Hiking with Reynaud's (cold extremities due to poor blood circulation)

https://www.google.com/amp/heavy.com/tech/2015/01/best-hand-warmer-handwarmer-zippo/amp/

Here is a list of some options. I recently picked up the HotPod – pretty light, but not terribly warm for me. I might like to try a few of the other rechargeable options.

The electronic versions would probably be best for day hikes, but the ones you regenerate by boiling could be used backpacking, though probably a bit heavier.

I have mild issues, hands only. I use pacer poles all year round, and in winter their “overmitts.” They’re made of neoprene, fir over the pole handles, and work like a hood for your hands. I’ve used them around 0F or below without gloves or mittens and been very comfortable. I carry woolen gloves just in case but have never, ever found the overmitts not to be enough. For breaks I carry a big-ass pair of mittens inside my jacket and putt hem on the minute I stop. The only issue I’ve experienced is when going from the mittens back to the overmitts, because sometimes the inside of the overmitts are wet and it takes a few minutes to warm up my hands. That’s when the woolen gloves come in handy.

may or may not work for you, but for me – for day hikes at least – they’ve been a real godsend.

Mitts are not going to solve your problem.  Instead, let’s look at it as an engineering problem. Your hands are getting cold. Why are they getting cold?

One simple reason is that there is not enough heat getting to them. Where could the heat come from? Well, it won’t come from the mitts, that’s for sure. The only source of heat for your hands is your blood supply. If the blood getting TO your hands is already cold, your hands will remain cold. Instead, try insulating your arms a fair bit more. make sure the blood getting TO your hands is as hot as possible.

Sure, wear mitts, but also wear good sleeves. And get rid of any tight wrist cuffs and watch straps: they too will hinder the flow of warm blood. I do not wear a watch in cold weather.

Cheers

Toes and fingers here.  I was unable to feel my toes after an hour, or operate a zipper after a 2 minute bare-hand exposure. (I now use only pullover shells, or I safety pin the zippers to makes sure I don’t have to “start” them.  And Big zipper pulls on everything so my mitts can get a grip.)

Exposure to cold triggers the shutdown of blood to your hands. Cold wrists from “gaposis”, cold legs from moving pant legs, breathing cold (< 20F [edit: more like < 30 F]) air, cold air on the neck and head, to name the obvious. No one understands it.

Initially I overdressed everything – wore a couple of next-to-skin hoodies (MEC T2s) that fit my head tightly and protected my neck, plus a down hoody.  I wore thermal leggings with calf-high gaiters, and oversized trail runners with multiple socks.  I “shingled” my mitts over the T2s and under the down hoodie cuffs.  Sometimes I added eVent shells. I would wear a balaclava to breath through, to warm the air entering my throat and lungs.

Yes, I got HOT. But with careful elimination/adjustments of various items I was able find a combination of clothes and effort that works for me. I’m fully functional out there, regardless of the temperatures (at least to 0 F).

So experiment. Be methodical. Take notes. Learn what works for you.

Reynaud’s is a interesting condition that is a combination of issues with the nervous system and circulation.  I know some people have successfully treated Reynaud’s with viagra.  It increases blood flow to more than one extremity apparently.  You might need to carefully choose your backpacking partner, but it might be worth a shot.

Have you looked into Vapor Barrier Liners?  RBH has VBL mitts and socks that Reynaud’s patients have reviewed.

Hi Bri

I do NOT think VBLs are a solution for Reynaulds. They will just get your clothing wet – with possibly worse consequences.

Cheers

Just a suggestion, since RBH advertises for that population. There’s some anecdotal evidence out there on various forums that VBL mitts are helpful for Reynaud’s patients, but I don’t see any proper studies done, so take it or leave it.

My GUESS, and strictly a guess, is that the benefit has come from the warmth, not the Vapour Barrier side of things.

I have one finger which goes white in the cold. It does that much less now that I no longer wear a watch on that wrist.

Cheers

I have found that air impermeable layers provide a surprising amount of warmth when worn next to skin or very close to skin. I found this out in a desperate, borderline hypothermic situation by putting plastic shopping bags over my feet and under my damp wool socks. I found they really helped keep my foot warmer, more than simply layering them over my wool socks.

Vapor barrier mittens don’t seem like they make much sense to me but some disposable plastic gloves under regular gloves could be worth a try. Your hands will feel clammy for sure.

Someone posted about this a few years ago, apparently some time back the Army’s Natick research center was testing a not-too-complex method to train the hands and feet to maintain proper circulation.  I haven’t seen much about this anywhere else, good or bad.  Step-by-step instructions can be found on page 83 of the pdf here.

-J

I have a minor ( though slowly getting worse over the years) case. Started with one finger going white on occasion, now it’s more fingers, happens more often. What I have found to help is simple in concept but complex in practice, as has been described already; basically it amounts to maintaining a closer watch on my core temperature and staying on the warm side of things. While moving I have always been a furnace, and that has not change as I get older (57 at the moment) but what has changed is that the engine slows way down now when I stop, and I need more insulation while sleeping or sitting still than I used to, and I seem to cool off faster. So I have to be more proactive, adding layers as soon as I stop for a break on a cold day, or my core temperature drops and circulation to my hands drops off and next thing you know the white shows up. As long as i can stay ahead of it no problem, but I can be feeling fine, not feeling what I would describe as cold, and still have it happen. so it’s rather like trying to reset the thermostat – I am trying to get used to a warmer standard as it were. That’s the tricky part. Gloves I find make very little difference – it’s all about the warm core providing plenty of nice warm blood flow. Without that you can wear all the mittens you want and it won’t do a thing – I’ve tried it.

I had another sort of related issue on one trip where I stopped for a break, didn’t add layers right away, got chilled, started up again and had a couple fingers going. As I went up the hill I worked my hands hard on the ski poles, and did a lot of flexing of my hands, forcefully making fists and opening wide, in hopes of increasing circulation now that I was on the move again. Sort of worked, but by the next day one had was swelled up an inch all the way across the back, and very painful. It ended up going away after a day of full rest but was rather worrisome out in the wilds. On my return I asked a doctor about; he though most likely it was a ganglion cyst, and ll the unusual movement, along with the cold, had aggravated it and caused inflammation and swelling.  So not exactly related, and yet the one problem had led to the other. I have since had mild issues with the cyst, always connected with having had my hands really cold. So, one more reason to be careful about it.

As a fellow cold sufferer I can say that the only thing that helped me was treating the disease, not the symptoms. Reynaud’s is frequently misdiagnosed. I was told that I had it but it was actually small fiber neuropathy which can be helped by Lyrica as well as other meds. My father actually has Reynaud’s and he takes some type of blood pressure med for it (sorry I don’t know the name but it is a calcium channel med). My recommendation is talk to your doctor about treating the disease. The meds for it are very safe.

Good luck!

My fingers get cold easily and turn white. Frostbite a long time ago. Sometimes whirling my arms in circles will force blood into the fingers, but that is working less now than it used to. Now I need to stop and warm some water on the stove, then put my fingers into the warm water.

Yes, certainly prevention is better. Putting away a cold tent is the worst.

Putting away a cold tent is the worst.
I don’t mind a ‘cold’ tent, but one covered in snow and ice … that’s painful. I find that putting on waterproof overmitts is usually enough to handle that as they keep my fingers dry. Sometimes, if it is way sub-zero, liner gloves inside the mitts are needed.

Cheers

Talk to your doctor about this. If conservative measure fail, there are medications that can help.

I don’t know if I have Reynaud’s–probably not–but my hands are always cold (people mention it always in the winter when I shake hands with them.) I play guitar, so this is a problem. Based on the notion that the body withdraws blood from the extremities to the core when it gets cold, and since my normal body termp. is 96.5, I tried drinking hot tea to warm my core. This seems to help my hands! (Sort of like, ‘if your feet are cold put on a hat’.)They end up sweating when I play music, which is its own problem.

when Nordic skiing it would take a half hour of moving at high intensity before my hands would warm; but I didn’t start with hot liquids in my body. I would also get white digits. Thankfully I have good circulation in my feet and never have a problem with cold.

I also have reynauds, and that first half hour of x country skiing was torture, until I started wearing thick goose down mittens. I switch to heavy fleece gloves once I’m warm, so that I don’t sweat out the mittens, so it’s not really all that lightweight having to carry two pair, but at least the down ones are light and compact. And it works better than the disposable hand warmers. I still carry a set of those as a spare, but rarely use them, and certainly not multiples. I also never wear jewelry, watches, anything constrictive. And jumping jacks can help, as ridiculous as that might look!

I also never wear jewelry, watches, anything constrictive.
Just so!
What’s more, you can run this experiment yourself very easily. I gave up wearing a wrist watch ages ago for that reason. It only took about 10 – 15 minutes for my hand to warm up after i took the watch off.

Cheers

While I don’t have Reynauds, I have a suggestion coming from a different angle. My lower legs are very susceptible to cold which is greatly helped by rubbing cinnamon oil into the skin there. You have to be careful with 100% cinnamon oil–keeping it away from eyes and sensitive places–because it is as “hot” as jalapeno chillies. Maybe cayenne oil would work as well.

I do not have your condition but the post caught my eye as I suffered for some time with poor circulation to my left hand due to a botched surgery. The pain was excruciating. Got to a point where i could not type with that hand anymore due to pain in my fingertips and one of my fingernails began to lift off and has been permanently affected. Eventually I had another couple of surgeries to fix the problem but I can not imagine doing camp chores with that going on. Good luck to you out there.

from above: “… greatly helped by rubbing cinnamon oil into the skin there.”

“Cinnamon” –

“Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be “true cinnamon”, but most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, also referred to as “cassia” to distinguish them from “true cinnamon”. (Wiki)

And cassia has been associated with liver damage, in a very few.

Do your homework.

[It matters to me because I consume about 5 grams (a heaping tablespoon) per day.]

There are certain bodybuilding supps that may help with issue. I got the idea because Ben said Viagra. If you’re worried you might end up with an extra “hiking companion” when taking viagra, L- Citrulline and L-Arginine are amino acids that increases nitric oxide production. NO helps arteries “relax” which improves blood flow. It’s what bodybuilders use to achieve the “pump”, in the gym

Like Viagra it has also been used to manage ED, but I don’t pitch my tent early, so to speak, when taking Citrulline/Arginine before the gym.

There are other supps that do this too. You could even use a pre-workout that contains them to replace your coffee.

the “calcium channel med” is probably nifedipine, an old school blood pressure medication. i know a couple of people that suffer from Reynaud’s and nifedipine is their treatment of choice.  it’s cheap and without a lot of nasty side effects.  as an added bonus, it’s thought to also be helpful with treating some of the ailments associated with altitude.