We don’t need to tell you to stay warm in cold weather. That’s obvious. But something many people don’t think about is how to best handle those problematically cold areas. Here are the best ways to keep your fingers and toes from getting cold in the winter.
The fingers and toes are prime targets for cold body parts. They’re small, far from the core, and in direct contact with cold surfaces. As such, even good blood circulation might not be enough to keep them sufficiently warm. There are solutions, of course, though some might not be as obvious as you think.
How to Keep your Fingers and Toes Warm in Winter
Change Your Socks and Gloves. As you work, move, and expose your extremities to the elements, they’ll become damp. Regardless of whether it’s sweat or melted snow seeping in, you should make a point to change these out for a dry pair as soon as you can. The moisture is tremendously effective as whisking away heat. That’s great in the summer, awful in winter.
Loosen Up Your Boots. A tight pair of shoes might be good for keeping your footing secure and avoiding achy feet. But if the tie is too tight, it can reduce the level of blood flow to your toes. Since blood flow is how the body transfers heat out to its limbs, it’s important we keep it unrestricted in the cold.
Use Warmers. You’ll likely see combo packs of pocket warmers near the registers at stores around now. These are one-time use pouches full of a special mineral mixture that generates heat when exposed to oxygen. This is a fancy way of saying they can be placed in gloves/shoes (or pockets) to keep them warm. They sell them in large bulk packs for people in the cold every day and they can last for hours.
If you’re interested in something a little less temporary and more reusable, look into reusable pocket hand warmers. These are small plastic pouches full of liquid. They contain a little coin inside that, when snapped, will rapidly convert the liquid into a slushy solid material. The conversion creates heat over an extended period of time. When they’re done and you need to use them again, you place them in lightly boiling water until the pouch fluid converts back into a liquid. Repeat until summer.
There’s a common myth that you need to keep your ears covered to keep your whole body warm. The idea is that we as humans lose most of our heat from our head/ears. This has been proven false by scientists, however. We still recommend wearing a hat in cold weather to keep your head and ears safe, but it won’t actually affect the rest of your body.
Do whatever works for you. Just as long as you stay warm.