Keeping feet warm?

[davincisoprano1]

I have Reynaud's Syndrome, which basically means that when I get cold my body pulls too much blood towards my core so my feet and hands go white. Thankfully mine isn't too severe and I warm up quickly enough. But it's inconvenient because, well the rink is cold. I usually don't have as much of a problem but since starting my new job as a skate guard I'm not moving around AS much, though I will skate around a few times to keep my feet warm. But today I was at the rink to practice and suddenly my toes went numb and started hurting (typical signs that the blood left my feet) which caused me to get off the ice a little earlier than I wanted.

I have Reidells but they are from about 8-9 years ago (didn't do much skating in the last 6 years) and I wear nylons that I pad with a few makeup pads. During the winter I had this problem so I wore thick socks but found that to be difficult and didn't help at all.

Any of you have this problem, or have any suggestions for how to help it?

[icestalker]

Getting cold in the first place can be prevented by wearing lots of layers around your torso, and wearing a hat or headband, as heat leaves through your head. I personally hate wearing hats when I skate, as I get too warm, but my coach always wears a headband, I assume to keep warm.

You can use boot covers to add a layer of warmth over your feet, but not sure if it'd help, since you need the blood to stay in your feet and warming your feet up vs warming your head/torso probably wouldn't get the circulation going.

[Skate@Delaware]

I have Reynaud's syndrome and when I skate in really cold rinks, or for more than 1 session at mine, I use the air-activated heater insoles. They are disposable, good for one use only, but they help. I also wear layers and can add/take off as I need. For my hands, I always wear gloves, but they still burn.

[Query]

I can't speak to your specific condition, but my own feet sometimes get cold. Here is what normal people use:

Thin boot covers don't help much, IMO. The big thick neoprene ones used by some coaches help some people, but some people say the extra bulk gets in the way.

For most people, it helps a lot if the boots are warm, inside and out - about body temperature - before you start. Use a hair drier (if you can find a place to plug it in), or a rest room hand drier. Or use a car cigarette lighter powered boot drier that doesn't get over body temperature, like the made by "Dry Guy Circulator". Many people on this board just fill socks with rice, microwave them before they leave home, and stuff them in the boots to keep them warm while they drive. (Over body temperature will tend to make the boot break down, and will also deform them so they no longer fit your foot very well.) With your condition, perhaps you need to reheat the skates mid-session? There is a very good chance this will be enough, but I don't know your feet.

You will need to make space inside the boot by modifying your insole, but the little chemical foot warmers, sold in outdoor sporting goods stores (for skiers, etc.) should help a lot. One brand (I forget which) of boots can be ordered custom with a battery powered warmer, similar to what is in some downhill ski boots, but I'm sure it adds weight. Be careful that you don't burn yourself - i.e., experiment a bit before letting the warmer directly touch your skin too long, if you don't wear socks. Many of those warmers last for many hours, and are sold in bulk for about $1/pair. I have used warmers inside XC ski boots successfully. (I tried the re-usable ones that you reset by microwaving them, but the type I tried didn't work very well, and takes up a lot of space. It bothers me to use disposable chemical packs, but we are talking about your health. Besides, skating rinks aren't altogether environmentally correct to begin with.) They make hand warmers for inside your gloves too, if that is an issue.

Some people claim some aluminized mylar insoles, sold in ski stores, are good insulators, but I haven't tried them.

You might consult with a doctor on this one: Some people with very poor circulation wear "compressive stockings", at least with normal foot wear. It somehow forces blood to be pumped by normal leg motions out of the legs into the feet. I have no idea how well it would work with tightly fit boots like skates.

Oh yes: If your boots fit you precisely, boots and laces do not need to be as tight (which hurts circulation), because you don't need pressure to force the leather to deform until it conforms to your foot. There are a number of things you or your boot fitter can do to make the boot fit you better - including the bit about warming them up first - see my pages below for more. (I know this sounds boring, but a lot of the questions you have asked on this board are the same I did a while back, so you might find my pages interesting, though I admit I am a little "physicsy".)

Warming yourself up before skating, like jogging, should help a little, but maybe not if it is cold where you jog.

It helps a lot to be active when you skate. I.e., don't skate slowly too much. Skate fast a lot.

Everyone says keeping the rest of the body warm too, helps, as someone else mentioned.

Your doctor may have other ideas too.

Hope something above helps.

[Skate@Delaware]

Most docs aren't well versed and just suggest "wear layers" :roll: yeah ok. As for compression stockings, they compress the most at the ankle and less as you go up-their purpose is to force the blood (and fluids) UP...and wearing them you must constantly check circulation in the foot and toes-it's easy to get cut off from the compression.

The chemical warmers I use are convenient, thin and do the job. They might make your feet sweat, which can make them cold. I usually undo my skates 1/2 through a long session and warm my feet up & air out my skates about 15 minutes (sometimes under the air dryer in the bathroom).

Raynaud's really sucks during winter!

[fsk8r]

My sister has bought Jackson coaches boots as these have the thermal lining to help keep the feet warmer. She says it's greatly improved her cold feet problem (she similarly goes white, then blue).
She tends to layer up the core, and ends up wearing about 4 layers if she's going to not be doing much at the rink. She also wears two pairs of gloves to keep her hands warm.

And for her legs, it's footed tights, followed by overboot tights, then a pair of chloe noels and then normal tracksuits for those really cold rinks with lots of standing around.

The layers are all designed to give her the amount of movement she needs for the session she's on (she's starting to learn to coach so she layers up when she's standing around helping in lessons, and can remove them when she's actually skating).

[Isk8NYC]

I think Reynaud's is different from just getting cold feet. FWIW, when I taught outdoors, I wore neoprene boot covers, which helped keep the uppers warm. (I still had snow and frost frozen on the soles and blades, so those parts were cold.)

If just staying warm is a good prevention, here's what I do: Layers of clothing. Tight ski pants for outdoors. I always wear a turtleneck on the ice in the winter. For me, keeping my neck warm really makes a difference in my comfort, but I don't have Renaud's. I just take a long time to warm up my core once I get chilled. If I get chilled and don't have one with me, I'll just put my fleece headband around my neck. Wearing a hat or headband helps as well.

All the skaters I know afflicted with Reynaud's either use warmers like S@D or they unlace, massage and retie their skates after a certain amount of time on the ice.

When I run (which I hate), my hands start to swell and lose feeling, so I shake them above my head periodically. Looks strange, but it works. (Strange can be good - I've never had a problem with muggers or attackers.)

Has anyone with Reynaud's tried doing some exercises to increase circulation to the feet or hands, like swinging them to pull the blood to the outer extremities or elevating/lowering them above/below the heart? For feet, a spiral stretch or leg kicks/lifts might help a bit. I don't know enough about the syndrome to understand if this might help, so I'm curious.

[Query]

(Strange can be good - I've never had a problem with muggers or attackers.)

I know someone who says that if you talk to yourself, and don't obviously have a cell phone, muggers leave you alone. :lol:

Some of the people I have met with circulation problems, including Reynaud's say that they have trouble generating the body heat in their extremities at all, and that insulation alone isn't enough. That why I suggested warming up the boot before skating. And why an external heat source, like the warmers, makes sense.

The warmers may work for me in XC ski boots without the sweat problem for three reasons:
(1) My feet don't never create much sweat. If your feet sweat a lot, there might be nothing healthy that you can do about that.
(2) I use the long time-scale warmers (10-12 hours), which probably generate less heat. You can try the same. But someone with Reynauds might not generate enough heat for this to be ideal - he/she would have to experiment to see which length/type of warmer works well.
(3) The fit isn't as tight as skates, my XC ski boots have a breathable lining, and I use polypro or similar material socks, which wick moisture (talk to a camping store to find wicking socks), so moisture can evaporate or wick out. If your skates have no lining and/or you skate barefoot inside the skate, or you use socks that don't wick, there is simply no good way to get the moisture out.

[skaternum]

I also have Reynaud's, and here's what I used to do for my feet. Before I left for the rink in the morning, I'd open up a chemical handwarmer pack & put them down in my boots. Once I got to the rink, I'd take the handwarmer out, put on my skates, put the handwarmer ON TOP of my foot (outside the boot, just sitting on top of the toe/metatarsel area), and secure it there with snug over-the-boot tights. So basically I wedged a handwarmer between the outside of my boot & the tights. You could do the same thing with neoprene warmers instead of over-the-boot tights. It would get me through about 1.5 hours of skating.

[davincisoprano1]

Those are some really awesome suggestions everyone, thank you so much :)

I'm in Florida so I'm on the lookout for the handwarmers but those don't usually show up until december... :(

[Skate@Delaware]

Those are some really awesome suggestions everyone, thank you so much :)

I'm in Florida so I'm on the lookout for the handwarmers but those don't usually show up until december... :(
so when they show up, get some and try them out. If you like them, find out when they go on clearance (most clerks will tell you)...they sell out fast up here (Delaware) and I buy enough to last most of the following season.

As for sweaty feet-if it's normal sweaty feet, then applying antiperspirant usually helps. If they are really bad (i.e. abnormally sweaty) they can snip a nerve which helps but doesn't totally fix the problem. It's worse when your feet are sweaty & cold. Ugh!

[Query]

Order chemical warming packs them from any camping store or mail order place - e.g., http://www.campmor.com or http://www.rei.com (search for "warmer") - or from ski stores and mail order places.

[AgnesNitt]

Insulated boot covers (http://toecoats.com/main.sc)(not neoprene, much more)

Electrically heated boot bags (1) (http://www.hotgearbag.com/order.shtml), (2) (http://www.untracked.com/p2872c37b89lr-Froogle-11_head_pro_heated_ski_boot_bag.html), (3) (http://cozywinters.com/shop/heated-gear-bag.html)

[davincisoprano1]

Insulated boot covers (http://toecoats.com/main.sc)(not neoprene, much more)

Electrically heated boot bags (1) (http://www.hotgearbag.com/order.shtml), (2) (http://www.untracked.com/p2872c37b89lr-Froogle-11_head_pro_heated_ski_boot_bag.html), (3) (http://cozywinters.com/shop/heated-gear-bag.html)

OMG WANT!!!!

Maybe as it starts to cool down here in florida I will look into getting one of those boot insulators.... that would be wonderful!