Richard, et al, I paddle Lake Michigan year round and have found the hydroskin gloves (mine are from NRS, but other companies make a similar glove), used with the poggies to be the combination that keeps my hands toasty. I've used this combination when the air temps have been down around 0 degrees F, and at times with wind chills well below that. One thing that we've found, yes there's several of us who paddle in these conditions, is that the gaskets at the wrists on the dry suits are too tight and tend to restrict the blood flow to the hands and fingers. They need to remain tight enough to prevent water from entering, but not so tight to cut off your circulation. The same is true for the feet--tight gaskets at the ankles. Two other things could be happening too. 1. Not relaxing you paddle grip and 2. Too much clothing causing for too tight conditions. Be sure you can wiggle your toes and your fingers. Both of these tend to reduce the circulation. Some people, no matter what they do, have a condition called Reynaulds syndrome/disease that prevents their hands and feet from becoming warm. I am not a doctor so I'll stop there, but you may want to do some research and talk to your doctor as I believe there may be some treatment available. Good Luck! John Browning _www.wildernessconnection.com_ (http://www.wildernessconnection.com)
On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 06:32:02 EST, Seakayakerjb_at_aol.com said: > Richard, et al, > Some people, no matter what they do, have a condition called Reynaulds > syndrome/disease that prevents their hands and feet from becoming > warm. I am not a doctor so I'll stop there, but you may want to do > some research and talk to your doctor as I believe there may be some > treatment available. I believe that's what one of my paddling cronies has. In his case he has trouble if his hands get cold. He's likely to pass out just after he gets out of the boat if his hands have gotten cold. It was quite scary the first time it happened, prior to diagnosis. Kirk -- Kirk Olsen
From: <Seakayakerjb_at_aol.com> > Some people, no matter what they do, have a condition called Reynaulds > syndrome/disease that prevents their hands and feet from becoming warm. > good point, but note that it is spelled Reynauds At the risk of stating the obvious - even if one is not afflicted with Reynauds, paddling in cold conditions almost mandates that the paddler keep moving to keep the internal mechanisms generating heat. Lollygagging in the water is a fine summertime activity, but there has to be motion and more of a purpose to one's wintertime paddling - especially when one's hands are cold from the acts of getting dressed for paddling, getting the boat in the water, and the body in the boat. The thermal deficit generated by getting ready to paddle is, IMO, best overcome by about 15 minutes' worth of vigorous paddling. One should also not consider hand coverings as a separate clothing issue. Covering the torso to stay toasty warm in cold conditions with little/no activity may actually be a detriment to keeping the hands warm - as the activity level necessary to pump warm blood to the hands will make the rest of the body overheat. My preference for wintertime paddling (actually, any time of the year) is to dress to a level that will keep me feeling just a tad cool or at equillibrium in periods of low/no activity, which helps prevent overheating in periods of higher activity. Of course, each individual is put together differently, and the question of how to dress for paddling is something that must really be determined by each individual and based on personal experinece. I've got more body insulation (read:fat) than some of my regular paddling companions, and therefore take a very different approach to dressing for cold weather paddling. Erik Sprenne
> Some people, no matter what they do, have a condition called > Reynaulds > syndrome/disease that prevents their hands and feet from > becoming warm. I am not > a doctor so I'll stop there, but you may want to do some > research and talk to > your doctor as I believe there may be some treatment available. Yep! This is what I was referring to in my earlier post about military treatments for cold hands in artic conditions. I think the trick was to coax the capillaries into dilating to let some more blood in. At least now you have some search terms for Google. ;-) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"Black Coffee 2002" <black-coffee2002_at_karavshin.org> wrote: > Yep! This is what I was referring to in my earlier post about military > treatments for cold hands in artic conditions. I think the trick was to > coax the capillaries into dilating to let some more blood in. At least now > you have some search terms for Google. ;-) Tricking those capillaries into remaining open is not a trivial or a quick process. I do not recall the source, but a careful study was done some 30 years ago on acclimation of the hands of filleters (working in a fish processing line) to long hours of working in 35 - 40 F water. It was found that new workers could only work in the cold water for a few minutes before their capillaries shut down, and had to spell out, only getting in a couple hours _net_ of useful work each of the first few days. But, if they kept at it, they could slowly, over a period of four weeks or so of regular (and increasing) exposure, become acclimated and work a full shift with their hands more or less continuously exposed to the cold water. They could maintain this indefinitely, if they kept up the exposure. On quitting the slime line and avoiding exposure to cold water, it was found that workers lost their acclimation __faster__ than they gained it ... so that if they laid off completely, they lost most of it within two weeks. This corresponds to what I have noticed for my own hands, in the days when I regularly did wilderness skiing on multiday trips. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Here is a link to a study similar to the one rattling around in my foggy memory: http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/3/444 This is just an abstract; access to the full article will require registration and a subscription. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Kruger" <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> > Tricking those capillaries into remaining open is not a trivial or a quick > process. I do not recall the source, but a careful study was done some 30 > years ago on acclimation of the hands of filleters (working in a fish > processing line) to long hours of working in 35 - 40 F water. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
There is some literature on the use of biofeedback to enhance hand circulation in people with Reynaud's disease. Don't know if there is anything current: I read about this at least 10 years ago. Bob V Black Coffee 2002 wrote: >>Some people, no matter what they do, have a condition called >>Reynaulds >>syndrome/disease that prevents their hands and feet from >>becoming warm. I am not >>a doctor so I'll stop there, but you may want to do some >>research and talk to >>your doctor as I believe there may be some treatment available. >> >> > >Yep! This is what I was referring to in my earlier post about military >treatments for cold hands in artic conditions. I think the trick was to >coax the capillaries into dilating to let some more blood in. At least now >you have some search terms for Google. ;-) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi all! I suffer from Reynaulds syndrome and had problems keeping my extremities warm. Even in the summer. My doctor recommended wearing wool. I also wear Mysterioso socks. They're working for me. She also recommended red wine, but that's for off the water. :-) Shannon --- Seakayakerjb_at_aol.com wrote: > Some people, no matter what they do, have a > condition called Reynaulds > syndrome/disease that prevents their hands and feet > from becoming warm. I am not > a doctor so I'll stop there, but you may want to do > some research and talk to > your doctor as I believe there may be some treatment > available. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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