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From: nose@nbires.UUCP (Steve Dunn)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Cold Hands (a different treatment)
Message-ID: <598@nbires.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Feb-86 11:55:37 EST
Article-I.D.: nbires.598
Posted: Tue Feb 11 11:55:37 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Feb-86 20:02:53 EST
References: <194@noscvax.UUCP> <491@drutx.UUCP> <224@dcdwest.UUCP> <1016@burl.UUCP>
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Organization: NBI,Inc, Boulder CO
Lines: 32

> Although I normally have quite warm hands and feet, if I get them around
> very cold things (ice water, snow, etc.) they cause me great pain.  This
> has been traced to a circulatory problem, as someone has already mentioned,
> and the name for it is Reynoud's (pronounced ray-no) Syndrome; probably from
> the French doctor who decided to name it.
> 
> The best technique I have heard for treating this is simple if you can find
> it:  biofeedback.  You simply teach yourself how to increase the circulation
> in your extremeties.  I have taught myself this on my own with a good bit
> of success.  The easiest way to do it is to first learn how to control your
> heartrate, since you don't need fancy instruments for the feedback.  Once you
> have some biofeedback experience under your belt, work on the circulation
> problem.
> 

Actually the way to increase circulation to the extremities with bio-
feedback is to try to cause them to warm up. Increases in tempature
will be a result of (I think) dilation of blood vessels. Anyway you
don't exactly need hi-tech equipment to do tempature biofeedback - you
need only a thermometer that will read between 75-80 degrees and 98.6.
hold this between 2 fingers and try and raise the temp. It may be helpfull
to imagine plunging your hands into warm sand, warming them in front of a
fire etc.
  You probably want to work on you feet also. For this a device that emits
a tone which varies with tempature is useful. They are availible at a modest
cost from Edmund Scientific co.
  Also for a thermometer a good solution is a liquid crystal strip that
wraps around your finger and changes color with changing temp. They are
$5-10. I've seen'em at health food stores. Don't know about drug stores
but its worth checking.

            -Steve "Brain? Sorry, wrong planet" Dunn