white finger

[sycamorephobic]

ive only been in the industry two years but already gettin serious white finger, tingling, numbness. i think its partly genetic. bad news, not just cos im a guitarist. anyone have the same issues or know of any prevention methods and ways of reducing symptoms? cheers

[Andy Collins]

Severnside Safety sell Anti vibration gloves check out by clicking on their banner. http://www.sevsafe.co.uk/acatalog/Impacto_Gloves.html

[Ian C]

a mate of mine hade VWF he was a miner, i think the only way to stop it getting any worse is to stop doing what your doing or try wearing some sort of gloves to dampen the vibs. i'm no expert though so don't hold me to it.

[Bundle 2]

ive only been in the industry two years but already gettin serious white finger, tingling, numbness. i think its partly genetic. bad news, not just cos im a guitarist. anyone have the same issues or know of any prevention methods and ways of reducing symptoms? cheers

Do you use heated handlebars on the saw.....? I know so many arborists with these complaints but frankly more than white finger. They are all of a certain age. I say this as the heated bars are very helpful in maintaining circulation. Do you smoke? You shouldnt. Try stop doin' it at work. Your buddies will thank you, you'll get more done and wont piss off people keep stoppin' and gassin' ( imo )...Well mate, you did ask!!

It has been said that extract from Ginkgo biloba is very helpful with circulation issues...its expensive ( stop smoking!!)

It shouldnt have reared its ugly head already...I'd say you must be susceptable....help yourself.

I used to get turfed out of the pub for spillin' my beer but infact, I couldnt feel my hands as well as I thought I could and so beer and glass was regularly on the floor..... Embarassing but it could make your life a misery...If you read the industry blurb it says you wont even be able to attend football games as a spectator.....

[treequip]

VWF or Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) damage is cumulative and it doesn’t get better.

As has already been said the only way to stop it is to avoid the vibration.

You can reduce the impact by using an alternate tool. For climbers, a lot of chainsaw cuts can be made with a silky or similar. This also carries other benefits. Keeping the saw as sharp as possible reduces time on the saw and vibration.

Regular replacements of AV mountings and using a saw that is on to of its job (big enough for the timber) will reduce exposure to vibration. Anti vibration gloves are a good precaution as are regular breaks (10 mins on 10 mins off) and keeping your hands warm will keep the blood at its best. Some prescription drugs can cause constriction of the blood vessels so check with your GP if you get a script. The chemicals in tobacco can affect blood flow so hanging on to an “084” with a B&H in the corner of your mouth (like my mate used to) is probably a bad idea.

 

Andy

[Nick B]

Are you sure it is white finger

a thing called Carpel Tunnel Syndrom makes your fingers & hands Tingel and feels like pins and neadels

also causes your hands to feel numb

[arbogrunt]

I had pretty bad whitefinger a few years ago. It seemed to be brought on by heavy use of Stihil HT75 polesaws (theres a lot of vibration from the shaft of them). Blowers are another culprit (although the new Stihl blower seems to have addressed this).

The problem has improved significantly, I don't use power-poles half as much now (if I do I use AV gloves). I have also been taking Ginko Biloba (try googling zipvit, they are the cheapest and highest dose about).

In the meantime, try keeping your hands and wrists warm by using gloves/wristovers or it will get much worse over the winter mate!

[Tom D]

I think most things have already been covered but take this advice seriously as I know someone who has HAVS and its crippling, he's a builder and he can't work in the winter at all. He describes the pain as excruciating and he does'nt seem the type to whinge.

[Husqvarna King]

i have it on my right hand (no jokes haha) it was worse from using an old brush cutter when i was 18 on a farm and an old Stihl 036, a few years after when i started on my own i bought Husky saws and the anti-vibration is much better (newer too)....still have a deadness in my fingers but im much happier now:001_tt1:

[Albedo]

I've been in tree biz, on and off for coming up 15 years (only last 5 years continuously) and have had same problem. Also quite old (49) and still climbing (just about).

 

I use the silky a lot (as suggested above), avoid using strimmers totally, and generally try to keep chainsaw use down (which I realise sounds ridiculous).

 

At the moment its very mild, its been worse. I also drop pints, and find intricate embroidery very difficult.

 

My point being that with care, it does seem possible to keep it in check