Right, a teenage male who does not smoke. That is helpful. On other question: are you overweight, normal weight or thin?, and if you are thin, then do you have a problem gaining weight despite having a voracious appetite?

Lucky I'm addicted to tea then

Apple* - thanks for the link, I might just have to buy myself a pair of ninga gloves.

Amant - I'm not overweight, and wouldn't call myself overly thin either. According to Wii fit, my BMI is just right . I'm quite tall as well. I do have a large appetite, and don't seem to put any weight on, though I always put this down to a high metabolic rate. I'm worried where this Is going. I hope I don't have some horrible illness. I'm too young to die!

the one and only for cold hands, bad circulation, strengthening heart and veins - mr. cayenne pepper.
Drink quarter of tea spoon with you favorite fruit juice.
It really works, I drink every day and I can play on south pole in igloo....

Spicy food is a double-edged sword; while it may increase circulation it can also promote perspiration, which has the effect of cooling the body.

Someone in their mid-teens is still growing. Chopin4life, you may well outgrow your cold hand syndrome... possibly.

If not, would you consider moving to the south of France? I'm assuming you have the same bone-chilling damp that I have here.

never experienced increased perspiration from cayenne neither read about it and I read almost everything about this king of herbs. My sister has such cold extremities syndrome, it didn't go away with age.

BTW people in Siberia sometimes put some into the gloves to keep warm hands all the times.

I'm really surprised that you've never read about cayenne-induced perspiration. That is one of the chief properties of cayenne (or any product containing capsaicin).

For this reason spicy foods are very commonly found in the hottest climates; the resulting perspiration helps one to feel cooler.

That hot climate thing is interesting. Myself, I typically have to eat an enormous amount of very spicy hot food to get all sweaty from it. I used to take cayenne capsules and they never did it, although I think they do help warm one up. Seems like with experience, a person could find the amount that would warm, but not to the point of perspiring.

I do get cold hands, but it is usually because I have gone too long without eating and being too still. A little food and a bit of exercise will usually fix it, but there are some days where it seems I am destined to be cold the entire day, no matter what. I think having pretty skinny hands doesn't help the matter.

But what we really need are pianos with heated keys.

Err.., that's what my lamps do.

You seem like a typical teenage guy, although with a caveat of short clinical history and not actually seeing you. Nevertheless, in the teenage years you are still growing and don't have much body fat in the extremities for insulation. Perfectly normal in your age group, and this will start to plateau in your early to mid twenties. As someone said before, wear gloves, consider a winter's hat and don't shirk on winter layering such as sweaters & the like. If it is still of concern then discuss this with your family physician BUT don't put too much faith in bulletin boards diagnostics as they will only create unnecessary anxiety.

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Thats alright then Thank you

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exactly, you cannot take too much of cayenne anyway it's too hot.

actually cayenne - or any hot pepper is a wonderful food resource.. i used to eat quite a bit of hot hot pepper.. it seems to be wonderful for the body. i don't know that it would make your hands warmer, but sometimes a better diet can help many problems.

if you eat only french fries and burgers you might be missing something that could help you function at a higher level

Hey Kreisler, give us a chance to read 'em first!

and ... if your hands are cold and rather delicate, gloves enable you to play with vigor and you don't have to worry about getting little cracks and such.

Do you smoke? Also, do you tend to stiffen in your shoulders and hold them too high? You might be cutting out your blood flow a bit if you're doing that. I think it means you're not using your body as well as you could, and that's resulting in improper circulation.

I tried these, which my wife knitted, and it actually works pretty well.

Those look amazing Al. Time to get me a wife who knows how to knit!

Sometimes I think it's actually a good thing to practice with cold fingers every so often, since during performances my hands tend to turn to ice from nerves anyhow. Cripes just thinking about performing makes me hands cold!

Chopin4life, I am in my late teens and have the same problem!
It really doesn't help being in the UK at this time of year and also being a Pianist; I've been offered many church Piano concerts and have had to decline all of them due to the cold air and not being able to warm up my hands. I also play the Organ and, having to practice in the church (often after-dark), I have immense problems with cold hands in that department.
I'm yet to find hand warmers which won't impair my playing, but I have found one solution - heat packs. You know the kind of thing that you snap and it produces heat, they're often marketed for back pain etc. and after hurting my back in a Rowing accident last month I discovered that they're really good for warming up your hands as well! As far as I know they're about £4.99 in Lloyd's Pharmacy for a pack of 2, each one lasting a good practice session, but they're one of those things that are always being given away in promotions.

Hope that's helpful,
Al

I get really cold hands too, especially when nervous for a performance. When I'm doing a longish recital, I usually play pieces that start off more sedately first so that my hands warm up before they have a chance to fumble up fast passages. And sitting on your hands is NOT a good idea. I did that before a performance of a Bach piece once...not good at all.

Cold hands are always better than cold feet!!!! haha

Equally bad, IMHO.

You know the old saying about cold hands, right? "Cold hands, a warm heart; dirty feet and no sweetheart."

LOL, as an organist, cold feet have never been much of an issue. OTOH, getting to a cold church for a service definitely is not friendly to my hands. Yikes, where is the coffee?

Alas, being of slight build, I'm always cold this time of year. I need to take communion three or four times so that the wine can have the proper effect.