Keeping well hydrated by drinking water helps. I also recommend: preventing overdrying by using gloves when doing household chores with detergents, using gentle hand cleaners, and findng a shampoo! that doesn't add to the irritation. I bought a 5-pack of "Body Butters" from Costco. I've been using the olive oil one for about a week and it's really nice for my hands and my heels, too.