My Life in Azerbaijan - Cold Fingers and Toes

February 15, 2011
Since the beginning of January, my fingers and toes have been so cold. Even when I put on warm gloves or wrap my hands around a cup of hot tea, they still would not warm up. The worse is; when the weather gets warmer, my fingers and toes turn red, begin to swollen and are itchy like hell. The symptom occurred last winter as well. It brings back memory of my childhood when I was in Hong Kong, I had the exact problem every winter. My grandmother used to soak my feet in a bowl of hot water to ease the discomfort. But since I moved to the US, the problem never reappeared. Even when I was in Nepal hiking to Mt. Everest base camp with temperature -18F, I was never troubled by the same symptom. Here in Azerbaijan, it happened again.

I mentioned the problem to Peace Corps doctor and immediately, he sent me to the Baku hospital for a skin scanning. He suspects that I have Raynaud’s disease and indeed, the test confirms it.

“When a person's body is exposed to cold, the blood vessels in the extremities become narrowed and slow down blood supply to the fingers and toes. In the case of an individual with Raynuad’s disease, these blood vessels narrow dramatically, causing troubling symptoms. Fingers and toes turn white due to a lack of blood, then blue as the blood sluggishly returns. As they warm and normal blood flow is re-established, they turn red”

Even though winter in Azerbaijan is relatively mild when compared to the winter in American, average temperature is still around 40F or 4C. In my apartment, I stayed near the kitchen, so the heat from cooking keeps me warm, but at the bank, it is a different story. My co-workers each place a “Peç” (a electric heater) next to them to keep warm. I have none. They tried to offer me one of their, but I did not feel right to take away their comfort. Instead, I just drank lots of tea. When the cold becomes so unbearable, I wear my gloves to keep my fingers warm. Of course, it creates unwanted attention of bank customers and sometimes, I have no choice but letting my fingers turn cold and numb. The prolong exposure to the cold, my childhood nightmare, therefore, returns.

But soon it will be Spring, soon it will be summer, soon I will be travelling to South East Asia, and soon I will be warm. Knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel, I feel better. For now, I just have to deal with it.