This awful winter has claimed me as it's victim

[Mike Circo]

It started with the dry indoor atmosphere caused by the single digit or below zero temps we've had for 6 weeks now. Skin on my hands cracked and bleeding. Sinus issues that no amount of humidification can keep up with.

Then the mystery ache/pain in my right wrist. Doc says it's tendinitis caused by impacts from chipping ice and pushing the shovel thorough our 63 inches of snow this season. OUCH my wrist hurts, all the way to my elbow.

Now I get insult to injury. The garage door opener won't bring up the overhead door in -5 degree temps. Lubricants, gears, wheels, etc. all too cold to work. So I have to hit the remote and help the door up. Bend over to pull and .......... PING.......... something goes in my back.

So now I'm sitting here at work reeking of hand cream. My right wrist in a brace. Sitting on a heating pad for my back.

Spring better get here soon... I'm just about wiped out!

Mike
(40 miles west of ChiTown)

[Keith Outten]

Mike,

I hope your physical woes go away with the Spring weather that is just around the corner. If not maybe its time to head for calmer seas, Key West Florida ought to do the trick :)
.

[Phil Thien]

I hear you Mike, this winter (I'm in Wisconsin) has been brutal. It is either bitterly cold, or snowing, or both.

Thankfully I've avoided injuries so far, but I know a fair number of people that have fallen on the ice and severely injured themselves.

Whenever I start having sinus problems due to the intolerably dry inside climate, I swab a little 3-in-1 antibacterial ointment in my nostrils. I use the kind with a Vaseline base. It helps tremendously.

I hope you feel better quickly.

[Rick Moyer]

Mike you could have saved some typing and just told us you are over 50!

[Rich Riddle]

Old age is no kind lady to many of us who forget our limitations. Mother nature has spectacular ways of reminding us.

[Mike Circo]

Mike you could have saved some typing and just told us you are over 50!

Bing Bing. We have a winner!

I got to LVI with no issues (Can't bring myself to use the real number). The last year has been the one to remind me.

[Rick Moyer]

Bing Bing. We have a winner!

I got to LVI with no issues (Can't bring myself to use the real number). The last year has been the one to remind me.
Hah! LVI comes in two weeks for me. Once "L" started, more aches and pains developed. Everybody older says "it doesn't get any better." Thanks a lot, I say.

[Erik Loza]

It started with the dry indoor atmosphere caused by the single digit or below zero temps we've had for 6 weeks now. Skin on my hands cracked and bleeding. Sinus issues that no amount of humidification can keep up with.

Our temps are nowhere near as cold as yours but both my wife and I get the same symptoms: Chapped hands and lips and dry, irritated sinuses. We have one of those indoor/outdoor digital weather station-thingies. When the furnace is running, the indoor humidity is something like 30%. Really dry.

I keep a tube of shea butter hand cream on my desk and apply to my hands several times a day. For the sinuses, have you ever considered the Neti Pot (Google it if unfamiliar)? We swear by it every morning. Cleans all the pollen (a problem here in CenTX) out of your sinuses and also moistens them. Could not get by without it.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[ken masoumi]

After all the preparation for winter ( salt,sand,ice scraper,shovel and warm clothing,hat/face warmer(balaclava),thick socks & gloves,longjohns ,ski goggles,snowblower with tire chains) I still managed to fall 6 times,bruised my ribs twice other than that I feel like a champion!

[Mike Wilkins]

The age thing is no joke. Have to sit on the edge of the bed each morning moving things to get some of the stiffness out. As for the weather; I am glad to be residing in the South. Although we have had our share of crazy weather lately. Now you know why so many folks move to Florida or Arizona.

[Trevor Howard]

I am probably younger than most that posted on this thread, but I get the cracked/splitting bleeding hand problem. I swear by O'keeffe's Working Hands cream. I get it from Lowes, a jar at work and a jar at home.

[ray hampton]

After all the preparation for winter ( salt,sand,ice scraper,shovel and warm clothing,hat/face warmer(balaclava),thick socks & gloves,longjohns ,ski goggles,snowblower with tire chains) I still managed to fall 6 times,bruised my ribs twice other than that I feel like a champion!

KEN, I believe that you forgot about your footwear " steel cleats that will bite into the packed snow and unpack ice

[ken masoumi]

KEN, I believe that you forgot about your footwear " steel cleats that will bite into the packed snow and unpack ice.Actually you are right ,I forgot .Just last week I bought a pair of heavy duty rubber boots with straps so I can pull them tight to avoid snow going inside.lol.

[Jim Creech]

You know you're getting old when what don't hurt don't work!

[Jim Matthews]

It's amazing how heavy garage doors are.

Isn't Chicago Ho-Chunk for "It's snowing again"?
It's not so much the snow or cold that gets me this year,
it's the oscillating thermometer - it warms enough to melt the top of my driveway
but the bottom refreezes overnight.

That, and so many hardy New Englanders seem surprised at bad Winter driving conditions.
Again. At least I'm not in Connecticut - they're getting another foul Winter, their third in a row.

[Brian Elfert]

I am having problems with numbness in my fingers for the past week or two. I wonder if it might be related to chipping snow and ice off the driveway?

[ray hampton]

I am having problems with numbness in my fingers for the past week or two. I wonder if it might be related to chipping snow and ice off the driveway?

Do anyone remember when magazines run ads for flame throwers to use on your drive-way or sidewalk to melt the snow and ice?

[Brian Tymchak]

Skin on my hands cracked and bleeding.

Yea, you guys on the lake have had it pretty rough this winter.

If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend O'Keefe's Working Hands. I have chronically dry skin on my hands that used to crack and bleed in nothing flat. I tried a bunch of different creams, salves, etc. Even a couple prescriptions. Working Hands has been the best, by far, at keeping my hands moisturized. Hopefully, you can find some relief for at least 1 of those ailments.

BTW, if a garage door is properly balanced with the proper springs, it should be pretty easy to raise by hand. You might want to check for a broken spring. Springs have a duty rating and you can rack up 10,000 cycles in 10 years of use pretty easily.

[eugene thomas]

I have cracks in finger tips all the time. and the O'keeffe's worked as good as every other remedy. not at all. but sure did coast more than the others .

[Don Morris]

My 20+ yr old garage door didn't like the winter so much, that when it did warm up, it stayed bad and wouldn't work. I had to buy a new one. LOML used that as an excuse to have me "improve" the ceiling in the garage because she didn't like the looks of the old mounts for the old opener. So I had to put new mountings in for the opener, do dry wall repair, put in a new light fixture too. Instead of a 3-4 hour install of a new garage door opener it was a 2 day affair. I do like the new, quieter screw drive opener.