I need light, thin, everyday wear gloves, before I chew myself to pieces
July 9, 2014 10:23 AM   Subscribe

My dermatillomania has worsened, and I'm biting and picking at my fingers all day and in my sleep, causing a fair amount of damage and pain. I want to find some gloves I can wear at night and perhaps at work to help curb this until I can get it under control. Does anyone have any insight into everyday-wear gloves?

I know that having things on my fingertips helps stop this, as bandaids and tape over my fingers have prevented me from picking at fingers. But adhesives sweat, fall off, and are uncomfortable and I do not want to wear them all day.

I have latex and PVC gloves, but I need something that I can wear for hours in the summer - the sweat and damage from non-porous gloves only aggravates the compulsion.

I'm looking for something thin, light, and breathable. I need to be able to type and handle paper and pens - touchscreens aren't as important. I'm ok with leather and animal products, though they need to be really thin. Cotton or mesh would also be a good choice.

Extra extra special points if they look classy too, as I'll likely be wearing these in my workplace on bad days.

I'm in Toronto/Canada, but can buy online. I'm receiving good treatment for this illness, so I'm not looking for advice except around the gloves, thanks!
posted by robot-hugs to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'd look for cotton spa gloves or silk glove liners. Lands' End carries them here. I have found that they are lightweight and comfortable for every day wear. They do ship to Canada.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 10:38 AM on July 9, 2014


Gloves used in archives are lightweight, cheap, and designed to be used while handling delicate objects, taking notes, etc. They are utterly without style, but I wouldn't blink if I heard someone at work say they were using them to protect healing skin.
posted by tchemgrrl at 10:56 AM on July 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


You want the basic white cotton gloves that people use when handling special items like art or coins. You can get 12 pairs for a little over $6 at Amazon.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:59 AM on July 9, 2014 [2 favorites]


The hubs has the fingerless version of these Isotoner therapeutic gloves. I've tried them on — they're stretchy and pretty thin.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 11:31 AM on July 9, 2014


You want thin cotton dermatological gloves and these are the best bandaids I've ever used. They stay on, are very thin, and are waterproof.
posted by quince at 11:58 AM on July 9, 2014 [1 favorite]


The Vermont Country Store sells them. They say in their blurb that they could be used when reading the newspaper, so I presume they're thin enough for your needs.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:50 PM on July 9, 2014


Is it just me, or does anyone else think that cotton gloves will hold moisture/sweat? I don't have any answers, but I wonder what is used on burn victims? I just did a quick google: burn victim gloves and here is one result. There are several others.
posted by harrietthespy at 3:12 PM on July 9, 2014


My ex- had those cheap cotton gloves for working with photos. Perfect for sleeping. For daytime, you could get white gloves, or fingerless gloves, which would look less odd. Know any knitters? someone could knit you a pair of light fingerless gloves in a color/ style of your choice. Would leave your cuticles exposed, but it's hard to type in any kind of glove except maybe fine kidskin, and a little googling tells me they're quite pricey. If you can find kidskin gloves on ebay, they're very thin leather, quite flexible, will take the shape of your hands.

You've tried putting bitter cherry on your fingers, right? Smells nice, tastes vile. Might be useful when at work
posted by theora55 at 3:53 PM on July 9, 2014


You can usually find quality unworn vintage kidskin gloves at antique stores and nicer flea markets for around $10. I used to wear them a lot, and they are very breathable and don't make my hands sweat, even in warmer weather. (caveat: this was in San Francisco, so warmer weather is relative)

It may take some hunting to find a pair that fits your hands, but it's definitely worth the effort! Extra plus bonus, you can use touch screens with them on :)
posted by ananci at 11:49 PM on July 9, 2014


Response by poster: Hey everyone, thanks for the answers. Inspired by your suggestions I got myself a few orders of these

lace gloves

Which I wear on transit at the very least to stop me spreading subway germs everywhere, and I can feel sort of fancy about it while not chewing on my hands all the time.
posted by robot-hugs at 12:40 PM on August 8, 2014


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