Raynaud's ???

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I do not have an official diagnoses from a doc but pretty sure I&#39;ve been dealing with this for at least a decade. My toes are cold right now while wearing shoes and socks in a 70 degree heated room. Sometimes, again in a heated room and dressed normally, I will look at my fingers and have a clear line of demarcation from a very red hand, to very white fingers. Once they get to that point I pretty much have to run my fingers or toes under warm water to get feeling back.</p>
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Recently it has become more of a problem, especially for ski touring. I have used chemical heat packs and switched gloves from uphill to down for years to help my hands, but I don&#39;t have a great game plan for my toes. And it&#39;s really starting to impact my enjoyment on cold days. And by cold it seems like any day less than about 25 degrees brings the pain. Normally I can keep my toes warm-sh for the first uphill and then once I transition and ski the first run I usually go lightly numb for the rest of the day. But it seems like its getting worse.</p>
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So, moving forward, heated socks are on the way I am hoping they aren&#39;t too thick and solve the problem. I am also going to try and keep my core and head warmer. I have always tried to manage my heat on the cool side due to sweating and then getting clammy, but maybe I have to embrace running slight hot. I&#39;ve considered using boot gloves with a chemical heat pack over the toe, but that seems fiddly, especialy since I flip open all buckles for the uphill. My boots fit well, but my last day out was in Zipfit GFT which people seem to universally say run cold. I love the fit, and I&#39;ve never been able to maintain this kind of heel hold in an Intuition for more than about 25 days, but maybe I&#39;m relegated to some heel slop to maintain my toes. Maybe with heated socks I can use the Zips?</p>
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But the heart of my question for people who have dealt with this; have you had any luck with OTC supplements like niacin or l-arginine? Any other tips that you can share that has helped? Sorry for the long-winded story, just looking for ideas that may help.</p>

Damn, tried to remove contractions to make this readable.

Raynaud's syndrome can be a symptom of other diseases--collagen vascular diseases--that you should get blood tests for.In severe cases --not yours--surgical sympathetic nerve cutting can helpI've never heard of any OTC meds that help.Have you ever been frostbitten--even mildly? Raynaud's is fairly unusual in men, except when there has been previous cold injury. I've seen cases in a survivor of Chosin Reservoir, the Indo Chinese was in the Himalaya in the 60's, a power company lineman who worked in the Sierra, and a guy who worked in a meat locker. Have you tried a heated boot bag. Getting a head start in warm boots can definitely help. It does sound like the real deal Raynaud's/

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Originally Posted by old goat

Raynaud&#39;s syndrome can be a symptom of other diseases--collagen vascular diseases--that you should get blood tests for.In severe cases --not yours--surgical sympathetic nerve cutting can helpI&#39;ve never heard of any OTC meds that help.Have you ever been frostbitten--even mildly? Raynaud&#39;s is fairly unusual in men, except when there has been previous cold injury. I&#39;ve seen cases in a survivor of Chosin Reservoir, the Indo Chinese was in the Himalaya in the 60&#39;s, a power company lineman who worked in the Sierra, and a guy who worked in a meat locker. Have you tried a heated boot bag. Getting a head start in warm boots can definitely help. It does sound like the real deal Raynaud&#39;s/

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I have never had frostbite to the degree of blistered skin or extended healing, but have had tons of days that toes and fingers have gone numb. Some of the events have had several days of swelling and several weeks of loss of sensation. I don&#39;t have a heated boot bag but always start with my boots under the heater vent in the car for 15-20 minutes, boots are room temp prior to that.&nbsp;</p>
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Going to try dressing warmer, even if it means some sweating, &nbsp;and then heated socks first. I think I should also severely cut down on coffee since caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, normally have 2-3 cups before skiing.&nbsp;</p>

I have similar issues - did all the blood tests to rule out secondary causes. On my to-do list is to try the Hamlet method - no downside and maybe works?https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/19/s...old-hands.html

My wife has this and so did one of my old co-workers who worked as ski guide. They would both say eating and drinking warm things and keeping yourself warm from the inside out is important. My co-worker who worked as guide would get his boot shells 1/2 a size bigger so he could put thicker liners in them to help keep his feet warmer.

Completely anecdotal, but my fingers did not seem to bother me when I was taking Beta-Alanine.
My fingers were remarkably warm that winter.

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Briefly dated a super hot wealthy divorcee (Shania Twain lookalike) who suffered this. Her fingers got white pale all the time. Not sure of any cures but it&#39;s one of the suckiest maladies for a skier. Mittens and glove packs and boot heaters are the best you can do afaik</p>

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Originally Posted by zion zig zag

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I have never had frostbite to the degree of blistered skin or extended healing, but have had tons of days that toes and fingers have gone numb. Some of the events have had several days of swelling and several weeks of loss of sensation. I don't have a heated boot bag but always start with my boots under the heater vent in the car for 15-20 minutes, boots are room temp prior to that. </p>
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Going to try dressing warmer, even if it means some sweating, and then heated socks first. I think I should also severely cut down on coffee since caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, normally have 2-3 cups before skiing. </p>

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That is frostbite.

Yes

My wife has Raynard’s - white fingers in a warm room, even sores on her toes after exposure to cold (skiing, hiking, trail running in cool weather - we live in the PNW so never that cold). She had all the tests - all negative.This is anecdotal, but her Raynard’s was radically improved by cutting down gluten - and the effects were seen almost immediately. She hasn’t eliminated it from her diet (she still drinks beer!), but has reduced it when it’s easy (less/no bread, gluten free pasta, gluten free pizza crust, etc.)

I have the real deal Raynaud’s. Had it since I was a teen. Heated boots and gloves are a must, as I gushed about in that other thread. I get the clear demarcation in fingers and toes, and my hands are generally pretty cold.

The only thing that seems to help is overall cardiovascular health. I’m far less likely to get it if I start my day with a light workout and occasionally do something to keep my blood moving throughout the day.

I took several steps this last weekend: dressed warmer, kept my head warmer, cut down of caffeine, used intuition liners......and wore heated socks. Temps were 15-20 and I was out around 8 hours both days. Feet were great with no numbness and hopefully they can stay that way with the heated socks alone, as I was not a fan of sweating all day. But, if staying warm enough to sweat is the key, I'll do it.

I bring water with me. That can help. Well, staying hydrated helps in general, but you know what I mean.