Skin care for knitters

It's winter, my skin is dry and cracks form on my fingertips constantly. Like a paper cut, only wider, this really hurts. As a kid my mother showed me how to use scotch tape on a paper cut, and it works wonderfully to ease the pain. While working in the E.R. I learned that plastic tape was hard on frail and sensitive skin, and I discovered paper tape. One of my pet peeves was discovering an infant or elderly patient with plastic tape all over their delicate skin. The bruises and skin tears that would occur from tape removal were horrible. I'm definitely a paper tape proponent. Sure it can wash off over time, but it doesn't damage the skin the way the plastic tape did. And when my fingers are cracked and split, I find comfort and pain relief in a bit of paper tape. Often I can wash my hands or get them wet a couple times (as it dries quickly) before I have to replace the tape. This is cheaper and more effective than a Band-Aid in my opinion.