[Omar15]

Hey CJ,

I used to get these cripplingly badly (most sessions)  and now I do the below it's almost rare.

1. Drink loads of water before and during climbing - a bit more than you think you need to. I'm certain I would get them when I was dehydrated.

2. Get a rough foot file and sand over the split with this. I found this really helps to break the cycle of heal/re-split/heal/re-split. Then neaten up with sandpaper or similar. Do this pre-emptively also on bits of skin which look to be getting thick and ripe for splitting.

Omar

[WillRobertson]

For a while now I've had issues with the inside of the end joint on both my middle fingers. The skin just keeps splitting right in the fold. I'm quite meticulous with sanding it down whenever there's any ridges or build up of dry/flakey skin and moisturise reasonably frequently the rest of the time, but nothing seems to help.

It can get quite painful at times and is prone to splitting causing me to leave DNA traces in blood form, which gets tiresome.

Anyone experienced anything similar/got any tips?


*Apologies for dragging up an old thread, but it seemed pointless starting a new one that would be so similar!

[lagerstarfish]

worth giving heel balm a go - it's amazing for stopping cracks in thick, dry heel skin

[dave]

I get this from time to time - things that help:
-decent moisturiser used daily.
-don't any kind of thick/dry skin to build up on the crease, i.e. be fastidious about sanding, even before it looks like you've got a problem.
-avoid hard tight crimping on nasty edges, as this puts the most mechanical force across that bit of skin.
-if you've got a split or partial split let it heal up properly, i.e. longer than you think, cos even when healed up it'll be weaker for ages.
-You can protect them by putting a blob of superglue one side of the crease, another one the other side of the crease, then taping over the whole thing with say a single width of tape. This then takes the strain off the skin under the tape, stops any mechanical aggravation of the area too. If done right it should stay on for most of a session and won't cover much if any of the pad, so doesn't really impact on climbing.

[WillRobertson]

Thanks both, will give some of these a go 

[shurt]

You can get superglue that is flexible (someone had it at the crag the other day)  this looked a far better option than normal stuff. Had blood blister on a tip and thought I wouldn't climb again that day. A mate got out a pin and the glue and after draining it and gluing up the hole I was back in the game! Brilliant.

[tim palmer]

Suffered really badly with splits in the finger joints, don't get them anymore because of three things:
1. Palmers cocoa butter moisturiser, seems to work better than other alternatives of a similar price
2.  Trim rough skin with a razor blade
3. Carmex medicated lip balm in splits, it is amazing stuff

I found super glue made things way worse as it makes the skin around the split less supple

[thekettle]

An interesting tip for this that I heard on a Trainingbeta podcast recently, not needed to try it yet:
Splint the split fingers straight (or even slightly hyperextended at the split joint) each night and it prevents the skin from regrowing 'short' then re-splitting when stretched.

Anyone other that Jonathon Seigrist actually tried this?

[WillRobertson]

An interesting tip for this that I heard on a Trainingbeta podcast recently, not needed to try it yet:
Splint the split fingers straight (or even slightly hyperextended at the split joint) each night and it prevents the skin from regrowing 'short' then re-splitting when stretched.

Anyone other that Jonathon Seigrist actually tried this?

Interesting idea, sounds logical. Not sure I'm suffering enough to try it yet though!

[standard]

An interesting tip for this that I heard on a Trainingbeta podcast recently, not needed to try it yet:
Splint the split fingers straight (or even slightly hyperextended at the split joint) each night and it prevents the skin from regrowing 'short' then re-splitting when stretched.

Anyone other that Jonathon Seigrist actually tried this?

Just hijacking the thread to congratulate (commiserate) you on spending over an hour listening to Neely and "J-Star". You utter masochist.

[SA Chris]

An interesting tip for this that I heard on a Trainingbeta podcast recently, not needed to try it yet:
Splint the split fingers straight (or even slightly hyperextended at the split joint) each night and it prevents the skin from regrowing 'short' then re-splitting when stretched.

Anyone other that Jonathon Seigrist actually tried this?

I'd rather get a good night sleep thanks. Plus how do you splint both hands, like trying to nail yourself to a cross.

[andy_e]

Happened upon this thread whilst looking for tips and solutions to the joint split I'm currently sporting, first proper deep one in 16 years! Some decent advice on here to try out, thanks.

1. Palmers cocoa butter moisturiser, seems to work better than other alternatives of a similar price

Hmmm, is this an impartial recommendation or is there a familial link?

[tomtom]

Lagers tip has worked super well for me.

Heel balm. Any brand (they do some in LidlAldi) but make sure it has Urea in it - thats the magic ingredient. I've dabbed a bit on the split and covered with a plaster overnight - and over a couple of days it seems to help it heal really fast.