Raynaulds and Running...

[Doglets05]

Recently diagnosed and wondered how others manage the condition particularly in relation to running?

Any advice welcomed... ?

[Madge50 Graduate]

Hi Doglets, I don't have any personal experience myself, but I'm sure there are lots of patient support sites for Raynaud's out there, so a quick search on the Internet will probably help your research. Hope you find something suitable.

Mx

[Hidden]

I have Raynauds and I have found that thin silk liner gloves inside ordinary running gloves helps a lot. Also try keeping your arms swinging on your warm up walk if you do one so it doesn't get a chance to set in before your blood is properly pumping.

[Doglets05 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks will deffo add the arms into my walk... x

[MarkyD Graduate]

I inherited Raynaulds from my Mum. It is not common in men, I think, and Mum had a sympathectomy to manage the symptoms.

My fingers are pallid very easily if my hands get cold. Strictly, it is more common if my wrists get cold and so I always try to run with a long-sleeved top under my running jacket, and have the cuffs of my running jacket pulled down and onto my palm. This keeps my wrists warm, and helps my fingers.

I've found that I don't need gloves unless it is windy or frosty. And to be honest, since I have become more active and taken up this running lark, I think my Raynaulds has improved. Maybe I am just outside running more and this is stopping my hands getting cold....???

[Doglets05 Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

Thanks MarkyD I do wear a long sleeve top but am adding gloves because it is worsening

[EustacuaVye]

I have a hat and gloves and don't leave the house without them. Some days my fingers have hurt even with the gloves but they warm up in a bit so swinging your arms whilst walking is a good tip.

Good luck

[Doglets05 Graduate]

Thank you x

[spoonierunning Graduate]

I wear proper running socks so they don't hold as much moisture (aka cold puddle water) and being synthetic rather than cotton they do help to keep my toes warmer, sometimes I double up with knee high socks, amazingly ive only just got my first chilblains of the winter they normally start to plauge me November December time. I don't wear gloves as my hands warm up and become too painfull but I do love a good thumb hole, or tops with extra long sleeves I can pull over my hands, but I know others love their gloves, I on very cold days thought about wearing my silk glove liners as they are light and can be easily stashed when my hands get hot. I have a buff for my neck and pull this up to cover my nose when needed (yes even my nose is affected by my raynauds) and I'm either wearing my skullcandy over ear headphones that keep my ears warm or a ear band warmet thingy. Layers are your friend, keep your core warm. You can also swing your arms and do windmills and stuff to try hand help keep the blood pumping to them.

Seems lots of runners have raynauds - can also affect me in the summer when running my hands get very painfull - again queue mad woman running around shaking her arms about and stuff.

[swanscot Graduate]

Raynauds chiefly affects my fingers, toes, nose and ears. When running my toes are usually warm with the pounding, except for long, slow runs or when they get wet. Yes, proper synthetic running socks are much better than cotton, but for the past few weeks with the wet and the cold, I've needed Merino wool/synthetic mix socks. These are expensive, so I have only one pair which I keep for longer runs (over an hour) and I wash straight away so they are ready for the next run.

Cold ears are dealt with by using a Buff, folded several times to make it thicker over my ear and leaving the top of my head open as I find I overheat. I wear another Buff around my neck and pull it up over my face covering my nose for the first few minutes of my run.

My fingers are the worst to keep warm enough to stop them from getting painful. I have a selection of gloves that I wear separately or together to try to get the right combination. My problem is the rest of my hand soon gets too warm - and this is made worse by winter shirts with long sleeves and thumb loops and gloves with thick wrists.

One solution I use for wet days is a pair of Saucony convertible gloves/mitts. These are a pair of gloves made from a relatively thin stretchy fabric, with a waterproof/windproof mitten part that is tucked away on the back of the hand, and can be pulled over the fingers. But on the coldest days that is not enough and I made an extra layer of insulation that fits over my fingers, from the toe end of an old pair of socks.

See photo here: dropbox.com/s/0tt96r8udzuom...

sportsshoes.com/product/sau...

Like others have said, I need to shake my hands vigorously every-so-often to get the blood back into the fingertips.

Edit to add: I need gloves from temperatures below 10C. I'm one of those strange-looking runners who race in vest and shorts - and gloves!