Saving Your Fingers

If you do as much hand sewing as I do you'll eventually wear the surface of several fingers down so thin that you actually do some damage.  I assemble so many small items b y hand I end up losing my fingerprints on two fingers, have a rubbed area over my third finger where the thread rubs, and have stuck myself numerous times with the needle and drawn blood.

Get that tetanus shot every 10 years, just 'in case'.  You're being pierced by metal.  A needle has a surface coating on it but over time your fingers are going to be wearing that off and the end can transfer something into your blood supply. 

For the rubbed areas I get something called 'moleskin' or 'safety tape' from any store that carries bandages and health supplies. The stuff is on a roll, is like very thick tape, and comes off easily when you need to remove it from your fingers.  It has saved my skin from cracking across the knuckle area and is worth having around for those tough jobs that HAVE to be done by a certain deadline. 

For your fingers that are being worn down through two layers of skin I use something that came on the market about three years ago. It's in the bandage section too, and is a fluid.  The brand name is Liquid Bandage. It was designed for putting over blisters on the feet (basically done because of runners and hikers) but works great on the hand issues.  It stinks like fingernail polish and may sting at first, but once dry it gives a protective layering similar to superglue.  It will flake off naturally in 24 to 36 hours and does a great job of protecting an area.  You can use it on cuts as well, but NOT on large areas such as scrapes or burns.  I love the stuff, it works as intended.