I was diagnosed with mild Raynaud's many years ago, but I don't think it is related. In the past, this symptom has waked me up. I go to the tub and run cold water over my feet. Then I come back to bed and rub hand lotion on my feet and hands. The evaporative cooling effect feels nice.
I think I know what I was doing to cause this (described in my 27 Oct 2011 post below). I've stopped it, and, so far so good. ******** UPDATE: THIS IS POSSIBLY RELATED TO MELATONIN - SEE MY POST BELOW OF 5 MAY 2013. ******** UPDATE: Feb 2018: I no longer believe Melatonin is causing this. I'm back on it for the past three years, taking 1.5 mg at bedtime, and my hot hands and feet have thankfully all but disappeared. I cannot explain what I changed to stop this problem, other than stopping social smoking at the bars.
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Johnny_Storm
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This could be erythromelalgia. Often people with erythromelalgia also suffer from Raynaud's, so although the two seem very different, they can be related. For more information on erythromelalgia see raynauds.org.uk/associated-...
I've had Raynaud's for 25 years & taking medications most of those years for it (except when I was pregnant)
Last year I was finally diagnosed with Erythromelalgia. Symptoms started some 5 years back but only mild. The past year it has progressed rapidly & the pain has intensified to a point that it's the first thing I think of when I wake up of a morning, wondering where it will strike me each day & how much pain it will cause. I also have both Raynaud's in my finger & at the same time, on the same hand I've had EM flaring up in my other fingers & hand.
Try to read into progesterone, if your symptoms disappears when you were preganant , there’s a reason . I found an article about when women who have been diagnosed with raynauds symptoms seem to disappear when they are pregnant, and it’s because of their bodies increasing in progesterone. Your symptoms maybe connected to your hormone levels. If I find that article again Il post it here for you to read , but I’m sure you can just search it and you will find it right away. And maybe you can ask your doctor for progesterone if that is the case. I hope this helps
It would have to be erythromelalgia in a very mild form. I have no swelling, and discoloration is either minimal or none, but I must admit, at 3am when this used to happen, the priority was on cooling off and feeling sorry for myself, so I can't say that I examined the skin color closely!
Again, absolutely no pain, just excessively hot hands and feet, so uncomfortable it would wake me up. Possibly a clinician would say, "No pain, not erythromelalgia."
I've made a change, and (knock wood) this has stopped. Even so, I'm aware that many people suffer from the condition that I've described, and I would like to hear from them on this thread, even more so if they saw a doctor about it.
I just re-read the thread. I believe that "the change" I referred to was stopping occasional smoking in the bars. I'm continuing to never socially smoke. I also don't drink at all. My problem of hot hands and feet did briefly return a while back, but it was two or three years ago, and I can't remember the details. I'm back on Melatonin. Amazingly, I buy 1 MG tablets, chop them in half, and then bite that in half right when I get into bed. Just .25 MG makes all the difference, and I drop off to sleep within 15 minutes. I've always been tempted to say that doing carpentry-type projects plays a role in this problem, but I just did a week's long deck repair (very taxing!) and the hot hands and feet did not return.
I'm recently retired from being a maintenance supervisor, I had a long history of fixing almost anything wood, metal. My hands still heat up with 0 pain, I think I will run this past my doctor just to hear what he thinks
I have Raynauds and erythromelalgia and they are definitely connected. I regularly have boiling feet during the night (and during the day if I walk a lot or have shoes on all the time - I wear flip flops if I can but that's becoming harder as it's getting colder). I'm curious to know what changes you've made? I've tried various things to cool my feet down (and at other times to heat them up) and also tried various medications but nothing's worked.
You may not be able to make the change I made, but reading my story may still offer some insight into what is heating up your feet.
I used to smoke cigarettes every once in a while. I would go to the bars once every four or five months and sometimes smoke a few. I don't remember the exact timing on the after effect, which was night time hot hands and feet, but it seems to me there would be a delay. In other words, go out on Friday night, smoke a few cigs. Then, 72 hours later, Wednesday at 3am, wake up with extremely uncomfortable hot hands and feet. The problem would then persist for the next week or so.
The damage to the hemoglobin may have inspired some red blood-cell recuperation process, perhaps over stimulated, resulting in my symptoms. Or, it could be an after effect of red blood-cell destruction.
I once read a thread - on the same issue as this one - where a poster said he would wake up from hot hands and feet on some nights after he ate steak for dinner. This does not happen to me, but I recall having eaten steak in the "window period" (days after having had some cigarettes at the bar), and I think on those nights I may have been afflicted with hot hands and feet! Apparently red meat promotes red blood cell production.
So, an area for you to investigate with your dr. is as follows: is your body either over-destroying or over-creating red blood cells. If you do, would you be so kind as to report your results back here on this thread?
I have entirely quit melatonin, and this problem has subsided for me. The timing of these two events is a little fuzzy, but I'm about 80% sure on this. ********* UPDATE Feb 2018: I am back on melatonin, and do not have hot hands and feet.
I read my earlier posts bout quitting smoking and the potential influence of red blood cell creation/destruction on this problem. I'm now less inclined to think that this was the problem.
A history of my melatonin use:
I began taking 3 mg per night during 1998. It completely solved my insomnia - a major personal problem for me. I stayed with it religiously. If I forgot to take it, I would jump out of bed after realizing this, take it, and then be asleep in 15 min.
I'm 85% certain that I developed hot hands and feet during this time period.
In 2006, out of an abundance of caution (I'm afraid of long term use of any drug) I began taking half-pills. I was happy and surprised to find that 1.5 mg still put me to sleep. I progressed to biting those half pills in half. The melatonin was still effective. This reduction may have caused a reduction of my hot hands and feet, but I know for sure that I still got acute occurrences now and again.
Along about 2010 or 2011, the idea occurred to me to test whether or not my insomnia-inducing habit of going "from thing to thing to thing" when I laid down to go to sleep was even still there. So I stopped taking 1/4 of the 3mg pills, and discovered that I no longer require it. Again, looking back, I'm quite sure that this is when my incidence of hot hands and feet stopped.
(Side issue: I quit alcohol entirely in Dec. of 2010. I am sticking with that - if alcohol caused hot hands and feet I'd expect that would be widely known.)
Either way, my experience reveals two possible solutions for some people:
1) If you take it, try stopping melatonin.
2) Research and investigate if you are doing anything which could possibly be promoting either the creation or disruction of red blood cells (to include cession of all smoking, observe related effect from eating steak).
I've had problems with my hands for years now and I keep trying to explain to people that it is NOT Raynaud's Phenomenon - there is no tricolour appearance! My literally hands go purple/blue and they're absolutely freezing! Sometimes fluorescent pink speckles appear and people have to see it to believe I'm not some kind of mentalist!
But other times my hands go red hot (literally). I wouldn't say that they are painful, but more itchy and uncomfortable. I can make them go that colour by running them under hot water, but other times is just happens! Is this close to what you're describing?
Tonight my hands were blue and I warmed them on my chest for about 5/10 minutes, but then they went red and hot, and the same happened to my ears!
During the day my body feels like it's overheating while my hands are as cold as a corpse. It's rather annoying and it's horribly embarrassing when shaking peoples' hands!!! I don't want to go to the GP because I don't really think it's a "problem" that can be solved - all advice seems to be to just live with it...
I'm 24, never smoker, not currently taking medication and have no significant past medical history. I drink socially, but not excessively.
i also have hot feet, i put lotion and socks(short stockings) so that my feet would sweat..weird, but thats the only way for me to make my feet feel warm and comfortable.. it sucks that almost 24/7 im wearing a socks.. i only wear close shoes.. if i wear sandal or slipper my feet would go hot and looks red
My hands get hot on occasions, I noticed this like 10 years ago in 2008. I just hold some ice in my hands or run cold water over them, my wife said maybe Jesus gave me the gift of healing. I don't know, I'm 57 now and still have the same occasional issue. I'm a recent amputee 05/2015 but not from diabetes, I was hit by a car while riding my motorcycle in Aug 1985 at 25 yrs old. They put my foot back together as it lasted for 29 years, until it swelled up so bad It caused me pain so I asked for it to be removed. I have asthma since I was 15 yrs old, but my hands just heat up once in awhile, I never asked my doctor about. I came here to hear what other folks are saying as it might help me to determine a cure or help me ask my doctor on my next visit
Also my husband and I found a connection with magnesium and raynauds , he has severe raynauds we are trying many things to figure this out, he took an Epsom salt bath one day and after the day went by he was feeling better and better , for about two days he didn’t need to wear heated socks , just regular socks was good enough.
Fyi he had to wear 4 heated socks alllll day he was still cold and in pain. So everyone try this and get some magnesium vitamins .
Does he have circulation problems, that's what it sounds like. I'm not a doctor, but I sort of have circulation issues on my left hand. I was hit by a car at 24 in 1985 while riding my dual sport motorcycle, they removed skin, tissue and my out going artery from my left arm to put my foot back together. I'm 57 now with getting old issues, I started taking coumadin in 2010 to thin my blood. It will only get worse as I age, what's next. Ha Ha Ha. I will pray for healing for your husband and you as well to be strengthened in caring for your husband, in Jesus name. Amen, it's free.
I do have a latest theory regarding my hot hands. When I eat lots of bacon, that night and the next day I will have hot hands and feet. I should eat an entire 16 oz package of bacon to try and trigger the problem. I'm a low carber - eat very little sugar - so I go through phases where I'm eating bacon. I sure wish a university or some big company would figure this out!
Hey there! I've been experiencing the warm red hands and feet, sometimes other extremities lately... My doc diagnosed me with primary raynauds early this winter... Has your redness/heat improved at all over the years? Any tips? Does summer weather help? Thanks!
I have had success with both. That's why I also use doTerra oils. Using the oil, just a drop a day (there are approximately 240 drops per 15mL bottle), then I rub my hands together like I am washing them. Wait about 15 minutes and wash off excess so you don't accidentally wipe your eyes. So I take the magnesium in the morning and if I forget I keep the majoram in my pocket, or purse and use a drop on my hands when I forget to drink the magnesium. So now I am looking into an oil to help my memory retention. 😅
On a side note, I rarely eat beef or bacon. Although, I love both! Chicken and fish is my diet staples but I still get the hot (but not pain) hands and feet Maybe something in those two meat choices makes it worse? I will see how those affect me the next time I eat either of them.
Well, I guess picked the wrong week to try and stop buying stuff on the internet. I purchased a 15 ml bottle of doTerra
Marjoram Oil off of Amazon for $27.00. I'm pessimistic, but very much looking to gain control over this phenomenon. I have definitely experience a return of hot hands and feet lately. I've wondered about something over the years. It seems when I do a project which involves lots of lifting it sets off this reaction. I did such a project a few days ago, but unfortunately I ate some bacon right around then too. If the marjoram oil works, I guess it really won't matter what's causing it, right? I'll try and remember to update, so not everyone has to spend more of their money on the internet!
Like I previously stated, I use a drop of marjoram on my hands. However, today I had a drop in 4 ounces of water. Ugh! I'm sticking to the topical method. Lol
If you feel the Marjoram doesn't work for this, don't toss the bottle just yet. Here are other things the oil is good for: Arthritis, Bone spurs, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Cartilage Injury, Constipation, Cramps/Charlie Horses, Expectorant, High Blood Pressure, Muscle Aches, Muscle (Fatigue, Spasms, Tension and Tone), Muscular Dystrophy, Neuralgia, Osteoarthritis, Pancreatitis, Parkinson's Disease, Physical Stress, Prolapsed Mitral Valve, RA, Sprains, Stiffness, Tendinitis, Whiplash. Apply topically one drop as needed on area of concern or reflex points.
Sounds like Marjoram could give Viagra a run for it's money! I've noticed a little something - not a solution but maybe a clue - if I have hot hands and feet and I'm sitting in my computer, if I walk around a little it lessens. This is an observation I had not made in years past. Other than that, I'd say the laser pointer as a temperature taking device is simply too variable. It's a tiny point of light. You'd almost have to put a few spots on your hands and feet at the tattoo parlor to have any hope of getting a consistent temperature reading. I see there is a GE Profile MRI for sale on ebay for 22K. No shipping, free local pickup. It's in Pompano Beach, FL, about 30 minutes from me. I'll have to think it over. *****UPDATE: the Marjoram oil did not have an effect on my hot hands and feet issue.
The problem isn't really bad enough to consult a doctor. Raynauds was confirmed decades ago because I was working in a grocery store with frozen goods and I took my gloves off one day and it looked as if my fingers had been dipped in vanilla colored paint. I went to a doctor who told me I had Raynauds. For a long time after that incident, my fingers and toes did react in a rather extreme way to cold conditions, but in recent years this is not especially so.
I own a laser thermometer (pricey, but good for taking the temperature of air coming out of vents in the ceiling and the skillet on the range). I'm going to start checking the temps of my hands and feet. I have the hot phenomena right now so I Just took a reading in the center of the palm of each hand, 91.6 for each. By moving the pointer just a little the temp fluctuates so this is inexact. I took a reading from the arch of each foot: , 91.1 right foot, 90.1 left foot. I left my shoes off for a few minutes before taking this reading. I will take a reading some time when the condition isn't active. I'm looking at buying a thermal camera or other thermal imaging device, of course, because I am incapable of stopping buying things on the internet.
So you say your raynauds has improved over the years? Did your hands get this redness and warmth after a raynauds attack? Maybe this is just a very mild raynauds attack and the redness and heat is just the rewarming process? Thoughts?
No pain. I have a fear of erythromelalgia. But I really never have pain and soaking in warm/hot water makes the redness and heat go away faster (which I think is the opposite of erythromelalgia). I was told by 2 docs that I have raynauds based on my pics of red hands. But I don't go through the white and blue phases.
No and no. And no and no. That is why I think mine is similar but no pain and no colors. Just hot. HATE wearing socks and shoes and gloves of any kind. Uncomfortable.
I just got a call from my GP. Lyme's test came back abnormal. They did a basic Lyme's 3 months ago, I complained and they gave me a more thorough version. Maybe this has something to do with it. Bit by a tick in November, all of these symptoms started in December... Doxy for me...
Let me check what I can find out about Lyme disease. I know lavender repels ticks but I have no idea what to do once you've actually gotten infected. I will get back on here asap and let ya know.
Just found this: As a vasodilator, marjoram oil widens and relaxes the blood vessels, eases the flow of blood, and reduces blood pressure, thereby lessening the strain on the entire cardiovascular system. It helps reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and brain hemorrhaging.
I've been researching the oils more. It says that other oils for arterial vasodilator (increasing the diameter of blood vessel walls through relaxation) that give the blood more room to flow and lower blood pressure in that area are eucalyptus and rosemary. So if you don't like the smell of rosemary try one of those two.
I have had the same exact thing for years. Always wondered what it was. Like you I would go run cold water on my hands and feet. The older I have gotten, the less frequent it happens. But it still happens. Like tonight lol
I have used this thread as a diary, hoping to discern a cause or relationship, or to get that one suggestion which would solve this mystery. I'm happy to report that this problem has not bothered me in the past 12 months or so. It simply isn't a factor in my life. I went back into a period of drinking and smoking cigarettes over the holidays. This did not trigger hot hands and feet. I see from my notes that intense physical labor likely is not the culprit. All I can guess at this point is that it might be a reaction to eating bacon. I'm sad that I never figured this out, but happy the problem has moved on.
After a period of nearly a year w/o noticeable hot hands and feet, I decided to run a test. I bought two packets of bacon and have been slowly eating it. Yum. And, yes, I have hot hands and feet. I believe I have finally settled this issue: bacon is what causes me to experience this.
I was in Walmart about a month ago and I saw a really good price on some boneless pork sides. I brought two of them home and cooked them in the oven. They tasted too bland with my normal condiments, so I tried a bowl of pork pieces with Louisiana's Pure Crystal Hot Sauce. I had a few plates of this over 2 days and .......... WHAMO!! Hot hands and feet big time. I'm not sure if it was the pork or the Crystal hot sauce. I started keeping gel packs in the fridge to attack the problem.
Regarding taxing physical activity, I believe hours of hard work will cause a light reaction of hot hands and feet, but nothing as intense or long lasting as eating high quantities of certain foods. I now have a job which requires lots of walking, and my feet are slightly hot all the time and my hands too.
For me, this mystery is solved, or at least, close enough. Certain foods, eaten in certain quantities, give me annoyingly hot hands and feet.
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