Do you suffer with HAVS/white finger?

[Mesterh]

BEFORE YOU VOTE PLEASE READ!!!

 

Please only vote if youve been doing the job professionally for at least 5 years.

 

Just wondering since there has been a few threads about HAVS how may people out there suffer with it.

 

Ive been climbing for 15 years and havent a problem yet and off the top of my head I cant think of anyone that suffers(although most of them are climbers too)

[tommer9]

Real bad in the colder months, and even on late finishes in summer. Gloves are essential once the sun has gone down, with white fingertips and TOTAL loss of feeling in the ends of fingers. Been getting worse over the last 4 or 5 years.

[tomtrees]

What about bad backs. I have been climbing since 19 I am now 40 odd and have never had any white finger but its the ground work that kills my back.

[Sam Thompson]

Discount one vote "Groundsman/forestry, dont suffer"

 

 

Sorry chaps

[Barney]

I didn't vote as I've only 4 years under my belt but i suffer numbness in my third finger right down to the knuckle in summer and winter, I struggle to tie my own shoe laces sometimes or even grip a pencil, not good.

[arbogrunt]

I started getting really bad white finger in my left hand. I was using pole saws a lot for trimming conifer hedges. We tie-wrapped lagging foam around the shafts and I always wore AV gel gloves, but when it got cold and or wet, I still had quite severe circulation problems. The solution was...don't use pole saws!. I rarely do conifer hedges these days and the problem is now almost eradicated. Another persistant offender is hand held blowers...I get pins and needles in my hands after about 5 minutes of using them. Surely a big company like Stihl can put a bit more effort into the AV mounts of these machines...maybe a few hundred compensation claims against them would make them pull their fingers out!

[Mortimer Firewood]

Worker as a steel erecter for ten years useing impact guns for 10 hours a day. Retrained at 28 into forestry treework groundcare and white finger is becoming a huge problem i wear the anti vibe gloves but they dont seem to work . Does anybody know of ways to releive it .

[armchairarborist]

i don't suffer from hav's, but used a branch of stumpbusters darn saaf and the guy had been using hand controlled machines for years and didn't like the remote controlled machines, he has it bad, told me he gets the shakes in the evenings too from the vibes. not good:thumbdown: nice guy too

[the crafty weasel]

I started getting really bad white finger in my left hand. I was using pole saws a lot for trimming conifer hedges. We tie-wrapped lagging foam around the shafts and I always wore AV gel gloves, but when it got cold and or wet, I still had quite severe circulation problems. The solution was...don't use pole saws!. I rarely do conifer hedges these days and the problem is now almost eradicated. Another persistant offender is hand held blowers...I get pins and needles in my hands after about 5 minutes of using them. Surely a big company like Stihl can put a bit more effort into the AV mounts of these machines...maybe a few hundred compensation claims against them would make them pull their fingers out!

 

Maybe they can't pull their fingers out cos they can't feel them

 

Totally agree about the blowers though, it's well worth getting a backpack one.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Real bad in the colder months, and even on late finishes in summer. Gloves are essential once the sun has gone down, with white fingertips and TOTAL loss of feeling in the ends of fingers. Been getting worse over the last 4 or 5 years.

 

Do you think that might be from your mason work though Tom and not tree work ?