Climber’s Hands: How to Take Care of Calluses & Prevent Flappers

1. Climber’s Hands: How to Take Care of Calluses & Prevent Flappers Calluses are developed due to the repeated friction or pressure caused on the skin. An extra layer grows over the affected area and it becomes harder and causes a bump. Calluses are usually found on the heels, palms, knees and toes. The common causes of calluses are wearing tight-fitting shoes, playing musical instruments, working with your hands, or walking barefoot. There are some common solutions which you need to follow to take care of calluses. Have a look! Wash hands regularly:​ This is a simple step to follow. Washing hands regularly helps to remove chalk, dirt, grease accommodated while climbing. Ignoring this step will result in drying of the skin and cause irritation in the skin. Thus, it is important to wash your hands with soap and cold water after climbing. Apply Callus healing salve Before Bed: ​Dry skin is more likely to crack and peel than hydrated skin. ​Callus healing salve​​is helpful to keep the skin hydrated and treat calluses on hands. Callus healing salve AKA climbing balm is the best solution for the climbers. Its formulation is helpful in reducing and eliminating calluses. You can

2. apply it on the callus before bed and let it repair the skin once you sleep. You can also apply it after the climbing session. File down the callus: ​When a callus gets soft or loose, it is more likely to convert into a flapper. Flapper occurs when calluses form at the outward part of the body. File down the callus regularly and level it with the rest of the skin to restrict the number of flappers. It is a simple step to filing down the callus. You can use a ​callus tool​, emery cloth sandpaper and skin file. If they are protruding too much, you can file them down. Filing them too much may remove the callus completely. Make sure you only level down the skin. Some people file the calluses in the shower as wet hands make it easier to remove. Make sure you monitor the callus timely as it avoids flappers on the skin. Use different climbing chalk:​ The problem might be in your climbing chalk and not in you. Some of the climbing chalk has a drying agent. They are suited for the climbers having sweaty hands. If your hands do not sweat that much these climbing chalk makes their hands cracked, rough and sore. Before buying the chalk, read the formulation correctly before using it. If the chalk is worsening the callus condition, you should try a different brand. Avoid using Hot water:​ If the callus is exposed to the hot water, it will soften the callus and loosen the skin. A loose callus is more likely to turn off and becomes a flapper. If you want to keep the callus in the

3. best shape, you must avoid the exposure of your hands to the hot water. You should avoid long hour shower and wear rubber gloves while washing the dishes. You can take a cold shower and wash the dishes with cold water. Also, avoid hot tub bath. Simple steps to prevent flappers ● Avoid climbing if you are having a flapper in your hands. It will make it worse. ● Next step is to clean the affected area. ● Next, rinse the affected area with water and clean all the dirt and blood on the skin. Trim down or cut down the loose skin. ● Apply antibiotic cream on the flapper and then apply a bandage. You may experience some pain when you pull it off a few days later. ● Use a climbing tape and cover the area. If you want to continue climbing, you can use more climbing tape around the bandage. Resource Link: ​https://bit.ly/3of7K0L