Salt in the wound Part II: "Welcome to the world. It’s salty and awful out here."

New skin is innocent.  It’s vulnerable and naive to the threats which thrust it into existence.  For this reason many athletes have trouble breaking the cycle of broken/soft skin and getting their hands to harden up in a timely manner to return to competition.  The only way to throw this rose pedal soft epidermis into the wood chipper of your life is to let it know:  “Welcome to the world.  It is salty and awful out here.”I’ve devoted the past week and a half to testing the commonly held gymnastics theory that soaking a torn callus in a super-saturated salt mixture 3x/ day makes the skin grow back with the callus already in place.  Calluses typically form as the result of physical irritation but this theory employs a chemical irritation to reach the same result.

Right Hand (Experimental Group) day One: The Salt Soak Group

Left Hand (Control Group) day One : The Neosporin Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been diligently salt soaking my right ring finger in super saturated salt water for over a week now.  I soak the right hand 3x/day for 20 minute spells.  This is easy to do.  I simply walk about handling my business while carrying a mug of salt water that I have my right middle finger submerged in.  I look like an unhygienic waiter.  Due to inherent base line of salinity in the body, the salt soak has only a minimal burn.

RESULTS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at that hardened digit on the right! Tell me that scaly talon isn’t ready for ropes.

In the interests of full disclosure, I will admit that I contaminated these results. I gave up on the Neosporin and started salting both hands a few days ago. I made the early switch when the skin on The Experimental Group was healing tough, dry and resilient as opposed to the goopy mess of flesh which often opened and bled on the Neosporin hand.

1. Cracking- The wound dries out quickly and is susceptible to cracking. For this reason, I recommend applying an unflavored chap stick to the tear a couple times per day and before workouts.
2. Convenience- My walking mug trick worked for me, but this technique is intended for torn calluses in the palm of the hand as well. Unless you are a security guard at a junior college, you probably don’t have the time to sit with the palms of your hands in two saucers of salt water for an hour every day.