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Dry hands get better with abstinance ?

schatz

itchin for kava
I hope I posted in the right place, but I am wondering if my extremely dry hands will go away by abstaining from kava for a bit? I have been drinkig kava almost daily for a year and a half and loving it and would like to get back to it. However I am having extremely dry hands and living in Az. this is not ideal. I have been off kava for 12 days and hands still are not getting better, how long does it take for most of you to get back to normal? I understand most everyone partaking in the kava ends up with various dryness and occassional dermo and dry hand, but I have worked through all this but finally had to take a break because I just cannot take this dry hand anymore. I have even been making my own lotion out of bees wax,coco butter, shea, avacado,olive oil vit e. Nothing is working and the only other thing it could be is thyroid issue. I hope not but decided to stop kava and see if it goes away before assuming its thyroid since most everyone has had dry hands from kava that I have read here. How long should I give it, I have read that 2 weeks should be enough but if you guys have experienced differently let me know please as I have a couple pounds coming from Chris on Tuesday and would hate to have to wait longer to try. Thanks.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
I think the dry on the back of my hand is dermo but on the palms I only get it from kneading, but that goes away for me after a day or two of not kneading. Do you have both?
 

schatz

itchin for kava
I think the dry on the back of my hand is dermo but on the palms I only get it from kneading, but that goes away for me after a day or two of not kneading. Do you have both?
Thanks for the reply, no my fingers and palms and backs of hands look like 90 year old man hands unless i go in the pool and hang out in the water or put lotion and gloves on for a while, especially have to glove up overnight. I also forgot to mention if I go barefoot for any length of time my feet dry out too. I have to wear socks and gloves to bed.
 

schatz

itchin for kava
And also forgot to mention that I wear gloves while kneading, but I have mostly been using my Alubal for the last year or so, just so easy.
 

Krunkie McKrunkface

Kava Connoisseur
That's a bad case of Dermo then, for sure. I think the answer may lie in the idea that dermo is essentially an allergic reaction that some people get to some of the lesser kavalactones in some kavas, and some are more sensitive than others, so the remedy may seem to lie in choosing a different variety, which has less of the lactones causing the reaction, limit exposure, or build tolerance by long exposure to small doses (e,g, a teaspoon a day for two years, a bit extreme but it might work, I have no idea but this is a common treatment for some allergies, e.g. Bee stings, though obviously not for a fatal allergy like peanuts or seafood). I don't know about treating with antihistamines or Benadryl or other traditional allergy treatments. I think that would call for a really good allergy specialist to make that call.
 

schatz

itchin for kava
Yes for all the other various side effects I have gotten, dry patches and red dots at lymph nodes etc, I have just drank through it and they went away.But the dry hands and feet have been the only issue that has remained constant through continued drinking. That is why I regretfully decided I better take a break even with many pds. sitting in my kava cupboard, but by Tuesday it will be 2 weeks. I thought from everything I have read here that all symptoms are reversible in the two week time frame. So I may have to start thinking a thyroid issue Tuesday, maybe take some iodine or something.
 

schatz

itchin for kava
mate, have you tried using lanolin cream? I've just remembered it saved my hands a year ago or so
Thanks Henry I have not tried lanolin yet. The lotion I have been making will soften my hands and gloves keep the lotion on and my hands are fine then. The problem I think is not lubricating from the inside of body like they should. 5 minutes after taking the gloves off and my hands become extremely dry again with many vertical lines, and same with feet. 5 minutes after taking my shoes off to go swimming they will dry up incredibly. If I stay in the pool for any length of time they are fine also, it is just when I dry them off again, so I think it is not being lubricated normally by internal mechanisms like maybe the sebaceus glands malfunction, I dont know. I am not a doctor, I am a former mechanic so I can at least follow a diagnostic reasoning to a point. Thanks
 

schatz

itchin for kava
Sorry if I sound cranky, but I havent had my kava in 12 days or so. Oh yeah the dry hands and feet started back in November, so I just figured it was winter dryness that was causing it. But it has stayed almost into June now.
 

Groggy

Kava aficionado
Admin
Sorry if I sound cranky, but I havent had my kava in 12 days or so. Oh yeah the dry hands and feet started back in November, so I just figured it was winter dryness that was causing it. But it has stayed almost into June now.
Give it a few weeks and you'll be good as new (I know it sucks :()

Amalactin works really well too and it will reduce the recovery time.
 

schatz

itchin for kava
I agree it sucks
Give it a few weeks and you'll be good as new (I know it sucks :()

Amalactin works really well too and it will reduce the recovery time.
It is tough staying away from kava, but this time it is worth it to get my hands back. All my friends and family look at my hands and say wow, Maybe kava isnt so good. But I look back at them and say at least I know what it is doing and it is reversible and temporary. And I also tell them I would rather have visible side effects that are temporary than alcohol side effects you dont see or know about like liver and brain. I get annual blood tests and so far they are great. So everything comes with some negatives and nothing is perfect, but for me kava has been the closest thing. Thanks
 

schatz

itchin for kava
It does seem like the dry hands thing is exacerbated by kneading kava
But I am using an Alubal mostly and when I do traditional I wear gloves. But you all might be interested to know that I think it might be improving a little bit. I hope so because my shipment from Chris at GHK will be here tomorrow and maybe will have have to dip in. I just checked when I ordered and It was Thursday, thats fast, thanks Chris. I will let yoy guys know for sure tommorow.
 

ThePiper

Kava Lover
Amlactin or some equivalent is worth having on hand. I use this foot cream on my hands (lol) but I can go from dry flakes with redness to looking normal overnight when I use it even one time. Also it seems like occasionally the dryness just goes away on its own regardless of the kava but I'm not sure why
 

schatz

itchin for kava
My hands are definately better today if anyone is interested. Yesterday they were showing signs of improvement finally and my shipment from Chris arrived. I couldnt help myself so I had to try it, it was excellent. Highly recommend the Kumakua, although I don't think I recieved its full effects from abstaining for 2 weeks. Today my hands are still better than yesterday so maybe at this point it would be better to drink through it and see if the dry hand thing gets better. That's what I am thinking for strategy for now, ha ha. But seriuosly for a while until this gets better I will only drink Chris's kava and occasional Borogu from Kalm, I know these are noble and not sure about what I have been using in the past, so just to be sure that is what I am going to do. And besides Chris's service at GHK is oustanding, from order to delivery here in Az only took 5 days and that was a holiday weekend. Impressive, Thanks Chris.
 
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