Mary Kay satin hands cream. It stays and stays, even through hand washing. It used to smell awful, so I stopped using it. But in checking the name for you I discover that they now have a new scent, and even unscented versions. I’m off to order some. . .
Boy, the things you read on The Dope. I worked as a dishwasher at an IHOP in suburban Philly in the late 1970’s. My brother also worked there doing the same task. He suffered this syndrome to a greater extent than I did, and it lasted longer than mine did.
Mine lasted into my 30’s and I did this job at age 17 and 18. Then stopped forever.
Gloves while handling the dirty dishes wouldn’t have made a difference. We felt that the source of IHOP Rot was the Guardian brand soap powder used in the industrial machines. You load the dirty dishes and load the soap using gloves. However, you are using your " clean " bare hands to pull the steaming hot and somewhat damp dishes out to stack them in the clean stacks.
Random tiny bits of Guardian soap coupled with the heat and moisture, repeated dozens of times a day, led to this rot. It manifested itself with rotting skin, split cuticles and damaged and decayed fingernails.
I suspect you may be suffering this.
Remember Madge, the Palmolive lady. She’d tell the customer’s they were soaking their hands in dishwashing liquid and they’d react like Madge was putting their hands in nuclear waste
was a money counter for a time and had to wash/alcohol often so we might have the same problem. constant soaking actually makes you vulnerable to infection and irritation. any cream (or baby oil) after work and wear gloves WHILE YOU’RE OUTSIDE, NOT WHILE WASHING DISHES.