How to Keep Hands Warm in Cold Weather

Heated Gloves, Hand Warmers and Heat Packs for Cold Hands in Winter

Nov 19, 2009 Suzanne Bosworth

Using pocket hand warmers, silver gloves and heated mittens will help to reduce circulation problems, prevent chilblains and protect skin from cold and dryness in winter.

Fumbling for change or gripping the handlebars of a motorbike, cold hands can make everyday activities extremely uncomfortable and awkward. Here are some great products like battery heated gloves, pocket hand warmers and heated mittens for making sure that cold hands due to Raynaud's phenomenon, inactivity, arthritis or just icy winds can be protected and cared for.

Silver Gloves Will Help to Keep Hands Warm

Sufferers of Raynauds Phenomenon will know the misery of fingers that lose colour and heat and the pain that occurs when circulation is regained. The Raynauds & Scleroderma Association has a range of products which will be of huge benefit to anyone with this condition and to anyone with general circulation problems.

Silver gloves contain cotton and pure silver, which help to reduce the incidence of dry, cracked skin and impaired circulation in the hands. The gloves are completely natural and very comfortable to wear, and are well worth wearing to combat cold. These are also very suitable for elderly citizens as they do not need to be connected to batteries and do not need prior warming.

Battery Heated Gloves and Heated Mittens Keep Hands Deliciously Warm

An excellent item of clothing for anyone needing some warmth, battery heated gloves and heated mittens contain elements within the fabric which when connected up to a battery in the cuffs deliver safe, comforting and gentle heat. The gloves or mittens can be washed with care to avoid damaging the elements and are safe in wet and damp conditions so there is no risk of short-circuiting.

Pocket Hand Warmers are Useful to Carry as Extra Sources of Warmth

There is a wide variety of pocket hand warmers available. Some are made commercially made and some can be made at home with the simplest of materials.

Commercially produced lighter fuel warmers are very effective and act as a heat pack for up to 25 hours. They can be switched off when heat is not required. Good temperatures can be obtained and they are activated by AAA batteries, and are easily packed away in a rucksack. Some versions are effective even at -40C, making them a very useful piece of emergency kit

For home made pocket hand warmers, all that is needed is a square or circular palm-sized flat pouch made from fabric, filled with wheat, dried lavender or dry rice, and heated in a microwave for a couple of minutes. These little pocket hand warmers are great for that walk to the train station or the wait at the bus stop, and are of course reuseable many times. They can be kept in pockets or slipped into gloves to give a comforting souce of heat.

Chemical Hand Warmers Give Instant Heat

Chemical hand warmers are palm-sized gel-filled pads of plastic which are activated by snapping a small metal disc inside the pad. What occurs is a chemical reaction as the sodium acetate trihydrate crystallises and produces instant heat for about 30 minutes. Placing them in boiling water for about ten minutes reverses the crystallisation, and when cool again the crystals still remain in solution, ready for the next activation. Again, a useful heat pack for the rucksack or simply for slipping into gloves for a short period of snow shovelling, or walking to the corner shops.

Keeping Hands Warm

Taking good general care of hands will help to maintain good circulation and to keep skin in good condition. The simplest of precautions will make a big difference, such as moisturising hands after each immersion in water, and using daily massage with a good moisturising cream to keep skin supple and hydrated. Wearing a pair of thin cotton gloves inside ordinary gloves will give extra insulation and retain more heat, and regular general exercise is vital to good overall circulation.

Immersing hands in hot and then cold water for five to ten minutes once or twice a day, and gradually acclimatising the skin to higher and lower temperatures of water, are an excellent way of improving the circulation in the hands.

Being out in cold wintry weather or being in chilly surroundings indoors does not have to lead to cold hands and poor circulation. Making sure hands are well cared for, wearing warm clothing and using whatever methods feel most comfortable in keeping hands warm, as well as keeping active where possible, will reduce the likelihood of cold hands being a problem.

Also read Warming Up Cold Feet in Wintry Weather for ideas and advice for keeping feet warm in the winter. Keeping hands and feet warm in cold weather or chilly conditions is very important for circulation as well as general wellbeing and is particularly important for senior citizens as well as those with circulatory problems, and is very valuable for anyone who spends any time outside in the winter.

The copyright of the article How to Keep Hands Warm in Cold Weather in Health Field is owned by Suzanne Bosworth. Permission to republish How to Keep Hands Warm in Cold Weather in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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