None. There is no hand soap we can use 30 times a day for 20 seconds at a time without it hurting our skin.
My hands are raw. I have never had eczema on my hands, but now I can add hands to my eczema’s territory. I’m using my free & clear, fragrance-free hand soap (my recommended type of hand soap!) at home and am not in public enough to use any other soap. I have, however, used regular hand sanitizer (with alcohol and fragrance) about 3 times in the last two weeks. My hand eczema could be result of using regular hand sanitizer, but it could also be related to my washing my hands more often.
The reality for eczema fighters is that we struggle with just water.
My flare-up has spread up my forearms and jumps onto to my right inner elbow and underarm. My knuckles feel and look like they have little cuts in them.
Washing my hands hurts and giving my babies a bath makes the skin sting. Really, though, they hurt on their own, without any activity. I think about my hands all day long now. Ironically, because of COVID-19, others are also thinking about their hands and rushing to wash or sanitize them; meanwhile, I’m cringing at the thought of washing mine.
Of course, as always, the silver lining brings me back to reality and puts things in perspective. My hands and skin could be much more severe or, even worse, my family, friends or I could be sick. For me, my hands being in pain is a part of my COVID-19 quarantine life. Nobody likes quarantine life and it will get better.