Have you got raynaud's?

[NaturalBaby]

I had a bad year last year due to being outdoors a lot more and my hands were a painful mess by December. They're just starting to really suffer now so am wondering what other's are doing to look after their hands.

I also get chilblains all over my fingers and very dry skin that cracks. My wedding rings aren't going to see the light of day till April at this rate!

Its a bugger isn't it!

Gloves
more gloves
baggy jumpers
more gloves

yoga
more yoga

but mainly : try to keep the circulation as stable as you can and work out the triggers

I do. It is miserable. Yes gloves gloves gloves and layers of wool jumpers to maintain your circulation. Try not to let your hands/toes/nose/ears go white & cold in the first place. (I know that is incredibly hard, as that sometimes happens to me when I am only getting things out of the fridge never mind being outdoors.) Moving around seems to be better than sitting at the laptop (ha!).

I use Heatbands... A bit like a Tenalady that is disposable and self sticks to your wrists. They sell them on heatbands.co.uk.

They work for me.

The more I move my fingers the colder they get. Do you only get cold hands? My feet freeze too.

yes . it's crap.

Yes just started to get it. It is horrible. I have no solution......guess I will need sheepskin mits this winter.

Sheepskin in boots

Ski thermals

Merino scarf and gloves and hat

Gloves
Hand warmers
Warm boots
Hat
Big wooly snood/scarf that you can pull up over your face
When outside keep moving (e.g. I prefer to walk for 20 mins rather than wait for the bus)

lagoonablue - did you get your thyroid tested? i started with reynauds but it was caused by low thyroid

I am finding so far this year that putting gloves on before I need to and trying to go running two or three times a year is definitely helping. It's my ring fingers that sometimes just go white even when the rest are normal .

My Dh suffers
What is the yoga that can be done?

I use silk liners, then thin wool gloves then massive gloves.

I avoid heat packs, I've had chilblains and a few burns from them.

My Raynauds is really bad with damp cold - gloves are my friends.

Yoga helps maintain circulation in the extremities and reduces the long term damage of the capillaries emptying themselves all the time

I started on nifedipine a few weeks ago and I almost feel like it's worse now! I have several pairs of gloves but it's really hard doing fiddly jobs out and about with kids while wearing 2 pairs of gloves. We've just moved into a very cold house and my hands are getting cold and numb in my own home now .

I like the sound of the heatbands.

Thanks Merci. I haven't had thyroid tested in a while. May need a visit to GP then.......

I thought I was the only one!!! I mean I've heard of Reynaud's but never met anyone else with it.

I had to pay a cheque in the other day and my fingers had all gone white because I was wearing my all year round gloves instead of my winter gloves so I decided to queue up rather than use the self-service. Of course the annoying queue busting woman pounced on me when I said I was paying in a cheque and said she could do it for me then led me back to the self-service machines like I was too stupid to use them myself. I stormed out in a huff. It was a bit OTT but all I wanted to do was stand there long enough for the circulation to return. I have promised myself that next time I shall explain in a dignified manner.

Triple
Make people shake hands with you ..... that cures them of thinking its nothing.

Statistically around 1/20 of women over 30 have it.
there is yellow raynauds (custard finger as my lovely children call it)
and purple : where you look bruised
and once you start to look you'll see lots and lots of people with yellow hands

I had GREAT fun once at a science event where they were playing with thermal cameras. I put my hand in front of it. I had no fingers. The poor little med student nearly fainted

yes. it is rubbish.
but not as rubbish as raynauds of the nipples
:(

yikes .... would deep heat or tiger balm help that as they both open capillaries?

only thing that helps is keeping warm - ie flash pad back on/bra up/thick tshirt post feed, warm shower - or nifedipine.

the pain.... shudder

I really want to try that thing with the thermal cameras!
(Don't even want to think about raynauds of the nipples)

Raynards of the nipples sounds horrific.

I have strange veins/capillaries as they over expand and over tighten. I was speaking to a Dr about it he said they dont understand the process properly yet.

Oh god, that's brought back the memory of having reynaud's of the nipples, vasospasm I think they called it, when I was breastfeeding DS [shudder]...

I am slightly evangelical to let all know that vasospasm of nipple exists. I honestly thought I was going mental. The pain was extreme and enough to chuck BF a thousand times over. I must've been the only person in britain having super hot showers last summer.

It exists people. And is much more prevalent in those with Raynauds of the peripheries, or chilblains, rheumatologial problems or what I call 'hockey legs'.

kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/nipple-blanching/

I wear Silk/thermal underwear. (patra is a good website for these).
Insoles in my shoes with heat reflectors on the bottom (think they were from amazon or betterwear they look like normal insoles but have silver foil type coating).
Hand warmers in my pockets (not directly on my hands because they increase the pain).
Mittens rather than gloves generally unless im driving when leather lined winter driving gloves.
Yoga is good and swimming (in a warm pool obviously, try a health spa type place as they usually do have warm pools)

The best one suggested by my GP was to have a tipple (whiskey/sherry/port) before you go to bed, it works everytime but it makes my other conditions worse. I have to choose between warm toes or painful joints

Still looking for something to cover my nose though, they always look at you suspiciously if you go into a shop in a balaclava so I do need to think of something else