split finger tips advice needed

[Dugafola]

they're not that cheap! at least the stuff i use. i normally go for the johnson and johnson, ACE, or 3m cloth athletic tape. one roll is at least $4.

during the last conference in Oakland i ended up buying the "coach's pack" with 6 rolls.

if i notice split forming in a finger, i'll usually try and hit it with a pumice stone when i'm in the shower. that helps remove the excess, loose skin and helps the new stuff grow in quicker and/or heal up too.

[michi]

they're not that cheap! at least the stuff i use. i normally go for the johnson and johnson, ACE, or 3m cloth athletic tape. one roll is at least $4.

Ah, I don't use athletic tape. I've been using the paper tape, but a non-branded version. These are cheap in half-dozen packs at discount pharmacies.

during the last conference in Oakland i ended up buying the "coach's pack" with 6 rolls.

You must be popular at drumming camps too then!

if i notice split forming in a finger, i'll usually try and hit it with a pumice stone when i'm in the shower. that helps remove the excess, loose skin and helps the new stuff grow in quicker and/or heal up too.

Yes, good advice. One reason why splits in callouses heal so slowly is that the callous is hard and, every time I move my fingers, the callous moves and tends to pull the half-healed split open again. This is particularly bad with splits right at the base of a finger, where it joins onto the palm. Splits in the soft crease at the base of a finger can be really bad for me.

Removing the callous with a pumice stone around the split to thin the skin down to what it basically is normally really makes a difference.

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

I would use paper tape, but it tends to slide off my hands after a while.

So cloth tape it is!

[bops]

If you live in a region that gets very dry in the winter (like mine), then it's a good idea to put a humidifier in your bedroom.

[Gothenburg]

One way to prevent red and swollen hands and splits is to drink a lot of water before you drum.
The reason If you see the white grease coming up in your hand after have been playing is to less water!!

[atam]

I also have this trouble with all the time borrowing my tape... but tape is far from ideal solution! I have permanently problems with splits and tape cannot help you in all the cases. I also use karite and other hand cremes, but it still seems to me that after some time of dynamic playing my hands become dry and the skin is losing its elasticity, or just isnt elastic enough!

I tended to think for some time that my vegetarian diet is the reason for less skin elasticity, but now I know an excellent player who doesn´t eat meet as well - and doesnt have the splits often.

BTW - the urine - I know it is a miraculous medecine for many things, but can it also help as PREVENTION of splits? I doubt, although I am open to try almost anything that really helps. It seems to me that I will never develop enough calluses for all the time taping splits !!

[Rhythm House Drums]

atam,
I've been vegetarian for over 6 years now, and I've never had a split. I don't play for hours and hours on end, day after day... I've done some all day workshops and drum with a group for 2 hours a week.. usually practice 1 to 2 hours or so a few times a week, usually drum at a community circle for a few hours on the weekends... Maybe I'm not playing enough to get the problems, are these problems coming up on people that play 4-5 hours a day, day after day??? If you think it could be diet related, take some flax seed oil... it's supposed to be good for us veggy people anyways.

When I first got into hand drumming and was hitting the drum way wrong, I was rubbing a lot of dit da jow on my hands. I did martial arts for a while.. this is the stuff they use to use for iron fist training. Lots of herbs and alcohol. Might work good for bruising/swelling, but I think it would probably dry your hands out more... if them being dry is the problem.... I do salt soaks and some jow rubs every once in a while. I also head a lot of drums, and pulling all that rope will build up huge calluses on your hands... so I use some burts bees farmers hand lotion almost every night. I really think it helps keep my hands soft and perty.

I heard that peeing on your hands right before a performance will help you play faster and get a better sound.. My cat seems to think that peeing on our front door will keep the neighbor cats away... and they think if they pee on the front door it will make my cat run away... I think I'm going to pee on my front door tonight and see what happens...

[Djembe-nerd]

so I use some burts bees farmers hand lotion almost every night. I really think it helps keep my hands soft and perty

The day I drum I put shea butter after dinner, rub it and let it soak so that the hands are almost dry when I go to bed. In the morning after bath I put Ponds cold cream. makes my hand look pretty too

[michi]

Shea butter helps to prevent splits. The main cause of splits is low humidity, and shea butter keeps the skin supple in dry climate.

For bruising and swelling, bathe your hands in very hot saturated salt solution for a few minutes. Rub more shea butter in afterwards while your hands are still hot and soft.

Many people swear by Arnica cream for bruising. I've used it a few times, and it seems to help (although it's difficult to tell whether my hands wouldn't have recovered just as fast without it).

Be careful not to get cream residue on your goat skin. Especially mineral oils do damage to the skin, so use something like shea butter and, if your hands are still greasy, wipe them thoroughly on a towel before playing.

Cheers,

Michi.

[bops]

Here's a post from my wife's blog, with her recipe for salve. I apply several times daily...rarely need tape. I think I'd have to be pretty desperate to try peeing on my hands.

[michi]

Here's a post from my wife's blog, with her recipe for salve.

That looks like a bloody nice concoction! I have no doubt that it'll work well, and I'm sure it'll smell nice!

Cheers,

Michi.

[atam]

Here's a post from my wife's blog, with her recipe for salve. I apply several times daily...rarely need tape. I think I'd have to be pretty desperate to try peeing on my hands.

Yes, this salve looks really nice and tasty ! Although I will try the shea butter first or even the urine, before I start growing lavender - never seen some of the ingredients for sale in my region.

[Waraba]

When you put neosporin on your hands, remember it is in a vaseline base and I believe vaseline is not good for your goat skin.

[Bliquid]

Superglue the cracks, and wrap with that tough cloth sticky medical tape. can try putting lotions on your hands at night and cloth or rubber gloves are put on overnight. Bag balm and cornhuskers lotion work well for me. calluses will eventually build up, but an open cut may need a week or so to heal or it may keep splitting if you like to drum hard.

Andy @ Athens Djembe Company

[Waraba]

Lately I've discovered self-sticking tape over a bandaid keeps the bandaid on. Self-stick tape alone comes off, but for some reason it won't come off when it's on over a bandaid. If you put enough self-stick tape on alone, I think it will stay on. there's no gluey mess.