Help with the cold and my hands

[logbutcher]

I know your not kidding. Just thought I'd rib ya a bit. When things get that bad you do what has to be done. Your right there is no macho when things need to be happening for life or limb because of anything especially the cold. We used to get a new batch of kids every year for S&R. One of the first raining sessions was to go to the local frozen food warehouse and have the training meeting on the freezer. -10 is what that freezer was kept at. They were all given a list of what to have and what to expect. We would do that for several weeks then do our outdoor training up on the mountain in the winter. Out over night/nights. Drop off with a map compass and the packs. Bushwack your way back to base. Knowing your team was a huge key to everyones well being.


Cowboy hats. Never. Wool watch caps sometimes heavier wool sock hats and ball caps. Around here you can't wear a cowboy hat unless you also have a satalite dish on your brand new Garth Brooks belt and unscuffed boots. Yup welders gloves for sure. Anything that can help the shock of going from the 40's and rain to the singles and decent wind overnight is gladly welcome here.

Talked to the doc and he did what ever he did and I got a clean bill from him. Said the our normal easing into cold is no problem but the big jump we had probably was cause I have normal blood pressure of 102/65. I guess that hinders people in cold and the extremities can get in bad shape fast.

Like I said before I've been in some damn nasty cold and this was a first thats why I was asking. I will take all of this and make things happen.


Well almost all of it. Things will have to get pretty dire for me to use the stomach warming techniqueoke:.

Have a great Christmas everyone


Owl

Ribbing accepted.....but you gotta try it sometime. That "buddy" could be your wife.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!!

 

[slowp]

Ribbing accepted.....but you gotta try it sometime. That "buddy" could be your wife.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!!

Just thinking of cold hands on the tummy makes me cringe for the tummy bearer. When one is ticklish, it just would be kinda bad.

 

[tramp bushler]

slowp , you don,t know what cold hands really are . last winter in Prudhoe I frosted 3 fingers on my left hand ... I was changing teeth on a 345 Cat frost bucket . From the time I was ok to them starting to turn into something you would find in the freezer section was 2 minutes .... It is usually cumulative ... . I had got oil on my gloves doing an oil change on a light plant or 966 or something .....then we decided to change some bucket teeth ... I should have taken a 10 minute break of so , it was 50 below ........ Log butcher isn,t talking about cold hands , but ones soon on their way to changeing for the rest of someones life .... My head is one of my best hand warmers .. I put my hands on my head under my hat ............But @ -50 . Most peopke left outside will be dead in an hour unless they have arctic gear on ....

 

[tramp bushler]

And I don,t mean 50 below wind chill . That isn,t nearly as cold .. Say its 25 below and the wind is blowing 25 mph .........

 

[logbutcher]

Add some to tramp. You or your guys can get scared sh$$less when their hands or feet can't be felt. Panic is not far off. No joke when you're out there. Forget the "wind chill" hype: just think protection, how to get the blood flowing, and how to prevent frostbite. When it gets into the sibgles and I'm going to be out for the day I carry a small thermos of hot chocolate, candy, GORP, any kind of high calorie, high carb munchie.

We'd use the M&M trick to check on people: when one looks kind of dazed or acting funny, throw an M&M ( preferably red ). If the M%M can't be caught or is ignored, you have a problem. One of the early signs of hypothermia is slow reaction time. Can't do this in banana belts. :jawdrop:

Guess we don't need the freezer thing here .....yet. What happens if the door gets locked shut ?

 

[bullbuck]

good advice tramp,and log butcher,i for one being a lifelong avid snowmobiler realize how quickly things can turn ugly on you,i know nothing of arctic cold,but i have been exposed to average cold for long amounts of time,i got to where i could not feel my feet at all once not even pain,i lost all balance and was no longer really walking basically just stumbling,not a good feeling

 

[tramp bushler]

Bull buck , you were close ... It is best to not get in a situation like that ....

 

[056kid]

Pour alittle gas & alittle oil on a pile of sticks and start youa fire, I used to have them all the time when on north slopes that where a long drag to the landing, where oak juice freezes on the stump before getting to the ground..

 

[aokpops]

High Spotted Owl . if you was raised around cold weather an this just started . would be a little concerned . here is what I had good luck with .keep ting warm when it is cold .do a lot of exercise.you mention warming gloves up first . found this never work.s if anything get your gloves an boots cold first .if you are in pretty good shape . try little bare foot in the snow get your bare hands in there too . don,t do this for hour.s . just a few minutes . read about good hydration on here that is imported to. you can really dry up an not realize it . stay away form hot drinks if your outside . most will think this guy is a nut . worked outside for about 25 years

 

[bullbuck]

Pour alittle gas & alittle oil on a pile of sticks and start youa fire, I used to have them all the time when on north slopes that where a long drag to the landing, where oak juice freezes on the stump before getting to the ground..

i used to allow my landing men to have fires in the winter,but i had to stop it,because when there was something to be done you could always find them glued to the fire,i could get more out of them when they had to move to stay warm

 

[gwiley]

damaged toes from the army

I went through basic training at Ft. Jackson in January of 1988 and we wore our thin leather combat boots for everything except 4am PT. I think this was where I lost feeling in the edges of my big toes permanently from cold exposure. To this day the outside edge of each big toe has no feeling. Having spent my whole life in Florida before going to training didn't help.

Long term exposure to the cold can have permanent consequences. Cold is another one of those things we either respect or pay the price for disrespecting.

 

[tramp bushler]

gwiley . the guy who made you do thart should be gutted slowly , left live and drug thru the streets till dead .. All the way up the line !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gwiley]

gwiley . the guy who made you do thart should be gutted slowly , left live and drug thru the streets till dead .. All the way up the line !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hehe, thanks for the sympathy! We had 3 DIs in basic, one from hawaii, one who was an ex-Marine and the other a little 5' tall lady who was a nuclear tornado! It sure feels like they tortured us a lot, but on the other hand I credit them with totally changing the way I handle life (for the better). I guess I don't mind a few minor injuries in exchange for them teaching me to set my own destiny.

 

[tramp bushler]

I got cranked till I tore some stuff in my shoulder ..he would put his foot on my shoulders while he screamed and made me do pushups at me and us ........
and alot of pretty horrible things ................. One of the reason I love killing predators so much I spose ..

 

[gwiley]

I got cranked till I tore some stuff in my shoulder ..he would put his foot on my shoulders while he screamed and made me do pushups at me and us ........
and alot of pretty horrible things ................. One of the reason I love killing predators so much I spose ..

I remember that too! They would have 1 soldier sit on your shoulders with his feet hooked around your thighs while you did pushups - B R U T A L! I don't know how my shoulders held together with that stuff going on. Or maybe it was just that we were in the pushup position and the guy on top did situps - tough to recall now. EIther way I remember our arms and shoulders would always give out before the DI was happy.

 

[Mr. Woods]

tight muscles

Hey Owl,
Bit of a different angle here. When your muscles are tight they constrict blood flow hence less warmth to extremeties. Make sure your shoulders and arms are well loose and relaxed. That is a relative thing, different with each individual. Perhaps over the years you are tightening up and the flow is lessening. That can be reversed with stretching and massage. (have a hot bath and then stretch) Also contrast bathing can exerecise your blood vessels and is excellent for forearm ailments like tendonitis.

Contrast bathing is soaking your body part in warm/hot water for 1-2 mins and then soaking in ice water(very cold) for 15-30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. The warm water causes your tissues to swell with blood (trying to cool the area) and the cold water causes your tissues to contract (preserving heat) thereby causing a rinsing effect in the tissues. Also exercises the veins.

Feel free to pm any questions.

 

[ak4195]

I'll take a different tack,i suspect cold isnt your problem,just aggravates it.
When its cold out I like to wear Refrigiwear insulated gloves,cheap and good.Poly liners underneath,change out liners and gloves with sweat.
They make a style with silicone(or maybe ruber) dipped palms too,you can do everything but twist in a new plug as far as dexterity goes.
Heading to the slope on 1/5,been a VERY lean winter so far.

ak4195

 

[tramp bushler]

Ya , those ReFridgewear leather gloves are awesome . I was amazed by how warm they are ... They make my hands look like the Michelin Man , only in gray with black wrists , and they are too hot for most stuff if it,s above 0 much . But until they get soaked with oil they are seriously warm .... Arctic Fire and Safety also has them with their logo on them ....... Glad you are on your way north ... Who do you work for there .??

 

[ak4195]

The callout was from AIC,something about driving sheet piling,Ill know more in a couple of hrs.
I was TOLD it wasnt a large spread,so guess I could be stuck in the shop,just glad to get to work.The lifting of weight restrictions here in south central is a lifetime away it seems.
Orientation either today or tomorrow,will have to check out Arctic fire n safety,thnx for tip.Suspect gearing up could run a good $800-$1k

ak4195

 

[tramp bushler]

AIC has the gloves and safety gear ,vests hard hats ..Tell Risto you need gloves . He,s the safety guy . Well one of them ... Same with eye protection ect ... They will try to be cheap with it ...Thats who I work for up there .. There are a number of Safety Joes at AIC Prudhoe ..... Mike Waddell is the head safety man . Their hard hat liners leave alot to be desired , so it,s best to go to Brooks Range store , or get some @ Army Navy on 4th in Anch. AIC gets a 10 -20 % discount there ,so tell the people at the counter you are going to work for AIC .. They also give a discount to the unions so If you have a dispatch or even your card you can get the discount .... I think 6th ave Outfitters does also ......AIH does too . They have those gloves .. But AIC has those gloves in Prudhoe ... The safety gear gets bid into EVERY JOB THEY BID !!!!! It doesn,t cost them a cent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!ALOT cheaper for the oil companies than a frozen / amputated finger !!!