Dropsies! How I hate them.

[uknlv]

My Raynaud's has gotten so bad these days that even though it is warmer outside and everyone else is sporting light coats, I am still confined to wearing gloves all the time. This keeps my hands nice and toasty most of the time but presents another problem, The Dropsies. I have to pick things up two handle like a small child or it goes straight through! I have the fingerless gloves that help with the dropsies but then my fingers still get cold and turn white which I figure is far worse. I had this great idea to try to invent some gloves with little rubber spots on them like the slipper socks have and also something that can withstand being wet so I can wear them when I prepare foods. A friend suggested using rubber gloves but for me they do not do anything to keep my hands warmer. I was already to start cutting up the rubber gloves and then glueing or stitching (which is nigh on to impossible these days cause I can't hold the darn needle!) when a male friend asked if I had looked in to builders gloves, the are designed to be thin but still provide warmth and they have rubber on them already to help with holding tools, AND they are ok to get wet without giving that soggy material feel that is more than abit off putting lol. I looked online and found some at quite a reasonable price and ordered a pair, they havn't come yet but I will post how they work when I get them, so hopefully my terrible case of The Dropsies will be cured!!

Keep smiling all Spring is peeking its head out and warm weather is upon us!!

Jean

[chillymilly]

I look forward to hearing how you get on with your new gloves, they sound ideal although i'm not sure any of us will win the fashion stakes with our strange garb! I've heard that silk is a good material for outside use and I'm going walking with friends over Easter so to prepare myself incase it is still chilly I've just ordered a pair of silk base gloves to wear with my normal ones and some extreme weather socks. Hopefully they will help, as last time we went out it took about 3 hours to get the feeling back in my hands, and longer for my feet, even though I was wearing two pairs each of gloves and socks. If I need any more socks i'll have to get bigger boots!!

[Anteater]

Why dont you try horse riding gloves - they have grips on them .

[uknlv]

Well I got my new gloves today and they work a treat, were quite inexpensive as well. But they will definetly not win any fashion awards lol. They are rubber on the bottom with a mesh over the back of the hand, and I am able to rinse them off easily. I prepared my evening meal with them today and they did a great job, I did put a pair of my warmer gloves underneath as they didnt do much for warming me. But my hands were warm, I didn't drop the knife or cut off a finger, and they were easy to wash afterwards. So all and all a good choice for home.

Chillymilly have you tried carrying any hand warmers with you, you can make them simply out of rice and old socks, put the rice in the sock to your desired fullness and tie off the end, microwave for a minute and nice warm hands for a decent amount of time.

Anteater, I never have seen riding gloves will check them out, hopefully they will look better then the buidlers gloves, as they are bright blue hehe

[Geordie_Kate in reply to uknlv]

Agree with this. Knittted riding gloves come in normal colours and have tiny rubber bobbles over the palms and the underside of the fingers. They're not the warmest but good with silk glove liners that someone else has mentioned. You should be able to get hold of some at an online equestrian shop or maybe even eBay.

[Rach18]

At least this has proven that you're not the only one to wear your gloves for most of the year Jean. I like to have a pair with me even on the hottest of days....just in case! As for dropping things, I'm always doing it because of loss of feeling in my hands during Raynaud's attacks, it can become very frustrating at times but I suppose it's good exercise to have to keep bending down and picking things up!

[Emma2]

At least we all have an excuse if we are having a clumsy day as well!! When my attacks are really bad I find that laces are a nightmare - there's nothing like having to ask someone else to undo them to make you feel good! And does anyone else do the elbow dipping in the bath water to see how hot it is because when your hands are bad you have no idea?!?!

[Mcgruder in reply to Emma2]

Lol - am glad am not the only one to do this, normally it's can't dip your feet in to test the water as there is no feeling, and once they have gone everything else starts shutting down!!!!

[chillymilly]

Jean, glad to hear you got your gloves and didn't end up with anything extra chopped into your evening meal! I have several varieties of handwarmers but I didn't have them with me when I stayed unexpectedly overnight with some friends, I will add them to the car survival kit. I did once have some of those fancy ones that you have to boil to reset, but I soon discovered that they don't take too kindly to sitting in a hot pan with no water (doesn't do the pan much good either!)

Emma, my husband always used to be my water tester, but since he left I too have to use body parts other than my hands to check the bath water.

Does anyone else agree that whilst we can each understand what our fellow sufferers are going through and fully sympathise, there's something very comforting in knowing that we are not the only one having to do daft things to keep warm and get through the day unscathed?

[uknlv]

Yes chillymill, I think it helps to know that we are not crazy we just have Raynaud's. I have severe problems with my feet as well as my hands, I can not walk very far and had to get a Disabled Badge for parking, you should see the looks I get when I get out and am not in a wheelchair, but I figure I look disabled enough with my gloves and woolies in the summer LOL They probably think it is mental problems though! That is a good idea to put something in the car for warming your hands, it never fails when I think my gloves are going to be enough I end up somewhere where I am freezing and my hands are numb lumps on the end of my arms.

[Emma2]

We all have our own little routines to muddle through - as long as they work that's the main thing! It's quite funny when I think about how many pairs of gloves I have on me at any one time - I think I have three pairs in my fleece at the moment. It's like being a scout I suspose - always be prepared!!!