Cold fingers and toes....?

[st_claire]

My fingers and toes are always cold in the winter. Doesn't matter if I have gloves or boots or whatever on. Inside by the fire even. Cold! It's driving me nuts. Anyone else every get this? (my nose gets cold often also)

 

Any advice????

[momofkhm]

The only winter I didn't get cold was the one I was pregnant with her. She promptly asked about when I was pg with her siblings, well, they were born in October. I wasn't pg over the winter.

 

I feel your pain. I really do. Fingers, I can't help with. But toes. Keep shoes and socks on. Or if you wear slippers, wear ones with an actual sole. I enjoy the sock type ones, but my feet get cold in them. I just bought a new pair that are fur lined and have a thick sole. Now I have to take them off every few hours because my feet are hot!

[Hen]

I have Reynaurd's syndrome...I think it was noticeable starting in Jr. High, but I didn't find out till about 5 years ago. My hands and feet pretty much assume the temp of the air around me, it can be painful. I wear fuzzy socks to bed and gloves in the winter, and in the summer in church if the air cond. is over.

[LauraGB]

Have no advice, but wanted to state that I have this problem, too. I sometimes have to wear gloves inside, as well as wool socks and super toasty slippers. In my case, its not a circulation problem (not sure what it is, though), but that's something for you to consider.

[Jayne J]

I feel your pain. My only advice is to marry a man who will let you put your feet on him to warm them up. :D Yeah, he's a keeper for sure...

[Heather in AL]

Yep... my fingers & toes stay frozen once the temps drop below, oh, 65*. :glare:

 

When in the house, I have thick socks and fuzzy slippers on. It helps. My fingers are on their own, though. If they get bad, I'll wash some dishes to get the warm water....

 

When I'm out, my kids laugh at me. I'm completely covered. My ears (the external parts) get SO COLD they are painful and I want to cry, so I often wear earmuffs. I have thick ski gloves for my hands (and my fingers STILL get painfully cold). I finally bought men's wool socks at Costco (they are great!!) that I wear with my fake fur/fake lamb's wool shoes/boots. My toes are finally warm when I walk the dog, but I have yet to find relief for my fingers. :sad:

 

I have tried those little warmer packets that work with your body heat---- they are small things that you can stick in your mittens (gloves, obviously wouldn't work as well) and/or shoes and they supposedly use your body heat to warm the packet, thereby warming your hands/feet. Ahem. Apparently I don't give off enough heat, because they don't work for me. I stuck a few in my furry shoes while at a soccer game two years ago and they stopped working WELL before the 'die off time'. I asked my son to throw them out for me, and as he was carrying them to the garbage can they started to give off heat again. Back in my shoes they went, only to die off again. Once again, I gave them to my son, and they immediately began to give off heat. :glare: My kids (and the parents on the team) still laugh about that. I find it frustrating..... I bought a HUGE box of the things at the suggestion of another parent. I still have the box... minus four (two feet & two hands).

 

My son sent me a link to battery-powered heated boots a few weeks ago. I'm still not sure if he was joking or if he was seriously trying to help. :lol:

[nova147]

When my toes get super cold, I run some warm water in the tub and soak them. Be very careful if you do it because your nerves will not register the right temp - check with your hands, wrists, elbows - something that feels warm enough. Usually after soaking them, I can keep them warm in socks, at least for a few hours. Last winter I remember doing this 2 or 3 times a day. Not so much this year, but I am an incubator so . . . :D.

 

Oh, and my doc said the reason it happens is that your capillaries close down -- it's more common in people with small veins (because the rest of your blood vessels are also small) and/or low blood pressure.

[mcconnellboys]

I have Reynaud's, too, and cold seems to be the norm. I try to take precautions to warm my gloves and shoes before putting them on (hairdryer; hold them in front of the heating vent if in the car, etc.). I try to catch myself when I am starting to grow cold and warm myself up quickly because if I wait, then it takes longer to warm back up. I often go to sleep with not only socks, but my soft houseshoes on. I sometimes also wear those cotton gloves used when one is allowing lotion to soak into one's hands. I drink more warm fluids (tea, for me, but hot chocolate, hot cider, just hot water with perhaps lemon or aromatic herbs, etc. would also work).

[Jean in Newcastle]

putting them under warm water helps me.

[briansmama]

I have Reynaud's Syndrome as well (symptoms are exactly as the op described). My blood pressure is always low, even while pg.

 

I love to exercise because that's the only time my fingers and toes aren't cold! I also eat warming foods known to increase circulation, such as ginger tea (I drink tons of it), and curry (the turmeric improves circulation). I've read that Reynaud's is linked with arthritis in later years, so I'm trying everything I can to improve my circulation.

[kalanamak]

 

Any advice????

 

If you smoke, stop.

[st_claire]

Thank you for all the replies. I will ask my doctor about my blood pressure and find out if that might be a problem. I don't smoke, so that can't fix it. I will try some of the other ideas. Thanks so much :)

[abbeyej]

Hm. I have Raynaud's, and that's not really like my symptoms. My hands aren't *always* cold. But once they go into vasospasm, they can be very difficult to warm back up. And it's not just that they "feel cold", but that they are painful and/or numb, and they change color very distinctly (usually white with a bluish tint -- sometimes they're mottled red and white as they begin to warm back up -- and often a distinct line between where they look nice and fleshy and where they look shrunken, blue, and dead). *But*, if my body stays warm and I'm wearing mittens / socks, my hands and feet don't generally *feel* any colder than other people's. But if I let them get cold in the first place, it can be bad.

 

I've also not always had mine. It started at about 19, but got better for a few years in there. For me, it seems related to other immune system involvement and possibly to vitamin d deficiency. This year, after two really bad years, it's actually *much* better. The two things that have changed: I've gotten farther out from the flu I had two years ago (laid out on the couch for a week, unable to move -- breathing difficulty for weeks after), and I began supplementing heavily with vitamin d (on the recommendation of my rheumatologist). Not sure which or if both factors are involved, but I'm keeping up the vitamin d supplementation. Last year, I had spasms pretty much every time I drove the car (holding the steering wheel and being in a semi-cold car is a big trigger for me) and I only washed veggies and did dishes and such in *hot* water at the sink, 'cause anything less would trigger spasms. I was even having spasms in the summer when I went swimming with the kids (90+ degree weather and a "warm" pool), even though my body wasn't cold...

 

So I'm not sure... For me, Raynaud's and "hands feeling cold" are very different things. Typically with Raynaud's, the "red, white, and blue" coloring of the fingers and toes when they spasm is really obvious.

[Chris in VA]

Keeping your core extra warm can help keep your extremities warm. Try wearing a down vest inside.

[Hen]

Abbey,

 

you are right...there is a difference, I have reynaurds and my hands get cold quickly, but yes there is a difference when a line is crossed, then they turn white and it is painful, I try to not let it get that far. I can't rinse things off except with warm water, I can't move things around in the freezer, hubby has to do that. Sometimes one finger will cross the line and be painful, the the rest not..haven't figured that one out yet.

 

I thought it was just the way I was, until I visited a rhuematologist about something else, and she noticed my cold hands right away and asked about it.

 

I'm anemic too, so I'm always cold. ugh.

 

there is medication that is supposed to help, but I am not taking it yet, I'd rather wait till my symptoms become unmanageable, I figure there has got to be some down side to the medication.

[SonshineLearner]

Wool Long Johns with the shirt and pants set:-) should help... It helps regulate the temperature and you can get really nice feeling... thing wool unders for your whole body. Wool can be soft if it's processed correctly... And then nice thick wool socks with slippers:-)

[Jen in PA]

putting them under warm water helps me.

 

:iagree: And I like to wrap my hands around a nice warm mug of tea. I wear double socks from October to April as well.

[rwjx2khsmj]

I have Reynaurd's syndrome...I think it was noticeable starting in Jr. High, but I didn't find out till about 5 years ago. My hands and feet pretty much assume the temp of the air around me, it can be painful. I wear fuzzy socks to bed and gloves in the winter, and in the summer in church if the air cond. is over.

 

I was just going to say this! My mother has Reynaurd's and was only diagnosed in the last few years. While the diagnosis doesn't help her hands and feet stay warmer at least she knows why she's cold.

[Mom-ninja.]

Oh, and my doc said the reason it happens is that your capillaries close down -- it's more common in people with small veins (because the rest of your blood vessels are also small) and/or low blood pressure.

 

Ah, this makes sense. I have low blood pressure. During my pgs my midwife was always double checking my pressure because it was so low for a pg woman. I tend to get dizzy a lot, and will faint if I don't get up slowly. So it makes sense that my fingers, toes, and nose are always cold.

 

I live in FL and I'm freezing! I don't have any slippers right now, and I'm hurting without. I've been doubling my socks, but I need slippers.

 

No suggestions, but I'm right there with you.

[Pretty in Pink]

I get into a warm shower as soon as I get out of bed, then dress in layers, and it helps. I've been known to wear two pairs of socks but warm, fuzzy slippers are even better.

 

Working out indoors helps as well, so I will jump rope for several minutes to get my heart rate up and then hit the Bowflex.

 

I don't know what to tell you about your fingers though; mine are always cold in the winter (as well as my nose and ears). I do have low blood pressure, even during pregnancy, as some others have mentioned, and I'm really thin. There's probably something there.

 

I like to sip on warm tea or broth as well. It seems to help.

[duckens]

I remember always being cold as a child. Always.

 

It took me thirty years to learn these things, in order of importance:

1) Drink hot liquids. I used to drink a lot of hot tea, but I started to worry about it staining my teeth. Now I just heat water up in my hotpot, and use that to fill my waterbottle.

2) 20 minutes of aerobic exercise heats me up for hours!

3) Wash dishes by hand.

4) Get slippers that you like and that keep your feet warm. A nerdy cardigan that is heavy and has pockets for stuff, too.

5) Oooo...dare I say it....Get a SNUGGIE! :D

 

--Laura in Iowa

[bagel270]

I've got Reynaud's too. Try taking niacin. That helped me.

[AK_Mom4]

I wear a pair of gloves lots of days. Mine don't have fingertips (since I work on a computer typing half the day).

 

I put hand warmers in the back of my gloves. These are the chemical shake-up type, not the type that use your body heat. These stay warm for about 8 hours.

 

Wool socks. Wool mittens when I go outside. Gloves don't keep my hands warm enough in the cold.

[Hen]

RWJ posted:

 

I was just going to say this! My mother has Reynaurd's and was only diagnosed in the last few years. While the diagnosis doesn't help her hands and feet stay warmer at least she knows why she's cold.

:lol:

 

finding out was very freeing for me, dh stopped making fun of me! He used to yell, if I put a hand on him, or if I dared to put a cold foot on him in bed..

"what, are you DEAD woman!" kind of hurt my feelings there...

 

now I just give him my hands anytime and he works to warm them up and he doesn't complain about the cold feet, (except a surprised 'eek!' once in a while). Sympathy is nice.

 

finally got my first pair of wool socks last year, I'm in love..:001_smile:

[jenL]

I'm always cold, so I understand this. As I type, my hands are cold & my nose is freezing. My feet are in socks and warm slippers. I try to dress in layers too, and I find moving around a lot helps.

[The Governess]

I have the same problem! I was tested for Reynaud's but don't have it. But my middle toes will turn white and numb (no pain), and sometimes the balls of my feet. My feet are always cold! I also have lower blood pressure, that is an interesting connection.

 

What helps me the most is to drink something warm and to make sure I am not sitting in one spot for too long. I have been wearing slippers at night and that really has helped. If it gets bad I will soak my feet in hot water for 5 minutes, that usually keeps them toasty for the rest of the night.