Welcome to our Summer 2024 RA Q&A column. These articles share our responses to inquiries received from fellow Frosties covering Raynaud’s symptoms, products, treatments, doctors, warming strategies and more. We hope you’re finding our quarterly columns helpful in addressing some of your own questions.
I’ve started cold plunging in our dam for 3 mins and am enjoying the invigoration and improved sensations experienced afterwards. It’s about 10 degrees in the water and 2 degrees outside. I’m wearing diving socks and gloves to protect my extremities. When warming up afterwards in my house I get some attacks of Raynaud’s – not painful and they don’t last long. I was planning on continuing the cold water dips while monitoring my attacks. If they get worse I will stop. Is it possible they will stay the same or decrease? Or should I not be plunging at all? The gloves and socks are very helpful. I’m 55 and fit and healthy. I do strength training 3 times per week as well as walking. I’m enjoying the plunges as it is a good way to get through winter 🥶 and start the day well. Thanks!
I’m not a medical professional, but will do my best to address your question. Your plunges might work to actually train your body to better tolerate the cold. There is research evidence that this approach can work, but requires a great deal of commitment and practice. Here’s an article we published on the subject: Can You Train for Cold Tolerance?. The training involves acclimating the body to the cold over r