Freezing Winter Nights & Hand/finger Pain

[jewgaffer]

gidday everyone

i'd like to compare notes on this very painful problem i've gotten hold of.

persistent painful hands and numb painful fingers

only started this winter after lots of overnighters on the hawkes & the hacking in freezing cold conditions.

should have known better but my younger deckie helpers were keen to fish on till dawn and then keep on going back every other night.

the pain is still pretty severe even though the last time i fished was just before the big rains.

anyone else suffer and/or still suffering from this painful condition?

help/advice appreciated as i am still recovering from a broken back and then a back op last year, still fishing but now concerned about my hands and fingers and it's more of a chore for me to go to town and see the doc than it is to put the mustang on the trailer, tow it 50ks and fish for 12hours .

appreciated !

fish on

[stylo]

Sounds like arthritis ?

Better see a specialist mate. Better to be safe than sorry.

[mrsswordfisherman]

gidday everyone

i'd like to compare notes on this very painful problem i've gotten hold of.

persistent painful hands and numb painful fingers

only started this winter after lots of overnighters on the hawkes & the hacking in freezing cold conditions.

should have known better but my younger deckie helpers were keen to fish on till dawn and then keep on going back every other night.

the pain is still pretty severe even though the last time i fished was just before the big rains.

anyone else suffer and/or still suffering from this painful condition?

help/advice appreciated as i am still recovering from a broken back and then a back op last year, still fishing but now concerned about my hands and fingers and it's more of a chore for me to go to town and see the doc than it is to put the mustang on the trailer, tow it 50ks and fish for 12hours .

appreciated !

fish on

There could be several causes for this jewgaffer, a doctor can best diagnose this. Please see my pm.

mrsswordfisherman

[roosterman]

as said before mate,get down to your local gp and make sure its nothing serious...

[jewgaffer]

There could be several causes for this jewgaffer, a doctor can best diagnose this. Please see my pm.

mrsswordfisherman

hi donna,

your whole concept has developed along very well indeed since i first joined in 05.

the forums are nicely balanced, conservative and interesting.

hope you can get some time off for your fishing.

i thought that your winter and alpine fishos may relate to painful fingers and hands as it feels to me like frost bite from all the night fishing i've been doing this year on the freezing hawks and the hacking.

i really appreciate your advice.

thanks for the pm. i will follow up

with kind regards

jewgaffer

p.s. donna tell me what you think. would it be an excellent idea if members had a little fishraider member's logo on their boats to identify and get to meet one another or has this been brought up before.

[TheDiko]

p.s. donna tell me what you think. would it be an excellent idea if members had a little fishraider member's logo on their boats to identify and get to meet one another or has this been brought up before.

Yes it has mate, 15 bucks per sticker from our sponsors Fishfinder or Watto's

IFS

[inhlanzi]

Gday Jewgaffer

I fish the Hawkesbury a lot ( mainly for Jewies ) and I have had the same thing with my hands from time to time.

I have to take very good care of my hands as they are the tools of my trade so most of the time I wear gloves. This has helped a lot in the last six months.

Two of my fishing buddies who also fish the hawkesbury a lot have the same problem. One of them had it so bad that he could not even close his hands for about 12 hours.

I have tried to research this a bit and have asked my mates where and when they were fishing.

The Hawkesbury basin,

using bait

washing your hands in the water a lot

These seems to be the common to us three.

My other mates hands get so bad that he has to go home early on some of the longer sessions. His hands get very dry and the skin cracks at the joints on his fingers and thus becomes very difficult to fish.

One possibility for this condition may be that when you pull up the anchor rope stingers from jellfish may be stuck to the rope. I say this because my one mate who got this condition was deckie on my boat and did all the anchor rope work. We both used the same bait and both washed our hands in the water. He was the one who got the condition.

Another reason may be the chemicals that are put on bait to keep it "fresh" - especially prawns.

I also think at times there is a lot of very nasty stuff ( pollution sewage etc ) in the water!!!

So now I will only work with bait if I am wearing gloves. I find the good quality washing up gloves are the best. I also have a few dry towels on board.

As others have said get a Doctor to check it out.

Good luck with those hands

cheers

inhlanzi

[mrsswordfisherman]

Thanks Ifish

We are just about to get another run of stickers actually.

Thanks for the kind words jewgaffer - we have a great bunch of members that make our forum as good as it is and we monitor it and try to keep our community happy )

Cheers mrsswordfisherman

[Andy Loops]

Will you be advertising the stickers on the site once they are in?

Would love to get hold of a couple!

Cheers

Andrew

[mrsswordfisherman]

Yes Andy all our merchandise is available from our tackle shop sponsors.

I will make a post as soon as we receive more stickers.

Cheers mrsswordfisherman

[livo]

Sounds like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Nerve conduction tests from a Neurologist will tell you. They don't hurt but are a little uncomfortable momentarily. Electrical pulses are sent down your arm nerves and the time is measured. I have the condition in both hands. It's treatable with steroid injections for mild cases and surgery for the more serious. Sometimes there will be a family history of the ailment, (my mother had it as well).

Self test is to put your two hands together back to back with the wrists bent and press and hold for a short while. If this brings the symptoms on more seriously it pretty well confirms CTS but get the tests anyway to be sure. You'll need to follow the good advice above and see your GP for a referal.

Edited June 29, 2007 by livo

[jewgaffer]

Gday Jewgaffer

I fish the Hawkesbury a lot ( mainly for Jewies ) and I have had the same thing with my hands from time to time.

I have to take very good care of my hands as they are the tools of my trade so most of the time I wear gloves. This has helped a lot in the last six months.

Two of my fishing buddies who also fish the hawkesbury a lot have the same problem. One of them had it so bad that he could not even close his hands for about 12 hours.

I have tried to research this a bit and have asked my mates where and when they were fishing.

The Hawkesbury basin,

using bait

washing your hands in the water a lot

These seems to be the common to us three.

My other mates hands get so bad that he has to go home early on some of the longer sessions. His hands get very dry and the skin cracks at the joints on his fingers and thus becomes very difficult to fish.

One possibility for this condition may be that when you pull up the anchor rope stingers from jellfish may be stuck to the rope. I say this because my one mate who got this condition was deckie on my boat and did all the anchor rope work. We both used the same bait and both washed our hands in the water. He was the one who got the condition.

Another reason may be the chemicals that are put on bait to keep it "fresh" - especially prawns.

I also think at times there is a lot of very nasty stuff ( pollution sewage etc ) in the water!!!

So now I will only work with bait if I am wearing gloves. I find the good quality washing up gloves are the best. I also have a few dry towels on board.

As others have said get a Doctor to check it out.

Good luck with those hands

cheers

inhlanzi

hi inhlanzi.

what a terrific informative reply. absolutely great !

should definately be posted as a main article so that all members should seriously consider wearing gloves when handling any bait and the variety of reef and river freaks you have to handle in order to get your hooks back.

in the 1950's my dad used to rouse on me as a young kid for not wearing gloves when handling the boat's squid, baits and livies.

he was very concerned baits touched by human hands would put the jewies off because of the various odors and oils.

when he had a bad day he used to abuse his mates for not wearing gloves after smoking.

taren point julius also mentioned that and using surgical gloves one day when we were calamariing in dolans

tell you what inhlanzi your advice and help is very very well received at this end.

you've got me really thinking now and soon i'll have to clean a lot of squid ink off my boat before the sun stains it into the fibreglass.

squid ink is not only only a defence smoke screen to deter other fish i think it may well be obnoxious to them

and there is a big chance that squid ink could well be the culprit for my hand and finger problem.

thanks a million and i do look forward very much indeed to meeting you somewhere on the water one day.

jewgaffer

fish on

[jewgaffer]

Sounds like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Nerve conduction tests from a Neurologist will tell you. They don't hurt but are a little uncomfortable momentarily. Electrical pulses are sent down your arm nerves and the time is measured. I have the condition in both hands. It's treatable with steroid injections for mild cases and surgery for the more serious. Sometimes there will be a family history of the ailment, (my mother had it as well).

Self test is to put your two hands together back to back with the wrists bent and press and hold for a short while. If this brings the symptoms on more seriously it pretty well confirms CTS but get the tests anyway to be sure. You'll need to follow the good advice above and see your GP for a referal.

another intelligent and a well learned reply and many thanks

yep there sure is a bit of wrist pain in both wrists and new pains equally in the mid tops of both hands when i do the test. the numbness in thumbs and fingers doesn't vary and the pinkies didn't vary but weren't affected to a noticable degree initially.

i take your advice seriously and i am most grateful for your time

i've already had a top nurse in response and now i've got near enough to a g.p. in the house.

glad i posted my question to this community and i'm starting to feel much better because of that.

regards

jewgaffer

fish on

[copafisher]

Another possibility is Ranaud's or white finger. Cold makes it worse as does vibrations eg whipper snipper / chainsaw / hammering etc. I seem to have damaged my hands from drilling / hammering / chopping / chainsaw etc when I was younger (I'm 45).

I did the arthritis & Carpal Tunnel tests but both came back negative.

Mine go numb if I use whipper snipper and if I dont rest them makes it worse. Cold makes it worse, like wetting them in a cold environment.

Go see the doctor to do the appropriate tests. May just prove what you dont have, but at least you tried. I also know that some foods & drinks seem to make it worse, something like gout.

Best wishes, I know what a pain it is, and I dont have it bad !

Copa