the skin and the disruption of its elasticity, cracks appear on it when stretched, which become inflamed and do not heal for a long time.

Increased dryness of the skin of the hands can also be observed in such a rare autoimmune pathology as Sjogren's syndrome, in which damage to the connective tissue and glands of external secretion (salivary, lacrimal, sweat) is observed. Cracks on the hands in this case appear due to severe dryness of the skin. But at the same time, many other alarming symptoms are observed.

Pathogenesis

The skin is considered the largest organ of the human body in terms of area, consisting of several layers and protecting the body from external influences. In addition to protection, it performs many other functions: respiratory, thermoregulatory, excretory, exchange receptor, immune, etc. It is clear that various damages to the skin reduce the efficiency of this important organ, which means that this issue requires great attention.

Sometimes even a small scratch on the skin becomes a big problem when an infection gets into it, not to mention cracks on the hands. Cracks in the skin are usually called linear ruptures of the skin tissue. Such ruptures are usually localized along the lines of greatest stretching of the skin (Langer's lines).

Most often, they appear in those places that are most exposed to stress and directly interact with various negative factors (thermal, chemical, environmental, etc.). Hands can be considered the most unprotected areas of human skin. At the same time, hands are a very mobile part of the body with many joints, when bending which the skin is very stretched. And it is not surprising that in such places it can crack.

Collagen and elastin, which are synthesized by the body, are responsible for the elasticity of skin fibers. At different ages, the production of these substances in the body will differ. It is clear that young skin is smooth, sufficiently moisturized and elastic to stretch will be more durable than the skin of a middle-aged person. Is it worth talking about older people, whose skin over time becomes dry and thin.

And if the skin of the hands is regularly exposed to the negative influence of weather and environmental conditions, aggressive household chemicals, excessively high or, conversely, low temperatures, microdamage and painful cracks appear on it over time.

There are many cosmetics that help slow down skin aging and minimize the impact of negative environmental factors on it. They help maintain the necessary skin moisture, metabolic processes inside it, supply missing substances: collagen, vitamins, microelements. All these measures provide the skin with optimal thickness, strength and elasticity.

But let's return to the fact that hand creams can only act from the outside. And the structure and, accordingly, the strength of the skin can change not only under the influence of external factors. Sometimes the reason for such changes lies in the disruption of metabolic processes inside the body. And then it is not only the skin that suffers. Cracks on the hands in this case become simply visible symptoms of the disease.