Udder Balm / Bag Balm

[quote] My mom grew up in Montana with very cold winters, and she has always sworn by Bag Balm for dry skin, especially on the hands and knees/elbows.

Did she use it on her udders, too?

We used get tubs of Bova Cream from a large animal vet friend. I just looked on Amazon and it appears to be sold out. It has a nice lemon scent

[quote] Did she use it on her udders, too?

I use it on mine!!

Just use Mentholatum on those teats!

When the weather continues dry for a while and my heels start to crack, I've found nothing works better than using Bag Balm on them. Same for when I do some sort of task which leaves my hands rough. The (slight) smell of Bag Balm is like that of plain unscented candle wax, pretty much a non-entity. Best of all is the metal box it comes in, good for storing little things!

It's petroleum jelly, lanolin, wax and a coal tar derivative with antifungal, antiseptic properties.

Yes, I occasionally use it on my feet (during cold weather) overnight with cotton socks. Good stuff.

The lanolin is what gives it that smell, and I think the lanolin has the antimicrobials. My mom keeps a tin of it on her nightstand, but she complains all the time that it isn't as good as it used to be. I compared an old container and a new one (this was 9 years ago so I'm using 'old' and 'new' loosely here) and IIRC, they had reduced the percentage of lanolin.

I ordered her a tube of lanolin to mix into her BB containers to make it on par with the older version, but she still bitches about it. She has a crack on the bottom of her foot that won't heal because she goes barefoot all the time and won't use AmLactin or anything consistently (not diabetic or anything, either). Please excuse the diversion, my feathers are getting ruffled in anticipation of having these same conversations at Christmas.

R8 lanolin is an emollient wax that is naturally found in sheep's wool, similar in texture to petrolatum. However, it's not an antiseptic—the hydroxyquinoline in Bag Balm (and Dr. Naylor) is what has the antibacterial properties.

OP's mom uses it on her udders and saddlebags.

I use Egyptian Magic for my dry skin. It seems very greasy but absorbed into your skin very quickly.

It’s cheap, contains good stuff and lasts forever

Bag balm is great. My mom was from Montana, too, and used it her entire life. After she went into remission from spinal cancer, mom also used Absorbine horse liniment to help with back pain. I'm sure that people with common sense have been using these products for generations.

Udder comments are from utterly, moronic stutterers. Makes one shudder. May they get itchy sores on their ball-less putters.

Respectfully, I know what lanolin is, R9. Lanolin has naturally-occurring antifungal and antibiotic properties. Heavy sheep wool would cause fungus and bacteria to grow out of control on the sheep skin, under the coat. To protect the skin from infection, the lanolin has these naturally-occuring properties, in addition to whatever else BB puts in the stuff

^Should have said BB has the anti-stuff of lanolin, plus whatever BB adds to their product.

My grandma's 75yo niece has rheumatoid arthritis and prays to god to die everyday (if this sounds familiar, I've mentioned her here before). I wonder if Absorbine would help her at all. It says not safe for humans, but given the circumstances I don't think there's much to lose.

R15, I’m hypermobile (yes - the dreaded ehlers-danlos, but for real) and so was cursed with severe osteoarthritis starting in my late twenties. I think anything applied on the skin only works due to increased bloodflow and the placebo affect, but I say go ahead and recommend it . If it provides some relief for her, it’s all good! :)

I also had horses, and the stuff used on them is generally safe for humans, I reckon (horses have delicate sensibilities). 🤷🏻

For cracked heels, the absolute guaranteed stuff is cream with 25% urea. There’s an Australian brand in a yellow and white tube that is miraculous but I’ve never seen it in the US, not even Amazon. Of course, to maintain them, you can’t go barefoot anymore. Sneakers and socks are the rule.

Amazon in the US has creams w/20, 30 and 40 percent urea. those are to get rid of calluses and toughened, cracked skin. Petroleum ointments and balms form a barrier to hold in moisture.

That’s true. Removing heel calluses is key. If you get painful cracks, superglue them. But long term, no sandals or bare feet or or you’ll need to moisturize constantly. Sadly, it’s an aging problem.