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 repeated exposure. One approach used by the army has the hands immersed in warm water while the rest of the body is out in the cold (your use of socks and gloves may work in a similar manner). Another study slowly increased exposure of the digits to the cold over a period of time. Both have shown positive results.
Based on the above studies, you may find that your activity will slowly train your body to accept exposure to the cold with fewer or less severe attacks. On the other hand, if your process doesn’t result in a similar outcome, it runs the risk of making your attacks worse over time, as Raynaud’s tends to be a conditioned response: The more attacks you have, the more likely you are to have more frequent attacks and they can get progressively more severe. Repeated exposure to the cold and stress can aggravate the condition, increasing the frequency and severity of attacks over time.
You say that after your plunges, you get attacks once your return home. So the key may be whether or not your plunges result in less severe attacks in time, or if they appear to be getting worse. I’d suggest monitoring the “after attacks” to see if you’re in fact better training your body to accept the cold exposure, or if you’re just making it worse.
You might want to review the research and see if you can make your plunges better mirror the procedures used for cold training. That would be the best outcome! Thanks for sharing and please keep us posted on how this turns out for you.
Please can you advise me. I have Raynaud’s disease. I work full time and it involves a lot of computer work. My fingers become sore when typing which leads to the skin splitting, making my fingers tender and swollen. Also the tips of my fingers throb. I have seen my GP as my Raynaud’s symptoms have deteriorated. He has increased the dosage of nifedipine, but this does not solve the soreness. Have you any products you can recommend to help me with this?
I see that you reside in the UK. There are other meds in the category of calcium channel blockers that could potentially work better with your body than nifedipine, but I’m not sure they are prescribed for Raynaud’s in the UK. It’s a question you might explore with your doctor. There are also topical creams and gels that can offer some relief when you’re not typing. These are prescription meds with active ingredients of either nitroglycerin or nifedipine (same drug you’re taking orally). You might find that they offer some extra relief and are good for promoting healing.
I’m not quite sure from your description if the issue is that the skin on your fingers are extra sensitive for typing as a result of your Raynaud’s symptoms, or if the repetitive pressure that occurs while typing is making your Raynaud’s worse. There’s a version of Raynaud’s called Vibration White Finger that is actually caused by the wear and tear of ongoing pressure to the fingertips from constant use of vibrating tools and equipment or occupations involving constant pressure on the fingers. It’s experienced by dentists, stenographers, construction workers, pianists, woodworkers and others. If your job involves a significant amount of typing, it could be aggravating your Raynaud’s symptoms. This possibility is something you should review with your doctor.
If the issue is that your fingers are sore and sensitive as a result of exposure to cold and would benefit from increased warmth while typing, one product that might help is called The Writer’s Glove (they come in pairs, but the product name is singular). The gloves are a thin, stretchy combination of polyester and spandex, with a hint of copper (known to help regulate blood flow and boost circulation). They were designed for use indoors offering enough dexterity for typing (after a few minutes to adjust to them). Here’s our product review with order information and our member discount code: https://www.raynauds.org/product/the-writers-glove/. The manufacturer does ship internationally, so you should be able to purchase them from the UK.
I have been dealing with severe, secondary Raynaud’s for about 7 years. I’m searching for providers who offer injections and/or procedures to help relieve symptoms. Do you have a compilation of medical facilities or physicians that I could start with?
We don’t maintain a list of specialists or have access to a list of doctors based on their available procedures, but do have some suggestions. Pending your specific needs, you might seek out either a rheumatologist or a plastic surgeon/dermatologist.
If you have severe digital ulcers that aren’t healing and are potentially in danger of losing a digit, rheumatologists can prescribe intravenous injections usually given over a period of days in the hospital for treatment. Rheumatologists are the specialists who are most knowledgeable about Raynaud’s as they treat the autoimmune disorders associated with the condition. You can search for one near your location through the American College of Rheumatology Directory. It’s best to find one connected to a good teaching hospital as those are more likely to be up-to-date on research and treatment options.
If you’re looking for more of a preventative measure to avoid future severe attacks, some dermatologists and plastic surgeon groups are offering Botox injections to help alleviate Raynaud’s symptoms. It’s an off-label application and not covered by insurance, but some patients are finding success with this treatment option. Its clinical performance is still being researched, and samples to date have been too small for drawing conclusions, but it is a promising procedure for Raynaud’s patients not finding success with or who can’t tolerate other proven options.
Hello – what do you recommend for Raynaud’s sufferers who wish to ski? My hands and feet are affected and was wondering if heated gloves and socks are the best way forward. Thanks for your time.
There’s no specific prescription of warm products for those who ski with Raynaud’s, but there are a lot of heated options:
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- Heated Boots – These are really a godsend! It’s been years since I did downhill, so I’m not sure if they still sell boots already set up for heat. Now, I believe ski shops can take any ski boot and install heaters. The batteries are rechargeable and last for hours. But to be safe, I got an extra set of batteries that I kept charged and took them with me in case I needed more time on the heat, or for added security in case something went wrong with a battery. Some days I would also include the disposable heat packs like Hot Hands Toe Warmers.
- Heated/Non-heated Socks – If you choose heated boots, you won’t need heated socks. I wore thick wool boot socks with my heated boots. We’re also getting great reviews on the insulated socks from Heat Holders. Their manufacturing process creates a sock proven to be seven times warmer than cotton socks. The one issue is that they are really, really thick (like soft pillows!). So you’ll need to allow for extra room in your boots to use them, but it’s worth the extra planning! Here’s our product review and discount info: https://www.raynauds.org/product/heat-holders-thermal-socks/
If your preference is for heated socks over heated boots, be sure to get those made by reputable manufacturers vs. cheaper ones from China sold on Amazon, as you want them to be both reliable and safe. Gobi, Volt and Gerbing are brands you can trust. Here’s our product review on Gobi’s heated socks: https://www.raynauds.org/product/gobi-heat-socks-glove-liners/ - Heated Gloves or Mittens –Gerbing, Volt and Gobi make several models that are excellent. The fleece gloves from Gerbing offer a bit more dexterity if that’s important to you, but mittens in general offer greater warmth. We recently tested heated leather gloves from Chaval and they were wonderful, but pretty pricy. Here’s our product review and discount code: https://www.raynauds.org/product/chaval-heated-gloves-mitts/
Another option is heated glove liners. Most of the heated glove manufacturers also offer a liner option. These are thin, stretchy gloves that can fit inside a pair of warm outer mittens or gloves if they are large enough to accommodate them. The liners offer good heat and a lot dexterity, but for skiing you’ll need a cover mitt or glove to keep them windproof. One benefit of using heated liners is that you can remove the cover mitt or glove and still have a heat source to warm your hands and fingers if you need to use your phone, adjust your boots, etc. We reviewed Gobi’s heated glove liners with their heated socks: https://www.raynauds.org/product/gobi-heat-socks-glove-liners/. Most brands are similar in design, it just depends on the comfort of the battery placement and fit. - Warm Skin Cream – This cream doesn’t offer immediate warmth or relief. Instead, it helps insulate your skin from the cold. It’s used by NFL players, Arctic explorers and U.S. Postal workers, all pretty good credentials. You can purchase it from Amazon.
If you try any of the products mentioned above, please share your feedback!
We’d appreciate your feedback on our Summer 2024 RA Q&A column. Have questions for us? We’re not medical professionals or the Good Housekeeping Lab when it comes to testing products, but we’ll do our best to provide fellow Frosties with answers. Write to us at info@raynauds.org.
