Our extremities are the first part of the body to suffer from cold-related discomfort. Cold hands are actually a symptom of the body working to protect itself. To protect the vital organs, blood vessels in the extremities constrict in cold environments, which keeps blood where it’s needed most. Unfortunately, this pro-survival mechanism leads to that all-too-familiar feeling of stiff and numb fingertips.
They say that those who have cold fingers have warm hearts. While this sounds sweet, having cold hands can indicate a serious health issue. However, the most common cause of cold hands is poor blood circulation. If you complain of the same condition, before visiting the doctor, try our useful tips that may solve your problem effectively!
Effects of frozen hands on the human body:
1.Inflexible fingers
You may need to use a mobile phone outdoors, but if your hands are already cold, it is difficult to use the mobile phone flexibly at the moment, and you may often press the wrong key, which makes typing inconvenient.
2.The body also feels cold
The hands and head are the first parts of the human body to feel the cold. When your hands start to feel cold, your body will also feel cold later.
3.Frostbite on hands
If the hands are in a cold state for a long time, it is easy to have frostbite on the hands. Chilblain is a disease that affects people's lives. Although it does not pose any threat to life, once the hands develop frostbite, it will feel uncomfortable and greatly affect people's normal life.
4.Aggravated Raynaud's disease
Cold temperatures are most likely to trigger an attack of Raynaud's disease. When you put your hands in cold air, is the most likely trigger. During an attack of Raynaud's, affected areas of your skin usually first turn white. Once you are stimulated by the cold, your finger's skin might turn blue and feel cold and numb.
How to keep hands warm in winter
1.Rub hands
In winter, the way to quickly heat your hands is to rub your hands against each other and breathe with your mouth towards your hands. This should be what most of us do, and then quickly put it into your pocket to keep you warm for a while!
2.Drink more hot water
When going to work or school, use a cup to connect a cup of water with a relatively high temperature. When not drinking, you can hold it in your hand. The cup body will slowly dissipate heat, which is also a good way to warm your hands. Be careful not to hold the cup that cannot be tightly closed, so as not to accidentally get scalded by the water in the cup.
3.Soak feet
Many people may find it strange, but what does it have to do with soaking your feet when you need to warm your hands? This is because the feet can also be called the second brain of a person. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the corresponding acupuncture points can be found on the soles of the five viscera and six fu organs, and as the saying goes, "cold starts from the feet", it can be said that as long as the feet are warm, all parts of the body will be warmer.
4.Wear gloves
Wearing gloves is the most direct way to warm your hands. There are gloves with all five fingers out, which will not affect your work and life. Wearing gloves when you go out can also prevent cold wind from invading your hands.
5.Conditioning the body
Cold hands and feet in winter, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, most of them are yang deficiency constitution, so conditioning the body from the aspect of the physical constitution can also avoid the symptoms of cold hands. Eat more mutton, beef, yam, wolfberry, and other warm and nourishing ingredients such as qi, blood, and deficiency, to fundamentally solve the problem of cold hands.
6.Exercise more
In the cold winter, many people may give up exercise, but without exercise, blood circulation will lack motivation, it will become slow, and hands and feet will become cold. Therefore, people who are prone to cold hands and feet in winter must pay attention to exercising more, both indoors and outdoors. Indoor sports can be cycling in the gym, treadmill, playing ball, yoga, etc., and outdoor sports can be simple and relaxing sports such as jogging.
7.Use a portable hand warmer
Using a portable hand warmer is the most convenient and direct way to warm your hands. General portable hand warmers are small, not bulky, and suitable for outdoor use. It quickly warms up your hands in a short amount of time and can be kept in your pocket when you need it.
How to keep your hands warm in a convenient and timely way outdoors
There are different kinds of hand warmers:
Disposable one
These products have been around for a long while and are quite cheap. It contains a mixture of iron and other support chemicals which help the iron quickly oxidize when exposed to oxygen in the air. This redox reaction is exothermic so it gives off heat. Eventually, all the iron is oxidized and at that point, the disposable hand warmer is spent and can be disposed of.
Rechargeable one
These hand warmers require charging and are usually powered by a lithium-ion battery. Many electric warmers also double as a handy battery pack you can use to charge your phone on the go. As a general rule, lithium-ion-powered warmers tend to offer the highest maximum temperatures. The Ocoopa Rechargeable Hand Warmer can reach an impressive max temp of 145℉.
It's really important to keep your hands warm in winter, hope you will find the most suitable way to keep your hands warm to you after reading the article!