Gardening with Raynaud

I remember being in seventh grade and hanging out with the first boy I really liked. Out of no where, he asked me if I ate a lot of red pistachios.

"No," I said, confused. "Why?"

"Because your fingers are so red."

Cue the adolescent embarrassment. My hands were redder than everyone else's.

While I luckily did not rely on a future as a hand model — and later met a man who did not care what color my hands were — it's only in the last two years that I was diagnosed with Raynaud's disease. This also explained my extreme sensitivity to the cold, especially when going outside to shovel snow. (Often the warming up part was even worse, when I felt like my hands were being sliced apart as they warmed.)

Raynaud's is when your blood flow is decreased to your hands and feet. While symptoms can vary, the most common is that fingers can turn pale or white and then blue when exposed to the cold, and then very red when the hands are warmed. Hands can become swollen and painful — throbbing and tingling — when they start to warm up. And in severe cases, you can develop sores on your fingers.

As I've aged, my cold sensitivity has increased. While I've adapted to winter conditions as best as I've can, I've figured out a few tricks to keep me outside when the temperature is in the low 40s (Fahrenheit) or below so I can keep gardening. These might seem commonsense, but they make a world of difference  in the garden in late fall and early spring.

Insulated gloves and scarves help ward off the cold.

Insulated gloves

In the warmer months, I prefer using thin gardening gloves to improve my dexterity. However, in colder temperatures, I now use insulated gardening gloves that help my hands stay warm as I plant bulbs and complete other gardening tasks. They are thicker and my hands remain a constant temperature.

Use hand and feet warmers

While I usually opt for these when I'm outside for photography sessions for longer periods of time, they can also come in handy if you are not using insulated gloves. Open indoors before heading outside, shake to activate, and soon they will start generating heat.

Don the layers

At this time of year I definitely dress in layers, including a hat (to keep body heat from escaping) and on windy days, a scarf. I'll also opt for thicker socks to keep my feet warm. If it is very cold out, I'll wear compression tights (think cold weather running gear) to keep my legs warm.

Bandage cuts

My hands dry out quickly and the skin can crack. To keep cuts from becoming infected I have to be really good about making sure I have band-aids on before I put the gardening gloves on. Hand lotion helps, too.

Take breaks

I have to step inside and warm up between tasks. Sometimes I even have tea to warm up as well (turmeric tea is a great anti-inflammatory option).

Complete tasks indoors if possible

If I need to refill a birdfeeder, I'll try to do it in the garage. Same goes for sorting bulbs, cleaning tools, etc.