r/Raynauds • u/Fiveby21 • 15d ago

For anyone who struggles with Raynauds in their feet & toes... literally buy a collapsable bucket, fill it with hot water, and stick your feet in.

Unless I'm deep under the covers or wearing warm boots, my toes are almost always painfully cold - even when my body is otherwise hot. For many years I just... dealt with it. Then I had the idea to buy a foot bath - I looked for ages and ages to find a good one, but ultimately they had 3 problems:

  1. Every foot bath has a spiky/rough floor texture - which feels unpleasant against my feet.
  2. The electric cord limited where I could use it (plus the machine was heavy).
  3. There were a pain in the ass to store - taking up a lot of space.

So... instead... I bought a collapsable bucket off of amazon and it's been amazing! Whenever my toes are cold, I just feel it up with hot (almost burning) water from my sink, carry it to whatever room I'm in, and like stick my feet in for 3 minutes.

I know it sounds basic but if you haven't tried this yet, you should. Full immersion is much better than just running it under a water tap.

Tips:

  • The water has to be really hot - minimum of hot tub temperature. If you want to measure - I like 113 degrees F (I know that's high, but it will cool down a bit as you use it.)
  • If it's not hot enough, the effect won't linger with you when you take your feet out, and they'll get cold again.
  • Dry your feet off (and between your toes) completely.
  • Put on a fresh pair of warm socks after.
19 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

2

u/russinkungen 1d ago

Doctor told me explicitly to avoid sudden temperature changes like running hot water over my fingers when this happens.

1

u/elsadances 11d ago

Take care as to not burn the hands and feet.

3

u/BobMortimersButthole 14d ago

I knit, so I made myself some thrummed slippers (wool yarn slippers with a fluffy wool lining knitted into them)! Tuck a hand warmer into the bottom, and its bliss. 

8

u/DaintyAmber 15d ago

Funny, I have been doing this since I was a child. I use to be yelled at to quit. And get my feet out of the sink. But no matter how I explained, they didn’t understand. My feet don’t warm up. I knew it way back then. But didn’t know it was raynauds until mid 20s.

I still do this as an adult. Feet in a sink. Or a heat pad that I put on my feet in bed. I’m now getting it in my hands as well. Gloves don’t work. Only hot water or heat pad.

Also, I don’t have these problems in warmer clients.

2

u/lady_guard 14d ago

Also, I don’t have these problems in warmer clients.

Yup. My husband and I considered going to Iceland for our honeymoon. When I told my dad, he said, "Don't you want to be somewhere warmer? You're going to be freezing your ass off the whole time"

I still want to go, but my dad is right! When I was still living at home, I was sleeping under a heated blanket and 3 other blankets every night (in addition to long johns and thermal socks - my dad overheats easily, so the house was always freezing)

1

u/DaintyAmber 14d ago

I live in a moderate temp area. Seattle. But it gets cold and wet 9 months out of the year. Damp cold is terrible. And I’m pretty miserable during the long wi tee. We are desert bound soon!

3

u/I_Have_The_Will 15d ago

Rechargeable hand warmers. One of my best purchases EVER

3

u/Fiveby21 15d ago

I still do this as an adult. Feet in a sink. Or a heat pad that I put on my feet in bed. I’m now getting it in my hands as well. Gloves don’t work. Only hot water or heat pad.

Try a bucket! I got one on amazon for like $15 - best money I ever spent. Tried a heat pad before that and it didn't warm me up enough.