Cold fingers, any solutions?

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My wife suffers with fingers which become very cold when out sailing, even on relatively mild days. She has tried various gloves including "Sealskin" but nothing seems to stop her fingers getting very cold and turning white. We've bought a Zippo hand warmer and that helps but we're wondering if anyone in YBW land suffers similarly and has a fabulous solution which we've not thought of?

TIA

Rob
 
Work the hands, when I go for a run in the winter and can not find my gloves I clench and unclench my hands whilst running, likewise my hands are only cold when winter sailing whilst not pulling ropes. How about a stress ball to 'work' to get the blood to the hands.?
 
Not very elegant, not waterproof, and might be difficult to find in her size, but (for night sailing) I have a pair of gloves that are designed for people who work in freezers. Something like these.

Edit - another bonus is that you can buy about 10 pairs for the cost of one pair of "sailing" gloves.
 
barrier cream

it stops your hands from losing moisture

it seems to help me quite a bit -

in the winter I wear gloves as well of course

I buy lots of those cheap thinsulate ones so I always have dry ones available

I sometimes put two pairs on - but fortunately seldom need them

coffee cups to cradle

deep and lined pockets

D
 
Do a bit more.
I find that when people come sailing with me there isn't much to occupy a second body on a small boat so they usually tend to feel the cold before I do.

Maybe I could give them some polish and set them to on the cockpit.
 
Have a pee.

IE Do not keep a full bladder, or delaying emptying it.

The body tries to keep all that liquid warm and in doing so takes heat from the extremities.

You could also try those 'pocket warmers'.
 
The hand and feet are the first extremities to suffer when the body tries to conserve heat and reduces the circulation to these extremities.

The most important point is to wrap up warm but the one often missed is to wear a hat. Its amazing the number of people who complain of cold hands and discover they don't get cold hands when they wear a warm hat to prevent heat loss from the head. Functional heat retentive hats may not be fashionable but they work in keeping your hands warm by ensuring good circulation.
 
From the OPs description of the symptoms - very painful and fingers going white - it sounds that his wife suffers from a blood circulation condition known as Raynaud's: my wife is also a sufferer. The condition will also be triggered on land, but will come on a sea quicker because of wind chill etc.

Gloves often are often no good, no matter how warm they are. My wife uses silk inner gloves and mittens. Climbing shops will have suitable ones that are waterproof and have grip. We also carry a number of reuseable gel handwarmers and have found them to work quicker and be warmer than the charcoal type I remember from my hillwalking days. These can be purchased from any outdoor shop - usually placed next to the till. One used at sea they can be reset by boiling in water on the stove.

Other advice is dressing in lots of warm layers and plenty of hot food and drink.

More information on the condition may be found at www.raynauds.org.uk/
 
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Also you should not wear clothing, gloves, socks, boots that are too tight. :)

Make sure that wrists, ankles and neck are well shielded/insulated from the cold and wind.

Failing that you should come and sail in the Caribbean. :)

Although when the sun goes behind a cloud it does seem to get cold(er).
Everything is relative.
 
On top of all other advice I'd make sure she takes on plenty of calories a good few hours before sailing. Not good for the figure but its calories that provide us with our energy source and thus heat.

I do know that ladies tend to feel the cold a lot more than us men types.

Tim
 
The Solution is Obvious.....

... Get her to put her hands down your trousers....

Enjoy the frisson.......
 
I suffer from Reynauds. I don't have a fabulous solution unfortunatly. I find keeping the torso warm is the most important thing and try not to get hungry or tired.

Martin
 
Baby, it's cold outside. . .

The First Mate suffers badly from Reynaud's syndrome in hands and feet. She has found the little disposable handwarmers popped inside her mittens (and boots) really good. She finds mittens much better than gloves, and was particularly pleased with her SealSkin brand ones.

Santa bought her some heated motorcycling gauntlets (Gerbring, rather pricey) which can be plugged into a 12v suppply, or will run for an hour or two on a rechargeable battery (the temperature is adjustable) which fits in a pocket in the 'sleeve' of each glove. She has found these amazingly good on walks, but we've only just got back on the water after two years ashore, so we'll have to report back on how these (and the similar heated insoles for her boots) work out on the boat.

We had previously bought some cheapish heated insoles from Maplins, which were completely useless.

She says to point out that if you've got Reynaud's syyndrome, it's not just discomfort, but the lack of blood supply when it is cold can lead to permanent nerve damage, so watch out. She also says that to warm your fingers quickly just pop them in your mouth and suck. (Though doing this immediately after hauling in a muddy anchor is an acquired taste!)
 
Thank you all for your suggestions, there's a fair bit to try out and we'll see if it improves things.

Thanks again.

Rob
 
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