Ask HN: How do you deal with cold hands whilst coding?

6 pointscode17715y ago15 comments

I find that my hands and fingers get very cold whilst coding. Does anybody else have this happen, and if so what (if anything) do you do to counter it?

15 comments

13 comments · 11 top-level

curt15y ago· 2 in thread

From a medical perspective your problem is circulation, exercise, eat right, use supplements, and take a break every couple hours by walking around, working out, or anything. It'll go away in a couple months.

Mz15y ago

From my perspective, a relevant medical factor is germs. I clean my keyboard and wash my hands frequently for this reason. I've also worked on lots of underlying medical stuff (including circulation), but that's a long terms process (and can take way more than a couple of months depending upon what the underlying issues are). In the short term, killing the germs on the keyboard and on my hands does wonders.

bigohms15y ago

I'm sorry, you've lost me here with the correlation between cold hands and "germs". This seems like more of a psycho/physiological condition.

1 more reply

jcr15y ago

Gloves. Yes, seriously. There are a number of skin-tight insulating gloves on the market, typically for arthritis and often designed to improve circulation. Some have open fingertips (or you could cut the tips off yourself) so they don't get in the way of touch on the keyboard. It's not the coolest fashion statement, but they really do help.

djloche15y ago

I have this problem only if I haven't exercised and/or eaten that day. I would suggest regular meals (every 3-4 hours you are awake) and exercise in combination with using space heaters to warm the air within your area.

chronomex15y ago

I tend to keep my keyboard on my lap, where it gets fairly warm and radiates onto my hands. When even colder inside, I use a laptop, which essentially has a heated keyboard.

david_shaw15y ago

Knitted hand warmers. They're fingerless gloves, basically.

leslieMichaels15y ago

I went to school in a very cold place, and this was a problem. Gloves didn't do squat. Sometimes I got the feeling that they made my hands colder.

I programmed under the blanket.

If that's not an option, you could (god forbid) exercise strenuously (do 50 jumping jacks), after which you would be very warm for several minutes. :D

There are those hand warmer things that you can get at any gas station. You shake them and they're hot for hours. You could put one in each glove...

Mz15y ago

I wipe my keyboard down before I get started, wash my hands with warm water, get adequate amounts of good quality sea salt, and drink warm coffee. I also worked on my underlying health and my hands are less prone to getting cold now that I am less anemic and such.

sixtofour15y ago

Try wearing long sleeves. And/or a hat.

If your body is cold, your extremities get screwed.

biotech15y ago

If you smoke or drink caffeine, these can cause vasoconstriction which reduces blood flow to your hands.

If the problem is really serious, it could be a medical problem called Raynaud's Syndrome.

minalecs15y ago

heh.. i seriously have this problem too. Funny you brought it up.. anyways I use a small desk heater, I blow across my keyboard area. Not sure how I feel about using gloves, and I do drink a big cup of hot coffee, and generally doesn't help much.

rawsyntax15y ago

yes I use a blanket, but then again I work from home.

I find getting a hot cup of tea / coffee works.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

15 comments

13 comments · 11 top-level

curt15y ago· 2 in thread

Mz15y ago

bigohms15y ago

I'm sorry, you've lost me here with the correlation between cold hands and "germs". This seems like more of a psycho/physiological condition.

1 more reply

jcr15y ago

djloche15y ago

chronomex15y ago

I tend to keep my keyboard on my lap, where it gets fairly warm and radiates onto my hands. When even colder inside, I use a laptop, which essentially has a heated keyboard.

david_shaw15y ago

Knitted hand warmers. They're fingerless gloves, basically.

leslieMichaels15y ago

I went to school in a very cold place, and this was a problem. Gloves didn't do squat. Sometimes I got the feeling that they made my hands colder.

I programmed under the blanket.

If that's not an option, you could (god forbid) exercise strenuously (do 50 jumping jacks), after which you would be very warm for several minutes. :D

There are those hand warmer things that you can get at any gas station. You shake them and they're hot for hours. You could put one in each glove...

Mz15y ago

sixtofour15y ago

Try wearing long sleeves. And/or a hat.

If your body is cold, your extremities get screwed.

biotech15y ago

If you smoke or drink caffeine, these can cause vasoconstriction which reduces blood flow to your hands.

If the problem is really serious, it could be a medical problem called Raynaud's Syndrome.

minalecs15y ago

rawsyntax15y ago

yes I use a blanket, but then again I work from home.

I find getting a hot cup of tea / coffee works.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse