Raynauds. Poor circulation in hands

[Thingsthatgo]

My DS is 10. This winter he has been experiencing red swollen hands and chilblains. They seem to get really bad (purple/blue) when he is cold and after he has eaten.
I've been to the GP with him, and he is going to have some blood tests to see if there are any underlying issues.
Does anyone else have DCs with this problem? Is there anything I can do to help him? I try to keep him warm... both his body and his hands. When they go white or purple/blue I get him to move around to get his circulation going.
What else can I do to help him?

My DD gets it in her feet.. the best way to avoid it is to try and ensure they don't experience a change in temperature - keep the toes toasty! Thermal socks and keeping them dry. Harder for hands I think.

Fingerless gloves and wrist warmers.
Trying to minimise changes of temperature.
Some people swear by cayenne pepper capsules but they've never worked for me.

He has to try really hard to make sure his hands stay as warm as possible in cold weather. Layer up - you can get silk glove liners, which are lovely. I use them inside waterproof gloves when walking the dog.

Also keep his core warm - gilets are helpful for this.

Lots of regular exercise.
Keep the core warm with layers. .
Uniqlo my favourite for this.
Plus kuddly on top
Turtle dove do hand warmers i cashmere which are lovely. Can sometimes get cheap on eBay outlet.

Thank you. He has lots of quality gloves, wrist warmers etc. I shall get him some good base layers and a gilet. I've seen some rechargeable hand warmers on Amazon that look quite good. Has anyone used them?

I got DD one of those, it was nice and quite tactile but she hasn't really used it.

My 7 year old has it quite badly. We saw a paediatric consultant recently who offered medication but also said the most important thing is to keep the core warm all the time and to make sure she wears a hat outside. She now wears a gilet over her uniform at school which although seems a simple thing to do has made a difference. She also wears socks over her tights.

I have the rechargeable hand warmers and they are great!
Have a look at hand exercises. Great for increasing blood flow to the hands when having Raynauds symptoms. I get Raynauds in my toes so I do Barre foot work (ballet) to help.

Oh! Hand exercises sound good. I'll have a look, thank you. At the moment I get him to do some star jumps or jog on the spot. It's quite disconcerting to see his blue hands sometimes.

@Thingsthatgo yes it’s not nice and I could imagine. I still get horrified by my own feet when I see them sometimes 😅

Poor circulation in hands (and feet) can also be attributable to a heart defect - it was in my case but I only discovered this later in life. Worth checking.

@Thingsthatgo My H has this and the little rechargeable Hot Rox from Lakeland is the best. Once charged it has two settings and lasts for hours. Best of all it can be turned on/off thus saving heat for when you really need it. Brilliant

@BlackSwan thanks for the heads up. I've taken my DS to the GP who has ordered some bloods to check for underlying conditions, but I am guessing that blood would not reveal a heart condition. Did you have any other symptoms, may I ask?

@crazeecatladee thanks for the recommendation. I think I'll get one of those. As soon as his hands warm up they turn back to normal colour.

Hi, no a blood test wouldn't reveal any heart condition - but even if the GP listens to his heart & checks for a murmur, then that would be a start. A murmur can be either innocent or heart defect related. I had so many doctors listen to my heart over the years and it was only at 46 that one mentioned the murmur... everyone else clearly dismissed it. If there is a murmur - then you need an ultrasound to check the heart. But I'm jumping the gun... just don't be dismissed.
In terms of other symptoms I used to get frequent headaches and I wasn't much into sport or exercise. Turns out I had a 2cm hole in my heart all my life and didn't know it. Most recently I used to get very cold painful fingers after walking even in the summer... they would go white. I thought my poor circulation was age related & due to being unfit.

@BlackSwan thank you for the information. I shall ask the GP to have a listen to his heart and go from there.

While Raynaud’s is a circulation reaction, it isn’t actually a problem with the circulation itself. It is usually an autoimmune response. I have had it since I was little and so do all three of my kids. I live in Aus and have a heated gilet (godsend as my most painful reaction is in the nipples), heated gloves and boot liners. You can buy all of them on Amazon and Ali Express, but please read the reviews. I have read some talking of bad burns on hands from dodgy gloves.

My Raynaud's is a part of my Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

@GrouchyKiwi Me too. I was only diagnosed with EDS two years ago though. Funny putting the puzzle pieces together and making sense.

@GrouchyKiwi that's interesting. He is a bit hyper mobile, but doesn't have a diagnosis. He doesn't have any pain associated with it, and hasn't ever dislocated a joint or even twisted an ankle, but he can over extend his elbow and he has really soft skin on his hands.

Might be worth taking that into consideration. I didn’t dislocate anything until I was 48, but I have very soft skin all over and have had painful, clicky joints all my life, and need orthotics as my ankles just spontaneously collapse to either side (heels are not a happening thing for me).

Try gloves with silver or copper thread. I swear by my silver gloves!

@YorkshireGoddess do they really work? I was a bit dubious.
Did you buy expensive ones?
I'd like to get him a pair I think, please could you tell me where you got yours?