Hand Cracks in Children

 Written by: Wahida Sabir

The skin of the body has important functions in the body, such as protection, temperature regulation, excretion of waste products, production of vitamins, sensation, absorption of vitamin D, and water resistance.

The skin of the hands is also a part of the skin of the body that could be damaged due to various factors, one of which is the crack of the hands' skin. AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some people and a physician about the signs, symptoms, home medication, prevention, and treatment of this disease.
Layla, a resident of Nangarhar province says, “I was suffering from hand cracks. My hands’ skin was burning and blood was coming from the cracks.”

Jawad, a resident of Ahmad Shahbaba Mena, district 12, Kabul city says, “My hands were cracked and were burning and I could not eat food with them.”
Malalai, a resident of Kabul city had the same problems due to cracked hands.

A dermatologist doctor Zalmai Khan,  says, “Children's hands have pain and become itchy when they crack, and later they wound. Even blood comes from the cracks, and if this problem is not treated on time, the sores would absorb other germs, and these germs might find a way to inside the body and would cause diarrhea and microbial infection of the blood.”

What do some people think about the causes of this issue?

Sajia, a resident of Ahmad Shahbaba Mena says, “When I was not washing my hands after playing or dishwashing, my hands were cracking.”

Ibrahim, a resident of Kabul city says, “When I am picking up rubbish and used plastics from the streets in cold weather, my hands crack.”
Doctor Zalmai Khan says, “lack of vitamins; not paying attention to self-hygiene and cold weather could make the causes of hand cracks in children.”

How do some people treat cracked hands?

Sajia says, “I applied a mixture of Vaseline and glycerin to my hands at night and I washed them with lukewarm water in the morning, and I got rid of this disease.”
Malalai, a resident of Kabul city says, “I treated my hands' cracks with applying Vaseline to my hands for several nights and washed them in the morning.”

Doctor Zalmai Khan confirms patients’ medication and adds, “Children should wash their cracked hands with lukewarm water and apply some Vaseline, olive oil or some moisturizing lotions to them at night and wash them with lukewarm water and hand soap in the morning. This process should be continued several nights till the hands get well otherwise the patient should go to a physician for essential treatment.

If children's hands and feet are kept warm in winter; wear gloves and socks, pay attention to their cleanliness; wash their hands daily with warm water and apply hand cream during day and night, they will  remain safe from hands cracks.”