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food prep for those with eczema

post #1 of 3
1/16/06 at 11:00pm
Thread Starter 
I am prone to occasional bouts of eczema on my hands. I'm allergic to latex and thus can't use latex gloves (which I don't think are used in professional kitchens anyway), and sometimes when I cut certain produce, my hands start to itch & burn (and eventually crack & bleed). Does anyone else have this problem or know anyone who does? How do food professionals with eczema remedy this problem when they're exposing their hands at least 12 hours a day? I'm thinking cotton gloves under plastic gloves, but would not letting my skin breathe still exacerbate this condition? I'd really appreciate your input. Thanks.
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post #2 of 3
1/17/06 at 11:42am
I actually have psoriosis (sp?) on my hands, and I'll admit somtimes it's challenging.

I got diagnoses with exzema for YEARS, until one day I went and saw a dermatologist. He took one look and said it was psoriosis. I've got the flaky, itchy dry skin that cracks and bleeds. It can be bad.

You need to wear gloves and bandages. It's a health risk for your guests. My suggestion would be to get some vinly gloves, non powdered. It will not only keep your hands from contaminating the food, but it will help you wash your hands less.

Another thing you can do is just work really hard to control the condition. Use mild soaps on your hands when you wash. Keep them moisturized at night. I use Vaseline and a substance called Bag Balm--easy to find here in Vermont, but I found it in Texas with little difficulty as well.

When iut gets really bad, wear some cotton gloves over you vaselined hands at night. It can really help the cracking.

It's been under control for me recently, but I never know when it'll flare up real bad again. It's definately a maintenance kind of thing. If I let it go for a couple days I'll pay for it.

Hope I helped a little. Good luck
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post #3 of 3
1/18/06 at 8:07am
There are some latex feel type of gloves that are made by a company around here they are not latex but they feel like them i got a problem like yours so i just use this gloves and they do the job better than latex.
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