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cracked nails

updated mon 22 nov 99

 

David Cowdrill on sat 13 nov 99

Cracked fingers are one problem, cracked fingernails another. Of course I
keep them (the nails not the fingers) short, short, but they seem to split
easily, and it seems to occur more often in the fall/winter. Does anyone
have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails? So far I've tried
Knott's gelatin and "Hard Nails" without much success. (Be warned, a guy
asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets weird looks and smirks!)
David Cowdrill in Great Falls, Virginia

Jeremy/Bonnie Hellman on mon 15 nov 99

David,

I was having the same problem of splitting fingernails for several years up
until last year, when I realized I wasn't getting enough calcium in my diet.
I made a point of drinking more milk (my preferred way of increasing
calcium), and found that my fingernails stopped splitting.

Then I realized that my splitting fingernails were most likely the result of
insufficient calcium! Yes, this has been discussed on Clayart in the past,
and those emails are probably in the archives, and there may be other
reasons for problem fingernail. However, in general calcium is good for your
bones. Just be sure that you are getting it in a digestible form.

BTW I had tried keeping my nails short, taking gelatin (in pills), vitamins,
various creams, nail polish, and those brush-applied nail hardeners to no
avail. The gelatin had improved my nails, but the only thing that REALLY
corrected the problem was adding more calcium to my diet.

Bonnie

Bonnie Hellman in Pittsburgh, PA looking forward to a SW CO Thanksgiving
vacation



> From: David Cowdrill
> Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List
> Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 23:46:59 EST
> To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
> Subject: Cracked nails
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Cracked fingers are one problem, cracked fingernails another. Of course I
> keep them (the nails not the fingers) short, short, but they seem to split
> easily, and it seems to occur more often in the fall/winter. Does anyone
> have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails? So far I've tried
> Knott's gelatin and "Hard Nails" without much success. (Be warned, a guy
> asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets weird looks and smirks!)
> David Cowdrill in Great Falls, Virginia

James Roche on mon 15 nov 99

Hello David,

At 23:46 13/11/99 EST, David Cowdrill wrote:
>(Be warned, a guy asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets
weird looks and smirks!)

Fingerpicking guitarists have exactly the same problem, I
sympathise! Now I keep my nails very short and filed. For
picking my 12 string guitar I now resort to fixed finger picks
(light guage steel) after 25 years of using my nails...
Ceramics won (and the keyboard). But my 12 string playing now
has much more punch with the fixed finger picks. I'd hate to
use them on the wheel tho ;)

James

Diane Woloshyn on mon 15 nov 99

Hi David,

Try Zinc and Biotin orally. The doctor recommended this for ridged,
cracking, weak, nails and it seems to be working for me. Have also noticed
an increase in the growth rate of my hair,(not more, just faster), that may
be coincidence. Have been taking Biotin 30 mg. and Zinc 50 mg. once a day.
Hope this helps.

Diane Forida Bird Lady

Liz Gowen on mon 15 nov 99

There is a fairly new calcium suppliment out called Viactiv/ It is a caramel
chew with calcium, vit. D and Vit K. This makes my nails stronger than
anything I have tried. Seems the combination of the three does something the
D and calcium don't do alone. I use 3 a day and in about 2 wks the nails get
really strong. ( Used it as a suppliment and it had this as a great side
effect ). Don't know what the male dose is but for women the 1500 Ca a day is
OK.
Liz Gowen

David Cowdrill wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Cracked fingers are one problem, cracked fingernails another. Of course I
> keep them (the nails not the fingers) short, short, but they seem to split
> easily, and it seems to occur more often in the fall/winter. Does anyone
> have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails? So far I've tried
> Knott's gelatin and "Hard Nails" without much success. (Be warned, a guy
> asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets weird looks and smirks!)
> David Cowdrill in Great Falls, Virginia

Veena Raghavan on mon 15 nov 99

Message text written by Ceramic Arts Discussion List
>Does anyone
have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails?<

David,
I had this problem for a while. My daughter got me some a cream
called "The Hoofmaker, and that helped a lot. I rubbed it into my nails at
night and it seemed to strengthen the nails. This is used for horses hoofs,
hence the name, but was available in a supermarket in Virginia, which is
where she bought it. It was distributed by Straight Arrow Products, P.O.
Box 20350, Lehigh Valley, PA 18002. It says not approved for human use, but
everyone was using similar products at the time. In fact, some cosmetic
company was making the same thing in tiny little vials and selling them for
$15.00 or so. I do not know the cost of this jar, which is 32 ozs, but she
said it was not very expensive.
Hope this information helps.

Veena

Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com

Jean Cochran on mon 15 nov 99

Dear David:

My mother was a beautician and I recall her having her patrons drink an
envelope of Knox gelatin mixed in six ounces of juice each day, and soak their
nails in gelatin. I don't know how you have used the gelatin. I drank the
gelatin on a regular basis for a couple of years and a nail I had that
continuously split eventually became strong. My guess is that it takes the
body a long time to build up a healthy nail bed after it has been weakened.
However, I'm surely no physician and do not know if all this is just folk
wisdom.

Good luck,

Jean Cochran

David Cowdrill wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Cracked fingers are one problem, cracked fingernails another. Of course I
> keep them (the nails not the fingers) short, short, but they seem to split
> easily, and it seems to occur more often in the fall/winter. Does anyone
> have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails? So far I've tried
> Knott's gelatin and "Hard Nails" without much success. (Be warned, a guy
> asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets weird looks and smirks!)
> David Cowdrill in Great Falls, Virginia

Cindy Strnad, Earthen Vessels Pottery on mon 15 nov 99

David,

Your nails may be suffering from some deficiency the protein in gelatin
can't help with. Have you asked your doctor for suggestions? You might
consider one of those special vitamin mixtures for hair growth. Fingernails
are made of the same stuff (keratin) as hair, so the hair vitamins should
support strong nails, too. Of course, keeping any body part in water for
most of the time will promote drying and cracking. Gloves may be a good
thing if you can tolerate them.

Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
Custer, SD

Melissa Peters on tue 16 nov 99

I wash my hands about 40 times a day while working in a pediatrician's
office, and throw on the side. My hands and nails fall apart without
some attention. For the cuticles and nails I use Revlon night cuticle
cream in a thick layer and rub it in well. I get a nasty dermatitis
from all the soap use, so then I put on a thin layer of 0.5%
hydrocortisone cream. This is available over the counter, but don't use
it until your cracks have healed. Then I use Avon "silicon glove" or
Udder cream (www.uddercream.com) on my hands and put cotton gloves on
over all. It's labor intensive, but keeps me from cracking and bleeding
all winter long.

Melissa

CINDI ANDERSON on wed 17 nov 99

I haven't found the cure for cracked nails yet, and I drink tons of
milk. But I did find that the more I worked on putting things on my
nails to protect them, the worse they got. Then I read that the acetone
in most nail polish removers is what makes them crack and split. Of
course the more I put hardener stuff on the them, when it would chip off
I'd have to remove the rest to put the hardener stuff back on. When I
stopped trying to "protect" them, they got the best they have ever
been. So whatever you use make sure there is not acetone in it.

Cindi


Jeremy/Bonnie Hellman wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> David,
>
> I was having the same problem of splitting fingernails for several years up
> until last year, when I realized I wasn't getting enough calcium in my diet.
> I made a point of drinking more milk (my preferred way of increasing
> calcium), and found that my fingernails stopped splitting.
>
> Then I realized that my splitting fingernails were most likely the result of
> insufficient calcium! Yes, this has been discussed on Clayart in the past,
> and those emails are probably in the archives, and there may be other
> reasons for problem fingernail. However, in general calcium is good for your
> bones. Just be sure that you are getting it in a digestible form.
>
> BTW I had tried keeping my nails short, taking gelatin (in pills), vitamins,
> various creams, nail polish, and those brush-applied nail hardeners to no
> avail. The gelatin had improved my nails, but the only thing that REALLY
> corrected the problem was adding more calcium to my diet.
>
> Bonnie
>
> Bonnie Hellman in Pittsburgh, PA looking forward to a SW CO Thanksgiving
> vacation
>
> > From: David Cowdrill
> > Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List
> > Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 23:46:59 EST
> > To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
> > Subject: Cracked nails
> >
> > ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> > Cracked fingers are one problem, cracked fingernails another. Of course I
> > keep them (the nails not the fingers) short, short, but they seem to split
> > easily, and it seems to occur more often in the fall/winter. Does anyone
> > have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails? So far I've tried
> > Knott's gelatin and "Hard Nails" without much success. (Be warned, a guy
> > asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets weird looks and smirks!)
> > David Cowdrill in Great Falls, Virginia

Murray & Bacia Edelman on thu 18 nov 99

David: My dermatologist prescribed Lac-Hydrin cream 12% to apply to the
nails twice a day. Applying in the a.m. not a possibility here really. He
also prescribed something for over that, requiring cotton gloves, called
TWEEN-80, but it is like a vaseline and I am not sure it is available
anywhere but in the clinic pharmacy where it is made up specially and put
in a petrolatum base.
The lac-hydrin is not to be confused with a pretty good over the counter
lotion with same name and that is 5%, great for preventing itchy skin after
swimming in chlorine pool (for me anyway.)
I have been on Clayart for years, have seen the subject come up over and
over again, but I have never bothered to tell about my prescriptions. What
works for me may not work for thee.
An unfortunate cure for the cracking finger tips and nail problems is not
being able to get to work with clay much these past weeks. A cure that I
intend to override as soon as possible.
regards to all. Bacia in Madison, Wisconsin


At 11:46 PM 11/13/99 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Cracked fingers are one problem, cracked fingernails another. Of course I
>keep them (the nails not the fingers) short, short, but they seem to split
>easily, and it seems to occur more often in the fall/winter. Does anyone
>have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails? So far I've tried
>Knott's gelatin and "Hard Nails" without much success. (Be warned, a guy
>asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets weird looks and smirks!)
>David Cowdrill in Great Falls, Virginia
>

Sarah Lackey on fri 19 nov 99

Try taking Gelatin capsules. They make nails stronger and more flexible.
Also, soaking your fingertips in some sort of lotion will help. Mary Kay
extra emmolient night cream (bright pink gooey stuff that works wonders) is
great and so is Jergens for dry skin with lipids and any type of Vaseline
lotion. . .

Sarah


> > > ----------------------------Original
>message----------------------------
> > > Cracked fingers are one problem, cracked fingernails another. Of
>course I
> > > keep them (the nails not the fingers) short, short, but they seem to
>split
> > > easily, and it seems to occur more often in the fall/winter. Does
>anyone
> > > have suggestions for preventing splitting fingernails? So far I've
>tried
> > > Knott's gelatin and "Hard Nails" without much success. (Be warned, a
>guy
> > > asking for "Hard Nails" at a drug store gets weird looks and smirks!)
> > > David Cowdrill in Great Falls, Virginia
>
>

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C. Rasko on fri 19 nov 99

Lac-Hydran 12% lotion is now available over the counter with the name
AmLactin 12% Lotion from the Upsher-Smith company. This has been over the
counter now for only about six months. Lac-Hydran 12% comes in lotion or
cream and is fantastic. It does not work miracles overnight but results
should be seen within a week. Lac-Hydran 12% = AmLactin 12% are the same,
works great with frequent applications. Prescriptions usually work, AmLactin
12% used to be prescription only.

Gerry Turner on sun 21 nov 99

I've read a bunch of different causes for cracked nails, the most often of
which is tht hands and hence nails are in water a lot. (Are they talking
about us? This is straight from the Mayo Clinic.) But so far the best
thing I've found to help alleviate the problem is anything called "hoof
maker". As the name implies, it's used on horse hoofs. The first I got was
an awful smelling sticky concoction that could only be used under gloves at
night. But then I found some in a tack shop that was much more like a
regular hand cream and I use it regularly massaging it into the nails and
cuticles. Just a couple of days ago I saw a similar product in the pet
section at the local Walmart for about $3.00, but I haven't tried it.

Gerry in Wisconsin
-----Original Message-----
From: Diane Woloshyn
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Monday, November 15, 1999 2:10 PM
Subject: Re: Cracked nails


>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi David,
>
>Try Zinc and Biotin orally. The doctor recommended this for ridged,
>cracking, weak, nails and it seems to be working for me. Have also noticed
>an increase in the growth rate of my hair,(not more, just faster), that may
>be coincidence. Have been taking Biotin 30 mg. and Zinc 50 mg. once a day.
>Hope this helps.
>
>Diane Forida Bird Lady
>