Keeping it cool about staying warm .

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
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My main focus on hypothermia was education for myself and anyone interested . I have some good guidelines and enough information to direct me if I choose to pursue it .

There were some differences of opinion that were handled politely and I appreciate that . I think it mostly has to do with being taught in different ways .

It may be slow circulation in the hands or it is only because I grab things with them in the cold . I also have a bit of arthritis in them . I find they chill out faster than my body . I know some are going to say "Just put on better gloves"
I think there is possibly more to it than that .

Codger mentioned coffee as a poor treatment if you really need to warm yourself up . Could we delve a little deeper into this ? How important is everyday diet ? What foods should we eat and avoid in winter . What foods/drink should we administer and avoid when treating/preventing hypothermia ?

Feel free to point out aspects of diet that I may have forgotten . Combinations of foods , special considerations for overweight people . I carry about sixty pounds too much . 260 and I should be 200 .
 
Generally, in cold weather, higher caloric foods are recommended. A good warm meal metabolizes faster, and so is always a plus in getting needed fuel into the body.

Fluids are critical in winter. People don't often think of it this way, but you can work just as hard staying warm in cold weather as you can doing work in hot weather. You can readily dehydrate in winter of course.

What foods to eat and what to drink may be less of an issue today compared to even fifty years ago. You can, today, get fresh fruit in winter! So don't worry about what food specifically to eat.

I would worry about what not to eat, and that hasn't changed. Over-sized portions of starch (potatoes, pasta, etc.) tend to put on weight. Right-size portions tend to provide fuel with little penalty. If you're a soda drinker, cut back as much as you can... and then a little more. Soda can put weight on a person faster than beer, in some cases! I know a little bit about both. Anecdotal evidence is that by giving up soda, you can drop 10 pounds fairly quickly. I was never overweight, but when I gave up 2-3 sodas a day due to the caffeine effects, I easily dropped about 8-10 pounds, but feel tons better.

But bottom line: higher caloric intake to stay warm, and plenty of water or decaf tea. Decaf coffee and hot chocolate in cold weather is also a plus. Avoid caffeine, as you wind up losing more liquid than you normally would.
 
Soda used to be a major factor , not anymore . Didn,t lose no ten pounds though .

Taters? I,m Irish me lad . Scalloped potatos are food of the Gods as far as I am concerned . Stews ? Thats what I,m having for supper . I,ll try and load up on carrots and turnip . I,ll make one dumpling less and throw in one tater less . Thats hard . I,m not a flipping rabbit . L:O:L
 
Kevin,

Read my reply to your other post.
Rig your equipment, so you can keep
your gloves on. If your hands are really
bad off, you may have to keep mittens
on most of the time.

Wear gloves (and mittens) that have
a curved finger area so that when you
grab something, the glove will not bind
tight across the back, compressing insulation.
Some ski gloves and mitts are the only ones,
that I have found like this. Another alternative:
buy gloves and mittens 1 or 2 sizes larger.

Yet another alternative, cut the gloves/mittens
at the knuckles and finger joints; the add insulation
and cover material so that the glove/mitten becomes
curved.

I also like wool knit gloves that have leather
palms/fingers; they stretch along the back,
yet grip well. You can tie knots with these
gloves, but small cords are difficult.
Untying is easy; use a marlin spike; you can
make one out of deer antler.

Some US Army field jackets have foldable flap on
the cuff of the sleeve. The flap extends over the
back of the hand. Your could make a flap like this
on a garment and insulate it also.

Another trick, that has worked for me: when the
hands are going numb, reach under your shirt and
put them on your stomach or bare ribs.
I have let others use my tummy when their hands
or feet were numb and it brought them back.

If you let your hands go numb, and you are unzipped,
you cannot even zip up your jacket. You will get colder
and fingers more numb. I have helped a woman in exactly
this situation. I zipped her up, put a down jacket on her,
put her hands on my stomach. Another guy gave her a
hot drink. In 5 minutes, she was better; in 30 minutes she
was 100 percent, like it never happened.

Another thing that might help you to keep mittens on;
this is a theory; I have not actually done this:
Use some quick adjustable pliers rather than taking off
your mittens. Put the pliers on a tether. This kind of plier
is found under many names: Robo, Knipex, etc.
If the pliers have sharp grooves on the jaws, apply some
friction tape, so your equipment is not abraded by the jaws.

Edit: One more idea is to put Poggies (pogies) on your ski
poles or other equipment. Make sure the straps are big
enough also. Poggies could act as a wind sail and carry
your poles off the side of the mountain, just as gloves
and mittens can fly off.
Also consider putting tape or thin insulation on metal,
or even wood, equipment handles. This can be dangerous
if it comes loose, so think it out, and test it carefully.

Good luck.
fnc
 
Udder balm ? UDDER BALM ??????? Just where do you think I am going to get udder balm ? People think I am weird already(coldwood stay quiet.L:O:L)
I can just hear them at the supermarket now .

(and what is this balm usually used for sir ?)

Seriously though . Does it improve circulation ?

I don,t often wear gloves when using an axe or heavy tools . I have very small hands and I like to grip the tool not to have a layer between me and it .

I find gloves that grip and are thin wear out pretty fast .
 
Kevin,

If you have bad circulation in the hands, you MAY have bad circulation everywhere else as well. Maybe it's time for some realistic changes in diet and lifestyle ?

- less calories (less fat, less sugar, less carbs)
- more veggies, fish and lowfat meats, fresh fruits
- lots of water all the time to clean up that body !

That being said, keeping yourself hydrated and not smoking is a good start to improve circulation.

Cheers !

David
 
Kevin the grey said:
It may be slow circulation in the hands or it is only because I grab things with them in the cold . I also have a bit of arthritis in them . I find they chill out faster than my body . I know some are going to say "Just put on better gloves"
I think there is possibly more to it than that .
Click to expand...

A couple of things. Do your hands get red when they get cold. Do they appear to "overreact" to the slightest cold?

I'll mention a few things. Winter camping is great. You get to eat around 6000 calories a day. And not gain weight. You need incredible amounts of food to keep warm and be active in the winter. Don't underestimate the amount of calories needed. Also like someone said. Lots of water. Cold air is very dry air and you loose mosture readily and it must be replaced.

I know that this might sound strange but do you wear a good hat? This is important. Your head will do everything that it can to stay warm including shunting blood away from your extremities if it "feels" it is getting cold. Wearing a hat and allowing your head to stay warm will allow your body to ensure that it isn't shunting blood away from your hands and feet. That wil help keep your hands warm.

KR
 
Water is really important, when the body gets dehydrated at first you do not feel the symptoms, and in cold weather the body dehydrates fast. Each time you breath that steam from your breath and the ice on your whiskars is water leaving your body. Your body can lose a lot of water in short time when exerting yourself working through the snow walking, cutting wood or whatever. Your body will warm up with excercise but it will rapidly cool when at rest.

Some symptoms of dehydration include fatigue, hunger and or lack of appetite, reduced urination and very concentrated urine, in time you will feel lousy and cold.
By watering up regularly you keep the blood thinned enough to move blood more effectively throughout the body helping to keep warmer. Don't forget to eat lots of food, your body is like a furnace and needs fuel. Take some chocolate bars and other sugary snacks for quick energy, but remember to eat good meals with plenty of protien, sugar by itself is not enough.
 
Hi my name is Kevin and I,m a waterholic . (Hydrohaulic?)
Thats one thing I don,t skimp on . First thing in me in the morning and the last thing at night .

I,m mostly bald so hats are my friends . I always have 7 or 8 lying about . From Tilly style to baseball caps I have them all . I almost never leave the house without one and winter it goes double .

I banged up my hands as a young adult and that certainly doesn,t help . I pull a bowstring hundreds of times a week and that doesn,t seem to help either . This isn,t a misery for me . I,m not one of those guys you see on T:V: who couldn,t flip a lightswitch to save their life .

No my hands don,t get red when they are cold . This isn,t all the time . Just when I do extended work periods . My heart has been tested lately and its pretty good . Blood pressure on the borderline of being high . I,ve knocked that down a couple of points . Cholesterol isn,t great .

Smoking ? Cowboy killers are delicious . I haven,t had more than two a year in ten years . I haven,t had any this year . I can still get that sore feeling in my lungs that told me to quit a decade ago .

The diet is better . A little more fruit and veggies . I,m still a gobble guts so I have a ways to go .
 
Kevin in the grey, yes being bald must be very cold. I have long hair (and a full beard), and I keep my hair in a pony tail most of the time. Often the pony tail gets very cold, and the only solution is to let my hair down (remove the hair band). I feel very warm with the hair over my neck. This maybe so because my hair has receded quite abit, well to the ears on top anyways, and a bit better hair on the sides and very top. I have always been sensitive to any kind of temperature changes, more so as I near the half century mark in life.

So from all of this, I can see that good head covering is a necessity for you bald ones inorder to keep warm when the temperature drops. A full beard helps too.
 
Kevin will do .When I was a biker I had a beard so full and bushy it was as good as a scarf . Good bug catcher too .
 
One of the survival books (Wiseman's?) suggests that the outer layer have sleeves long enough that you can pull your hands up inside those sleeves when you don't need to be grabbing things.
 
So from all of this, I can see that good head covering is a necessity for you bald ones inorder to keep warm when the temperature drops.
Click to expand...

Who's bald? That's a solar panel for a sex machine!

When I was a biker I had a beard so full and bushy it was as good as a scarf . Good bug catcher too .
Click to expand...

Not to mention a good place to dry and store food.

One of the survival books (Wiseman's?) suggests that the outer layer have sleeves long enough that you can pull your hands up inside those sleeves when you don't need to be grabbing things.
Click to expand...

Actually, this works very well. I have a couple of jackets that I do this with. You do need something to keep them up when you're working with your hands, though. Something like a not-too-tight elastic band. My jackets have Velco straps to accomplish this.

Doc
 
Kevin the grey said:
Udder balm ? UDDER BALM ??????? Just where do you think I am going to get udder balm ? People think I am weird already(coldwood stay quiet.L:O:L)
Click to expand...

Udder Balm (yup, it's a brand name) is widely sold here as a skin lotion. Cows apparently don't wear sweaters, so they make this stuff to protect their teats from wind-chap, etc. I have a couple women friends whose hands dry and crack really badly in winter, they swear by it. I don't know if putting it on before gloves will keep you warmer, but it will sure keep your hands soft.

All the other tips here are good, especially hydration. Salt and caffeine are bad.

Bufford said:
Take some chocolate bars and other sugary snacks for quick energy, but remember to eat good meals with plenty of protien, sugar by itself is not enough.
Click to expand...

So true. For carbs, a candy bar is a quick boost, but complex carbs like oatmeal, whole grains, sweet potato etc are better to keep you fueled up and warm all day. They digest slow and steady and don't cause a big insulin spike. (sugar rush > crash > hungry again 20 minutes later.)
I'm sure this is even more important in the cold. Remember when your Mom said "Eat your oatmeal, it'll keep you warm"? She was right! As Bufford mentioned, protein also digests slowly.

About hats, I would rather give up my parka than my gloves and hat if I really had to. Warm socks are just as important! Even in mild weather (40 degree nights) I wear a fleece stocking cap and dry socks to bed when camping. It really helps.
 
Careful with the udder balm. Some brands used to have mercury in them. Not sure about more recent formulas. Just food for thought. -Matt-
 
W:W:T: Any french guys out there will know what that means . L:O:L

Udder balm is made from teat grease ? And just how was it found out that this stuff works ? Did some farmers wife say " My your hands are soft tonite . "

This may be udderly ridiculous . I,m still going to check it out .
 
Kevin?

Ok, city guy...lesson in economics.

Cows is money. Udders provide an income stream (couldn't resist it, sorry).

Fewer udders, less money. Think the companies make a good product? Yep.

"Dr. Naylor Udder Balm
Active ingredient, 8 hydroxyquinoline.14%, Inactive ingredients: Petrolatum water, lanolin wax, oil of clove, sodium borate, color, isopropyl alcohol. 2%.

H.W. Natylor Co. Inc.
Morris N.Y. 13808, U.S.A."

Chapped, chafed, or abraided skin needs some balm. Dry skin needs some balm. Cows' teats need some balm. 9 oz.= around 5, 6 dollars. Not for puncture wounds.

I did momumentally stupid things as a young kid. As a result, I have poor circulation in my hands and feet. Sub-20's, I have to be careful not to be in pain when I walk or hunt outside. Shoes are a full size bigger and two pairs of wool-based socks are worn.

I used every hand convering known to man. Hate to say it, but the only guaranteed method is some chemical or fire-based hand heater, either in the glove or in a pocket. The surcease from pain is almost a moment of joy.



wacherass.
 
Kismet my country cousin . A man cannot help where he is born . Believe me I have tried the last couple of times . L:O:L

I never uddered one word in my post except in good humour . It is rare that I am caught on the horns of a dilemma . That is because I choose not to hide from it . I won,t be cowed by my ignorance . I only choose to see it as a beginning .

All bull aside I think I have milked this one for all it is worth . I wouldn,t want it to balm . L:O:L
 
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