HeatBands for Raynaud's Syndrome?
I found a website that sells special bands for people to wear on their wrists to help keep the blood vessels in that area warm and thus keep the hands warm. This product was designed, it seems, for people like me who have Raynaud's Syndrome (Disease), but is marketed to everyone.
http://www.heatbands.com/
The bands strike me as a fancy 'medical' wrist band. I think you can buy sporting wristbands at any sports store, use them, wash them, and reuse them as many times as you like and get the same effect of warming the area around your wrists. So I won't be purchasing the HeatBands, but I will give regular wristbands a try.
Labels: Learning
posted by Ed Provencher @ 10:22 AM
12 comments
12 Comments:
You are quite wrong in your assumptions HeatBands are nothing like sporting wrsitbands. HeatBands are specifically designed for Raynauds sufferers they are made from a special material which is proven to work on retaining heat and reflecting the bodies own heat back to the area they cover thus they provide a natural remedy for cold hands by better utilising the bodies own heat.
Leslie Rees
You say "HeatBands are nothing like sporting wristbands" however this is simply not a true statement. There are huge similarities. First, HeatBands are worn around the wrists and so are sporting wristbands. Second, HeatBands retain heat around the area they cover, and so do Sporting wristbands.
You seem to be implying that sporting wristbands don't retain heat. But the fact is, they do retain heat. All one needs to do to prove this is to wear them for a short time.
Show me some scientific research study results that show Heatbands better utilize the bodies own heat as you claim. Nothing like that is posted on the www.heatbands.com website.
Sure, there is a lot of good information about Raynauds on www.heatbands.com but there is no evidence that HeatBands are any better at keeping the wrists warm than sporting wristbands.
If sufferers of Raynaud's Syndrome want to trust the manufacturer of HeatBands without any scientific evidence given to support their claims, then that's their problem. I won't do that, and I won't spend my money on them either.
I've tried far infrared leg wraps for varicose veins & find them quite helpful. I haven't tried FIR for Raynaud's (which my husband and I both have as a side effect from Migraine medication -- BOOOO!). When our hands or feet are red and sore (first symptoms) we soak them in Helios bath salts. 5 minutes AM & PM for a couple of days & the symptoms don't get worse -- sometimes it will completely disappear for days or weeks! I read that Himalayan pink salt is good for improving circulation, and this contains pink + dead sea + epsom salt & warming essential oils. Check them out at www.heliosforhealth.com. I usually only need to do something for Raynaud's in the winter. My husband is likely to need to soak all year round.
My husband's worse exposure to cold which triggers his Raynaud's is the car steering wheel in the winter. The heat bands did not work for him, but we've finally found a solution...a heated steering wheel cover. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and works very well. It is available at Winplus.com in the US or Canadian Tire in Canada.
Jena, that sounds great. I believe that would work for me as well.
If anyone can tell me where to buy electric mittens or gloves, I will love you for the rest of my life.
I have just been diagnosed with Raynaud's (yesterday)and have been looking at the Heatbands. I agree with Ed, that there is little scientific evidence to suggest that they actually work. They are only advertised to help prevent heat loss, which in theory should help, however the actual reason for having cold hands in the first place is not that heat is being lost from the blood, but that less blood is flowing in the fingers (due blood vessels over-constricting).
So, then, how do heatbands work, if they only help warn the blood, while doing nothing to help the blood flow to the fingers??
And in response to your question Ed on where to get headed gloves from, i would recommend these (from amazon.co.uk, £14 GBP including postage)i am seriously considering buying these myself.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HEATED-GLOVES-CYCLING-FISHING-THINSULATE/dp/B00149LN98/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=outdoors&qid=1230762183&sr=1-1
hope that helps :D
I don't believe this is a question of anyone being right or wrong in commenting on the efficacy of HeatBands or any other solution for that matter. As with most products designed to help sufferers the results can vary significantly depending upon a myriad of factors. Headaches and analgesics are a classic example. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't, what works for one doesn't always work for another. We usually find out by trying.
This is why you will see testimonials for and against products like HeatBands and whether or not they are like a sporting wrist band doesn't really matter. If relief is obtained from a sporting wrist band - great and by a HeatBand, aslo great.
Get a grip Ed. Heatbands have a reflective core sandwiched between an inner and outer layer so scientifically they reflect body heat back as opposed to sports wristbands that do not.
Heatbands are reflective insulation. Heatbands use the same principal as medical, emergency blankets used in hospitals and ambulances to efficiently retain body heat- perhaps we should just wrap victims in sports wristbands instead?
Sports wristbands are just insulation, so although effective they are inferior to Heatbands. I've worn sports wristbands and Heatbands and the latter are superior.
I think the HeatBands website should post scientific evidence to support its claims. Otherwise, they are a quack website.
Look at the grahic for the product and consdier the very obvious science of insulation. It's not complicated.
There is no scientific study I am aware of that shows that HeatBands prevent, reduce the occurrence of, or reduce the severity of Raynaud's Attacks.
If you would like to provide me with a reference, I'd be happy to look into it.
i suffer from arthruits of the wrist heat works i was wondering is there a heated band that can stay warm all the time made by anyone terry
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