Recommendations for gloves?

[citygirl1234]

Hi All,

Thank your letting me join your community.

I have primary Raynaud’s and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for gloves that people have found helpful?

I have a skiing holiday coming up (probably not the most sensible idea in hindsight from my hands and feet’s perspective lol) so was wondering if anyone could recommend some heavy duty gloves and if anyone had any tips.

I have another autoimmune condition as well and my consultant rheumatologist told me we would discuss trying Nifedipine for my Raynaud’s at my next appointment, but that isn’t until after my holiday so I’m looking for practical tips I can use before then.

Best wishes

Citygirl1234

[fairy56]

Hi citygirl, SRUK have gloves for sale on their site just follow the links. Welcome to this wonderful site, we are a friendly bunch and support each other through the good times and the not so good times. Enjoy your holiday, xx

[Hidden]

Honestly I don't find gloves as helpful as some. I prefer rechargeable hand warmers. I have regular knit gloves I put on to cut the windchill on my skin but the warmth comes from holding the hand warmers and I take Nifedipine which is awesome for increasing circulation. My dic ets me change my dose with the seasons so I take higher doses in the winter and get down to none for a couple of months in the summer.

[pino99]

Hi Citygirl,

Gloves on their own do not do much for me, my hands just seem to freeze inside. I use disposable handwarmers, like 'Hothands' or some such. You need to use them inside mittens. Get waterproof mittens that are lined with fleece inside and pop the liitle handwarmer in, it is like going to school with hot potatoes i your pockets! I use them all the time, but have in the past used them for skiing and they were very effective. They also do warmers for feet tha stick to the shoe, not as comfy but do keep your toes warm.

The only other tip is to always make sure your neck is very well wrapped up in a warm scarf, as feeling the cold around the neck is one of the major triggers for a raynouds attack. Enjoy your hols!

Pino

[phubley]

Gloves do nothing for me really; my fingers feel very uncomfortable and like ice having them separated. I just bought a pair of mittens on Amazon and I'm hopeful they will keep some warmth in, although the weather here has been mild and I haven't used them yet. I bought the large size as it had been mentioned they run small. My hand is pretty average, not large at all and these fit (pardon the pun) 'like a glove'. I'm retired and limit my winter outings as much as possible but have a wee doggie that needs to be taken out at least a couple of times a day and use public transit for getting to appointments, buying groceries, etc. SNOTEK X-Series Women's Ski Gloves, Waterproof & Windproof Winter Gloves for Women (ST190X BLACK, L). Wishing you and all the group happy holidays and warm fingers.

[cagol]

I have a ridiculously complex system of gloves which is working really well after years of experimentation.

Firstly, keep your core warm with several layers (e.g. polyprop base layer, merino mid-layer & fleece top under a ski coat). This helps keep blood flowing to the extremities. Then make sure there's no gap between your sleeve cuffs and your gloves. I knitted long fingerless gloves which go almost to my elbows and wear them under my gloves, but a good ski coat should have that built-in. My main gloves are Thinsulate, either touchscreen gloves or flip-top mittens but for the snow obviously I wear ski gloves on top. It is worth having a large pair of ski gloves with other gloves underneath in case you need to remove the ski gloves to use your hands. Also make sure you keep reuseable hand warmers in your pocket. I use the chemical ones you have to recharge in boiling water but electric ones are meant tp be better - look on the SRUK shop website. You can put them in your ski boots too. I wear at least 2 pairs of socks inside boots but have very narrow feet so I have space for layers. Put your gloves and top layer of socks on several minutes before going out to let them warm up. Never go outside in the cold without putting on gloves vefore you open the door. You can also leave gloves on a radiator before you put them on. Luckily, skiing should keep you warm enough but beware of standing still between runs as that's when you'll get cold.

Have a fabulous time!

[Aotearoa78]

I've tried all sorts of gloves and I'm yet to find the miracle ones.

I used to go skiing until I got a digital ulcer which got infected so had to have it operated on. I quit with skiing, far too painful. Bought myself some battery powered heated gloves but they didn't work for me either so they've been added to my gloves drawer.

Nifedipine didn't do much to help my raynauds so I have iloprost treatment 3 times a year and that helps a lot.

I've gone back to trusty mittens this winter and hope they'll get me through the harsh UK winter months - bbrrrr...

[Rp321]

I went to a ski shop and the assistant in there was great - he talked me through all the pros and cons of the gloves. We talked through what I needed them for and after we got over the “oh you know shopping and walking from the car into work etc conversation” he got to finding me the absolute warmest ones he had. I have down ski mittens which are water proof. In winter I can’t wear gloves as they don’t help at all - mittens are better though. No “normal” woolly gloves or thinsulate ones help me at all in the winter but I wear them on the spring and summer.

My ski mittens were really really expensive (over £100) but I wear them every single day from Oct until April ish so this is their second year - actually they are still perfectly fine so worth the money. My previous ski mittens I bought roxy ones again designed for mountains and sking etc but after the first few months of constant wear all the padding flattened and they lost their warmth. Shame really I liked the design of those ones better! These are boring black huge fat gloves which I get commented on millions of times - surely it’s not that cold! Believe me it really is that cold to me. They need to really make some nice raynauds designed gloves that are super warm but look good and some more summery gloves for summer time I don’t want snow men on my gloves in August ha ha

[shedridc]

I have Gerbing electric gloves battery powered. In the US you can get them from the Warming Store. They work fantastically good, but will set you back almost $300 US. Well worth it for me.

[Horsewhisper]

Hi citygirl, some really useful suggestions here - all I can add is to make sure you are really warm before you step outside into the cold. Maybe do some Pilates style stretches to get the circulation going and swing your arms around in a fast windmill style to shake the warm blood from your trunk down into your hands. A decent balaclava/face mask to cover your nose and cheeks whilst skiing will help keep the frost nip at bay. Enjoy the white stuff!

[citygirl1234]

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions and tips. I will try them out and see how it goes! I’ve ordered a variety so will see what works for me. I don’t normally find gloves very helpful and try to avoid them (it “wakes up” my hands and then they end up being quite painful and clammy / hot as opposed to just super cold and fairly numb) but I’ll have to suck it up for the snow and I’m looking forward to trying them out x

[Hidden in reply to citygirl1234]

Have you tried silk gloves? They're thin, but can be an underlayer. Silk won't react with your skin.

[mimimacn]

I bought a pair years ago that take batteries at the wrist area. Useless!!!!