Human Extremeties Temp Well Below Ambient?

Poor circulation frequently can cause such a feeling. You might want to mention this to your doctor so they can check your circulation. I find taking a Vitamin E capsule every morning helps my circulation.

Welcome to Fluther!!!

That’s how air conditioning works. The sweat on your skin evaporates and absorbs heat as it does. Plus you may have circulatory issues with your hands and feet, so see your doctor.

Believe me I feel your pain.

We’re all different and restricted peripheral circulation can be from different causes like diabetes and Raynaud’s condition. I have neither of those yet as the temperature drops so does the circulation in my hands and feet. Vigorous physical activity seems to slow the restricted circulation but only slightly for me. It slows me down and is a pain but it dosen’t stop me.

If your condition is very extreme and it prevents you from doing the things that you like to do and or your fingers/toes turn blue then it would be a good idea to see a doctor about it.

I love to paddle canoes in the Pacific North West all year long and suffer during the cold months with numb hands while my fellow canoe paddlers don’t seem to have a clue what I’m going through. They don’t wear gloves while I wear thick neoprene gloves with warmers (and my hands still tend to go numb).

Good health to you!

Hello All…

I’m still researching the body’s temp-generation capabilities. In a dry room of 73 F in Winter Humidity, Is it possible for the human body to generate sufficient cooling to achieve an external temp of approximately 67/68 at the hands and feet ?

Thank You…

I love this question!

i found this article on Rhinarium temperature dynamics in domestic dogs.

Their noses get below ambient tempertures through transpiration. Maybe our fingertips do the same to a lesser extent.

@LuckyGuy I don’t know how dogs are able to maintain cold noses. Is it due to a natural restriction of circulation? That seems unlikely as their noses are so sensitive.

My cold hands are due to restricted circulation. With that my hands turn white and lose feeling.

Why do my hands get cold while some of my friends hands stay warm while paddling canoes in cold weather? You might think that physical fitness level is a factor. It may in fact be a big factor. However I’m among the fittest paddlers.

It’s my therory that body fat is at least part of the answer. I’m the leanest of my paddling pals by far. I’ve got 9 to 10% of body fat so it’s harder for me to maintain my body temperature at a normal level (I’ve been turned away for donating blood because my body temp was too cold). So my body normally shunts blood away from my extremelies as the outside temperature drops in order to save body heat.

@gondwanalon Are you keeping your core warm? When my hands and feet get cold I put on another sweater.

Have you tried the Ninja Ice gloves from Northern Safety? They are really nice for your kind of activity. I wear them when I use my snowblower. They are about $8.50 a pair, I’m a size Medium. They have a waterproof coating and are not bulky. Give them a try.

@LuckyGuy Those gloves look good. Keeping my core warm without over-heating is tricky. I estimate how many layers to put on by the temperature, cold rain, wind speed and how hard I’ll be paddling (easy or hard workout or race). But sadly, even when my core is warm and even sweating my hands can go numb while paddling hard in freezing rain against a strong headwind (not uncommon during the winter).

Perhaps part of my problem is low blood pressure. At rest it was 96/64 this morning with a resting pulse of 48 bpm.

@gondwanalon Try the gloves. The rubberized waterproof rubberized coating will grip the paddles and keep your hands dry. And there is a layer of insulation that help maintain body heat and cushion your fingers. .

@LuckyGuy Thanks! I just bought an XXL size pair of the “Ninja Ice” gloves (their last pair in stock). I only have large hands but I like extra room to tape hand warmers to my hands (also to keep from having the gloves restrict circulations).

Great! Let us know how they work for you. I used mine yesterday to fix* my mailbox post. (The Town snow plow broke it off while clearing the road.) This morning I wore them to clear the snow off my truck .

*I didn’t replace it because, no doubt, it will be snapped off again by the plow. Instead, I clamped the bits together and ran some deck screws into the post in various directions to pin it. Not a professional or good looking job, but it works.

@LuckyGuy The Ninja Ice gloves arrived this morning (they came with a bag of candy and a note pad) just before we went canoe paddling on American Lake in Tacoma. I modified them as shown here Added outer XXL Nitrile gloves and taped plastic sleeves to keep the lake water out of the inside of the gloves. It gets wild, windy, wavy and rainy on the lake and also the Puget Sound. When water gets into the glove it shuts off the hand warmers taped to my hands. Also the sleeves help a lot to keep heat in my lower arms and hands.

Anyway the system works much better than my old system. After 2 miles my hands warmed up and were warm and comfortable for the rest of the 9½ mile paddle around the lake. It was by far the best my hands felt all winter and it was snowing here earlier in the day.

Thanks a lot buddy!

Also I showed the Ninja Ice gloves to my wife and she said, “That’s the kind of gloves that I’ve been wearing”. HA!

That is great news! The nitrile gloves and sleeves are a good idea. They act as extra waterproof insurance. I like it!

I really enjoy looking through the Northern Safety catalog and always find something I, or friends and family members need.
After cutting myself 3 times using a knife sharpener I bought myself some A4 level cut resistance gloves. Cordova Ogre Cr+ item #182674.
i like them so much I’m going to give them out as gifts.

There’s a lot of cool low priced stuff in the catalog. Most is geared toward safety. Good stuff!

The catalog is full of “Thneeds” – things that everyone needs. (Dr Seuss 1972)

In the NSI catalog there’s a “High Visibility Baseball Bump Cap” that I’m getting for canoe paddling in open ocean and rough river races. When a 400 pound outrigger canoe flips in violent/extreme conditions it can get pretty crazy very fast. Cushion cap might save me. Last year we were forced to abandon our 6 man canoe racing from Maui to Molokai. While attempting to turn our canoe over after it flipped the nose of the canoe suddenly lurched and hit me hard in the gut (like being slugged by a professional football player) Had the dry heaves for about 15 minutes. People have had broken bones, gotten hit in the head by paddles and the outrigger and also got run over by othe canoes. Got to protect the head. Safety is no accident!