Raynaud's syndrome

Me!! Its awful. Ive just dragged my old Grubs wellys out and no more cold feet! My gloves arent working though!
Ive been getting home and laying on the sofa with a fleece, coat, dressing gown, anything! around my feet, this is with socks and slippers and I still cant get them warm once they are already cold. Then I read something the other day saying that wrapping yourself up acts like a thermos flask, as in if your cold it will keep you cold, hot will keep you hot, not sure if thats true though.
I will be interesting to see your replies.
 
I don’t have Reynaud’s syndrome (sympathies to you), but do suffer from chronic feeling cold. Think it’s true what Louby says, I can wrap up in many layers and still stay cold, just don’t seem able to generate my own body heat. My answer is get a hot hot water bottle on me (feet especially) as soon as I get home.
 
My Turtle Doves cashmere fingerless gloves are a lifesaver - I wear them under waterproof gloves when doing jobs outside but also use them a lot for typing on cold days or for walking, umpiring netball games, riding etc. A key thing for me is keeping my legs warm... it's easy to put on jumpers and coats, gloves and socks, hats etc. but the cold really gets in my legs if I wear just jeans or jods. When I get home I immediately change into woolly trousers or thick jogging bottoms and makes a huge difference. I have under armour thermal leggings to wear out and about or like today I wear a pair of tights under my trousers for an added layer of warmth.

I also suggest thick sweatbands on your wrists as they help to keep hands warm (I play netball outside in winter and can't wear gloves for that) and putting thermal layers on a while before you go out into the cold so they warm up a bit. For example my cashmere gloves don't immediately make my hands warm but say 15 mins after putting them on my fingers will have warmed up.
 
Thank you. I am mainly getting it in my hands. Every day this week I have totally lost the feeling in my thumbs and finger next to my thumb. Wednesday was really bad, just couldn't get warm all day. I am living in my fleece jods when I can as they make a massive difference to keeping warm.
I like the idea of sweatbands, hadn't thought of that and will look into getting some.
 
Bionic Boy said:
Thank you. I am mainly getting it in my hands. Every day this week I have totally lost the feeling in my thumbs and finger next to my thumb. Wednesday was really bad, just couldn't get warm all day. I am living in my fleece jods when I can as they make a massive difference to keeping warm.
I like the idea of sweatbands, hadn't thought of that and will look into getting some.
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Ah - for the first time ever on Tuesday I totally lost the feeling in both my thumbs (after 1 hour riding and 1 hour grooming/pottering). Could it be the start of Reynaud’s?
 
Yes I agree about keeping your core warm. You loose circulation to extremities because your body is cold and tries to concentrate on keeping the essential stuff warm so shuts down the extremities.

I have it and I work an outdoor all day job so I am used to dealing with it. The best thing for me is sealskins waterproof gloves - they are the warmest not too bulky gloves I could find that I can do my job in.

As another poster said if you feel them going star jumps or running around can help keep it at bay. My son also gets it and we had an issue at football training last winter when his hands started hurting and going numb and instead of running around like I told him the coaches sat him down for 20mins! Worst thing they could have done. He was in agony when I got there but the coaches didn't realise he should keep moving.
 
I have secondary raynaud's and lose the feeling in my middle finger. The information book my doctor gave me stated to to put my hands/feet in to warm running water (taking care to allow the water to not become to hot or lose its heat and become cool
 
I get this in my fingers. I find it comes on when my hands go from cold to warm too quickly, so for example when I arrive at the yard and my hands are freezing, then when I start mucking out I warm up very quickly and my fingers look like drumstick lollies and my palms get incredibly itchy. My partner is a doctor and he said it's something to with with the blood vessels not opening up fast enough to allow the increased circulation through when I start warming up.

It's easier said than done but I only get the symptoms when I allow my hands to get cold enough that they go numb. Prevention is better than cure I've found!
 
Just for a bit of sympathy, my symptoms are much worse in winter (I can lose circulation to my whole hands, all the way to the wrist) I get it in summer too. Mine is caused by low blood pressure.

That's why its important to let your GP know if you get symptoms. Low blood pressure can be dangerous.
 
I live with cold/freezing feet, my partners bare back is the best place to warm them up at a steady rate, they are very rarely cold in the morning and if I keep moving they are bearable. My hands get cold but nothing like as bad.
I have yet to find anything that works for them but now I don't have a horse so no lunging, spending all day on concrete amd no riding they are not as bad even though I work outside all day every day.
 
I have it as did my late Mother so I grew up learning how to cope. I always layer and never with thick layers. I keep my core warm with a body warmer and am a big fan of vests (or base layers if you're being fancy). I also use silk liner gloves. It's so bad in my hands that there are times when it not safe for me to ride whatever I do. If it's too cold my hands just 'die' and I can't hold or feel the reins. The pain when they are warming up and coming back to life is unbelievable.

Even after living with Raynauds for over 50 years, I still often cry from the pain in my hands in the winter.
 
I’ve had it since childhood it’s horrid.
These things have helped me: Long sleeved thermal vests and long johns, Neoprene wellies, wool socks and freezer-work gloves (Site Siberian type) for yard work
 
Keep core warm with base layers, pre-warm gloves on the radiator before you put them on, mittens rather than gloves for mucking out etc - and nifedipine from the GP!
 
for my last 2 winters with horses i bought a pair of heated gloves and they were a godsend. i didnt like riding in them but if my hands were warm when i put my riding gloves on they stayed pretty good for an hours hack, so i used them for mucking out before riding and after riding when taking to the field and poo picking..i had some birthday money and they were £105 in a sale and i feel they have been well worth the expense...
 
I have suffered with it from being a child (I'm aged now lol ) both in winter and summer. Whilst it is much worse in winter a simple drop in temperature can start it in summer. By god it can be excruciatingly painful when the blood starts to come back. Layers of gloves may help but I have never found anything that stops it and trust me I have tried many things over the years 😢
 
I seem to have developed it over the last few years. I don’t think there’s any answer to it, I get it in my toes and fingers, beginning to wonder if I have it in my thighs too as I managed to spray the hose down my leg in 1c and never felt a thing. Heat holder socks and thinner socks paired with a good insulated boot is ideal for me at the moment. Finger-wise I have various pairs of gloves- the key is to not get your hands wet as then you have a hard job of heating them back up.

Those heated hand warmers are also ideal too, you can get a pack of 30 in decathlon for £10.
 
I can walk out of my house and within seconds my fingers go white. I wear gloves and keep my body warm. It is almost impossible to bridle up or change rugs etc if my fingers have gone. The pain is so bad at times I want to smash them with a hammer.
 
Is no-on else on medication for Raynauds then? This only my second year of medication but its working wonders and I can actually take my gloves off to tie up haynets for the first time in about 10 years - usually hubby has to do them!
 
Curious to know what medication you take CazD. I've had this condition since my teens and if is a huge handicap at this time of year. Once my hands go it can take up to an hour to get feeling back. I have just splashed out and bought the battery heated gloves but a bit worried I destroy them filling haynets and riding etc. My sympathy to anyone that has this condition.
 
Irishdan said:
Curious to know what medication you take CazD. I've had this condition since my teens and if is a huge handicap at this time of year. Once my hands go it can take up to an hour to get feeling back. I have just splashed out and bought the battery heated gloves but a bit worried I destroy them filling haynets and riding etc. My sympathy to anyone that has this condition.
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I take nifedipine tablets, but only through the winter. THey make so much difference as my fingers normally go white even while wearing ski mittens, Being able to tie up haynets last year with my fingers still warm and no pain was amazing lol.
 
I have found that if I wear thicker thermal gloves it's worse as movement is reduced and obviously you have to take them off to do anything fiddly which means you're back to square one... I got a pair of shires yard gloves that are really thin fabric with a grippy/waterproof palm... Works so much better as i can move easy to keep blood flow going and it holds the heat in so long as i put them on before i leave home. Feet I have to wear a thin pair of socks under a thick wooly pair... Even in the summer. Movement is key though, if I stop for even 2/3 minutes for a chat I'm in agony
 
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