Dealing With The Cold

[GingerA]

Besides barricading yourself in the house, are there any other secrets to fighting the cold weather? I think getting cold is worse on me than getting hot.

[Dizzysillyak]

I've used those disposable hand warmers when I was up north. Walmart and target carry these.

I put one of these in every pocket ..

At home, I have a heated throw (sunbeam) for the sofa and an electric blanket for my bed.

Warm soups and drinks help too tho. If all else fails, a hot bath brings my body temp back up.

[Guest tearose]

I find it is much harder for me to get warm in the winter than cool down in the summer.

I found "Gerbings" heated gloves and vest to survive!!! These have small rechargable batteries and keep me warm for many hours. I have back-up batteries as well.

Hope this helps!

[potsgirl]

The only thing that really warms me up after being outside in the cold is a hot bath. Then I put on my flannel pajama pants and a cozy long-sleeved tee along with my 'winter' bathrobe. Curling up on the couch with a warm blanket and my cat also helps, as does a hot cup of tea.

[GingerA]

Thanks guys!

[Elfie]

I recommend using members of your family as heating pads.

Sadly, I'm half serious. I get bad enough situational vasoconstriction that my hands and feet literally don't produce enough heat to warm themselves back up, even if you trap it in-- likewise, my own body normally isn't warm enough to warm my hands. However, I find that heating pads and the like are "painfully hot". I preffer to stick my hands on a dog - - - or a willing victim. I find young men particularly useful as they tend to have active metabolisms and radiate heat.

Honestly--- when it is 12 degrees outside and you are still cold inside at 73 degrees, your just pretty much . . . yeah.

[Katybug]

Hi Ginger,

They make cushions to go on your car seats and plug into the lighter that have massage and heat (about $40-50). I also take hot drink or hot broth to go so I am warming myself from the inside out when I have to be out of the house. I also find that more than just the cold, I can't handle feeling any "draft" around my neck or back so I wear many loose layers but make sure that I have "sealed off" around my neck with hat and scarf. And, as others said, when I get home, a hot bath or shower is often the only way to get warm (although then I have to worry about over-heating which often happens when I come back into a heated environment.)

Oh, also, my cardiologist warned me at the beginning of winter that I need to be extra careful about hydrating myself because we sweat under all of our warm clothing much more than we think and can become dehydrated much more easily than we do in summer when we feel hot and thirsty.

[Rachel]

Warm winter gear and lots of layers helps me. I used to live in Alaska, so I have some pretty warm stuff. I have noticed a big difference in how warm I stay when I wear my winter -30 coat compared to my wool pea coat. When I wear my coat rated for -30 it's like the cold isn't even there.

I also really like my thick fleece scarf. It is soft enough that I can wrap it around my face if necessary. A hat can help a lot, especially a stocking hat that is thick and fits snugly. Mittens are great and much warmer than gloves.

I am becoming more intolerant to the cold as time goes on. It takes so much energy to keep warm that it just wears me out, and I get really tired. I also find it harder to stay warm since I can't walk around and keep warm. I have to go out in a wheelchair, and riding in a wheelchair across a parking lot gets chilly! My legs get cold since they aren't covered by my coat. If I ever move north again I will be investing in a long coat that goes down nearly to my ankles.

Warm thoughts ,

Rachel

[icesktr189]

I wouldnt know because AZ was in the 70's today and I think the forcast said in the next couple weeks it would be up in the 80's... I think we skipped over winter somehow..

But I LOVE those hand warmers! Also love my heating blanket... I usually wrap it around my feet.

[crowebirds]

My daughter has DYS and is also allergic to the cold. We have taken several measures to help her. She is also allergic to the heat so we can't go overboard on heating her up. I will create a list as it will be easier to read.

1. Our house is always kept at a constant temperature between 75-80 degrees. Anything less than 75 is too cold.

2. Stay out of blowing air and away from fans. Moving air is worse than still air.

3. My daughter wears knee high boots to keep the bottom half of her legs warm. (The more surface area that you can protect the better.)

4. We use Hot Hands and Hotties for the feet. Fleece slippers for the feet are the best as well for warming up ice cold feet.

5. Layer clothes, a long sleeve shirt with a short sleeve shirt on top.

6. Heavy duty coats that are light are really good, such as a blue jean jacket. Something that will block the wind, but hold in too much heat.

7. Use flannel sheets on your bed with a billoughy blanket.

8. Buy a snuggie.

9. Keep a fleece throw in the car, keep it with you when you go into cold areas (especially good for the wheelchair.)

10. The most extreme purchase we have made based on her condition is our most current car. We made sure that she would have her own dual control (both blower and temp control). The seats are also heated.

11. Cyproheptadine (Periactin) makes a huge difference when combined with singulair.

Let me know when you purchase your next car based on your sensitivity to cold. ;0)

[Friedbrain]

I know what you mean! Both physically, as in "in the moment" but also I have greater health problems overall during cold weather (cold stress taxing my system? I'm not talking colds and such. I mean neurological, etc).

Someone encouraged me to monitor my body temperature multiple times a day to see how much it fluctuates. I just started, but noticed something interesting yesterday when I was freezing. My temp, which normally runs between 97.3 to 97.6 (trending lower in the am, higher in the pm, as it should), was below 97 (and it was evening).....ie, super low for me. This would make sense to me, though, if my body isn't warming me up enough to keep up with the cold temps around me (like TLC's mom, if it's below 75 in the house and I'm even a little bit stressed, I'm shaking from the cold), my body temp would reflect that. I'm going to make sure to take my temp when I'm feeling like that to see if that holds true.

Fwiw, I climbed into my pre-heated bed and stayed there the rest of the night! It took a bit for me to warm up, but then I was okay.

[Serbo]

wearing 3 pairs of gloves when i go walking at night, and still have to stop not because of fatigue or being generally cold, but because my hands are so cold. It's like i can't feel my hands at all anymore just my bones! not nice. very frustrating though because i want to keep exercising, but last about an hour before the hands just get to cold. It's only about -1/2 in the UK a night right now, so not even that cold!

[Frugalmama]

I also find the cold so frustrating - I just can't warm up unassisted. I live in Winnipeg, and although thankfully our winter has been very mild thus far, -40C is not unusual. Brrr.... . My biggest issue is in falling asleep - if I'm cold, I simply can't fall asleep. And just burrowing under blankets doesn't help, so I use the microwaveable packs and put them on my feet every time I head to bed. It has seriously changed my life! I also have a warm bath every night right before I get into bed - I can't sleep if I don't.

I have an add on question - I also have the opposite problem that as soon as I start to warm up, I become overheated unless something can cool me down. To remedy this in bed, I sleep with an ice pack under my pillow. But how do you all deal with this during the day? I think I have about a 3 degree temperature range that I can maintain, otherwise I have a drastic swing to hot or cold. Ah, the life of a POTSy

[GingerA]

Frugalmama,

Thanks for your tips. I understand about overheating too because I live in Central Georgia! I the summer we have temps in the 90's and often 100. I try to stay in when I can but if I get over heated the quickest way to cool down is to stick my hands in a bucket of ice water. I keep them in the water until i can start to feel my body cooling off. This helps enough for me to come to my senses and think of something else to do like sit down and wipe my face and neck with a cool wash cloth.

[Dizzysillyak]

My body stopped being able to retain my temp a few years ago. So external heat sources are essential.

I forgot to mention that when I'm running my heater in the house, I also have to keep the humidity up by

boiling water on the stove and filling the tub with hot water. I feel horrible if get dehydrated

from these. A dry nose is my first clue but I get headaches if I don't put some moisture back in

the air .. tc .. D

[McKenzie]

I have dealt with symptoms of Reynaud's for years, my Grandmother had it too. My body doesn't warm itself or hold heat. Thinsukate gloves are the worse because they are designed to retain body heat... But I have none in winter.

I've always laughed and said I'm a chameleon, cold blooded. If it's hot I'm too hot, if it's cold, I'm too cold!

I find that the electromagnetic field created by electric blankets makes me feel worse. So instead, I took about 4 ponds of rice and some silky material and made a microwavable rice pack. 3-4 minutes in the microwave, then put that on my feet and it really helps.

With Reynauds, my feet and fingers turn white until I get achance to warm them in warm, not hot water, then they get beet red and hot. Luckily, I'm still able to take a hot bath which helps the most go get the chill off.

When it's cold and I have to go out, I always warm the car in advance, I have a remote start now do I can warm it up before leaving work. I even use it to start the car while at the store. Getting into a warm car makes a huge difference!

Good luck! Stay warm!