Who wears a gauntlet instead of a glove

cookiegal

Do you switch back and forth?

I have very little to no swelling in my hand....so everyone says it's fine to wear a gauntlet.

MD, LE, etc.

Plus I am still waiting for my good glove, and all I have is a grubby nightmare glove.

But every time I put on a gauntlet it feels wrong! Like my finger fat is swelling.

I may get a custom gauntlet eventually.

So who wears a gauntlet here?

Any tips?

Leah_S

Cookie, I wear a gauntlet (custom) but my LE is in my upper arm so no finger problems.

Leah

lago

Cookie I was told I could wear a gauntlet but my BS had me order a glove from the start. When I got my new sleeves/gloves I decided not to switch to the gauntlet for 2 reasons. The first is I do a lot of computer work/keystroking. I hear it's difficult to use the gauntlet to type. 2nd, with warmer weather coming up I know my fingers are going to swell anyway. I figure if I do switch it might be better to try in the winter.

The swelling when I had it was in my upper and lower arm but not in my hand/fingers. I have stage 0-1. Now on occasion I feel heaviness in my upper arm. No swelling in a while but I do wear my sleeve/glove daily.

NYmom60

I am supposed to wear a glove but it is so uncomfortable that I switch back and forth. My fingers swell when I wear the gauntlet so I try to wear the glove as much as possible. My glove is not custom though so maybe that is why it is so uncomfortable.

lago

NYmom my LE MD said he never orders a glove right off the shelf. They never fit right. When he saw mine he was shocked how well it fit but the fingers are a bit too short. (I wear along sleeve). If I really needed the glove for my fingers I would have to have a custom one made.

hymil

My swelling was mostly upper arm, and my current sleeve goes up over my shoulder and down to my knuckles (the first from mid-humerus to my wrist did give me a puffy hand as well as cutting in at the top) but i don't wear anything on my fingers. Is this bad? I need to learn to control a keyboard as my new work-skill. I make sure and wriggle my fingers a lot as I walk, and so far it's been okay. Not quite sure what's the difference between gloves and gauntlets?

mrsnjband

I started with just a sleeve.  But then I started having swelling in my hand & wrist so my dr gave me a script for a gauntlet.  The gauntlet pushed the swelling down into my fingers.  I was going to get a glove but I couldn't afford it. My insurance only pays for 2 garments a year & I had just gotten 2 new sleeves.

My doctor wrote an appeal letter for me, but I never got around to getting one.  Last fall I decided to go to a LE specialist & learn how to do the manual lymph drainage.  That made a big difference.  She didn't teach me how to do my fingers but I came up with my own way of doing it.  I don't have much trouble but I do the MLD faithfully. NJ

lago

      This is a glove:                            This is a guantlet:
     

This is my hand in my glove.
Notice my fingers are too long:

Binney4

hymil, the way my therapist explained it, you want to use compression for your fingers if you have any swelling at all in your hand, or even if your swelling is in your lower arm, because that's the next area it can go to if not protected. I think, though, that if you're traveling or doing something strenuous or unusual, it's really wise to have a glove. Once you have swelling in your fingers it's awfully hard to keep it in control. Fingers are the pits!

NJ, how on earth could your therapist NOT have done your fingers along with the rest of your arm?!! Any chance you can go back and tell her you want to know the whole deal? Congrats on being so creative and inventing your own solution to that, but you sure as heck shouldn't have to do it yourself.

Hugs,
Binney

KittyDog

I wear a gauntlet but I normally don't have swelling in my hand.  I did have some back in January but I think it all still had something to do with my swelling from surgery in October.  Occasionally the glove seems a little tighter but I live in the South and it has been very hot already and we want talk about the humidity.

KS1

Binney,  I don't think NJ's experience is unique.  I saw 2 different therapists who told me that as long as I did on my arm, I didn't have to worry about doing MLD on my hand.  Therapist # 3 said I probably should do MLD on my hand because she thought it might be a tad swollen, but she said I didn't need to worry about MLD on fingers, because I didn't have any finger swelling. Guess what -- my fingers started swelling over this past year.  I just saw therapist 4 who taught me how to do stationary circles and told me to do tiny stationary circles on the fingers.  To be honest, I can't say I see any real difference in my finger swelling.  KS1

cookiegal

great answers...thanks!

kane744

Well, Cookie, you seem satisfied with answers but never one NOT to get my two cents in...I've just recently started wearing both.  With this most recent flare I had a great deal of selling in my hand and fingers.  So when my LE therapist recommended trying a glove, I went for it.  I do like it better, especially if I'm gardening.  I wish they'd make a "coool" one, though, cause it's so hot.  When my activity is done, I'll switch to the gauntlet.  After yesterday's gardening (we were so far behind due to all the rain), I could watch my hand swelling despite drinking lots of water and taking frequent breaks.  So as soon as I was done, I took a shower, massaged and wrapped for the evening/night.  Today I'm a bit swollen, but since we're going to the movies I'm giving my hand a break cause the web between my thumb and finger is brilliant red from all the sweating and friction.  I HATE LE.  I cried several times yesterday.  Why don't they make gloves with padding in the web area?

kira66715

Kane, That just plain sucks that your hand gave you grief. Enjoy the movie.

Here's my 2 cents: my swelling started on the dorsum of my hand and I wore a gauntlet for a couple of months, but it quickly moved into my fingers.

I have custom Juzo gloves that goe to the mid-forearm, and medi-95 gloves. I alternate them for comfort and the shorter glove is easier to get off and as it's less expensive and I have some old one's, I'll use it if there's a chance I might mess it up.

Even with custom gloves, the web space can take a beating, or sometimes my thumb goes numb.

So, I have to wear gloves, but I don't wear them all the time.

Kira

YamahaMama

Kane and Kira, thank you for validating the problem with gloves for me!  I complained about the web of all my fingers hurting after having my glove on for a little while, and I would pull and pull and pull on it to keep it away, but it didn't help.  Also, I experienced the numbness in my thumb.  Eventually, the glove would come off because I just couldn't take it any more.  I asked my therapist about the gauntlet, which she gave me.  I much prefer being able to wear the gauntlet, but at this point, I don't seem to have a problem with swelling in the fingers...  However, I recently got a night garment (sleeve only; no glove), and the second night I wore it, I woke up with very swollen fingers.  I don't know if I didn't have my sleeve pulled up *quite* high enough...  Luckily, I had an appointment with the therapist that morning, so she was able to see the swelling, which had gone down by the time I went to see her...  She told me to try pulling the night sleeve up higher, but if I had any more swelling in the fingers to quit using it until I could get back in to see her, and she would check to see if it's too tight, but she may have to order me a glove to wear at night.  Bah, humbug!!!!  I just haven't been able to bring myself to try wearing it again yet!

Anyone else wear a night sleeve without a glove? 

hymil

Thanks for the explanations and super pictures.  Iago, your fingers are just the right length, it's the glove that's not! My sleeve is like that gauntlet with a sleeve attached all-in-one. I have a very broad palm, and short stubby fingers like my dad and my uncle, so if i have to get a glove, you won't be seeing my lovely (!) nails. Itchy webs are horrid, I think somebody mentioned about garments where the seam is somewhere else? Padding would be really good.

cookiegal

@lago I want that gauntlet...it looks like it might fit me better. Is it a medi?

YamahaMama

Cookiegal, that looks like the gauntlet I have on right now...mine is Juzo. 

Edited to add:  I ran across a link on this forum, I believe, for sleeves and gauntlets by Lymphedivas...  I'd love to try something a little more colorful, if I'm stuck wearing these things.  It appears they fit a little differently where the gauntlet/sleeve overlap, and since I always seem to end up with "double compression" there, I was wondering if anyone else has tried them, and what you think of the overlap? 

YamahaMama

@lago My glove hits my fingers below the knuckles, where yours does.  Do you feel like it's cutting off the circulation at the tops of your fingers sometimes?  Between that and the webbing soreness, I just can't stand to wear it...  I didn't realize it should be longer until I looked at the pictures you posted a little more closely... 

Also, this is a stupid question, but what does everyone else do when it comes to hand washing?  I would feel stupid asking my therapist, but am I supposed to take the glove off to wash, etc., or do you just get the glove wet?  I'm right handed, but just try to do everything with my left when I have either the glove or gauntlet on, but its very awkward, if you know what I mean... 

KS1

I pretty much stopped using my Elvarex custom because the roughness of the fabric was like sandpaper on the webbing.  I've had lots of gloves and some are better than others.  Barton Carey will line their custom gloves as an extra.  I found my lined Barton Carey caused less web irritation, but the lining makes it bulky and the thing has tons of seams so I found it very hard to write while wearing it.. The  fabric of the farrow is smooth enough that it doesn't irritate as much.  That said, since it isn't custom, over the course of the day, as it stretches out, if it doesn't fit perfectly, it may slip down into the webbing.  It's kind of ironic that we are told over and over again to be very careful to protect our skin from injury and one of the major sources of skin injury are the compression garments we must wear.  KS1

KS1

If the fingers of a gloves are REALLY long, I get less discoloration and numbness in my finger tips.  Specifically, if the glove finger ends half way OVER the nail (not at the nail bed), my fingers feel better.  I think the hardness of the nail prevents the glove finger from squeezing around the entire circumference of the finger.  KS1.

HantaYo

Namaste!

My LE is in my upper arm and trunk.  During daytime I wear a compression Tee shirt and a sleeve.  When I am not activly at work I also wear a gauntlet.  I am a nurse in PACU and there is no way that I can wear the gauntlet while involved in patient care.  I remove the gauntlet when going to the restroom.  I wash my hands before and after.  We nurses tend to do this double wash and I do the double wash always, not just at work..  I have lost/misplaced gauntlets a couple  times doing this when I do not have a "pocket" to temporarily place it.  Luckily my insurance (which allows two full garmet sets every 6 months) has always allowed me to replace the "lost".  At night I usually (esp after a work day) use a Carrisa glove that is like a thick oven mit. 

I am going for my first backpacking trip since cancer soon and it will be interesting to see how things work.  Although I will be able to rinse them in stream water I won't have the dryer to use to retighten the knit. My compression shirts make me sweaty and I am assuming I will be hiking with a strong surround smell.  My practice hikes with my pack on have caused some hand swelling but then the non LE hand swells comparatively and it is back to normal the next AM.  I think my fingers always kind of felt like sausages when I backpacked before.  I will drink lots and try to limit my sodium.

Karla

otter

cookie, I started out with only a sleeve and a gauntlet.

I had some axillary/upper arm cording and "discomfort" a month or so after my mast/SNB, so my surgeon sent me to a PT/LE therapist. The therapist took measurements (circumference and bioimpedance) and found nothing amiss, but she said it would be a good idea to have a sleeve and gauntlet "just in case."  She did recommend that I wear them while flying and whenever I was doing something strenuous with my arms or upper body.  I asked about a glove instead of a gauntlet, but she said I didn't need a glove (yet).  Besides, she said -- gloves were absurdly expensive compared to gauntlets.  She did emphasize that I should never wear the sleeve without hand compression (gauntlet) -- otherwise, fluid would end up being trapped in my hand.

Fast-forward approx. 5 months... The cording came back about 3 weeks after the last of my Taxotere/Cytoxan infusions.  In addition, I had some obvious puffiness in my forearm, wrist, and the back of my hand, as well as in my forefinger and thumb-web. I was referred back to the therapist, who re-measured everything.  Even though I had visible swelling and my arm and hand ached (a dull ache that's familiar now), none of the measurements showed any abnormalities.

My therapist said I had "Stage 0" ("subclinical") LE, and she recommended that I get a glove to wear with my sleeve.  I'd been wearing the sleeve and gauntlet, but the gauntlet was too short for my hand. My knuckles and fingers would swell up after I wore the it for as little as half an hour. 

Luckily, I hadn't needed the sleeve and gauntlet until that post-chemo episode.  My therapist said to try a "K-T Pocket Glove," which provides finger and back-of-the-hand compression but isn't very expensive.  The glove felt tight to me, but she checked the fit at my next LE therapy session and said it was fine.  Wearing the sleeve-glove combo did make my arm and hand feel better.

Much later, I had an opportunity to try a Farrow glove.  They're expensive, but they are made of a nice-looking, comfortable, smooth fabric. The Farrow glove I received was too short for my long hand and fingers; but it feels really nice and it's what I wear now when I need compression (which is seldom).

As evidence that it's a good idea to wear a glove instead of a gauntlet, my therapist told me a story about her co-worker, another LE therapist at that center.  The co-worker had mild LE in her arm and hand; and she was traveling cross-country on a commercial flight.  She wore her sleeve and gauntlet, as usual.  When she arrived at her destination, she realized that the fingers on her affected hand were swolled badly -- they looked like fat sausages sticking out of the end of her gauntlet.  No more gauntlets for her, and a good lesson for the rest of us!

otter

Binney4

HantaYo, I don't know how serious a back-packer you are, but a one-shoulder sling bag might ease things. You'd have to give it a test run before deciding, though:
http://www.ebags.com/product/maxpedition/monsoon-gearslinger/103279

Washing your gloves without using the dryer will likely bring them back into shape anyway -- I never put mine in the dryer and they always spring right back with just washing. In fact, we need to keep in mind that wetting them makes them tighter, so if your gloves get wet while you're wearing them, be careful that the compression doesn't increase and cause your fingertips to swell or turn blue.

If you live somewhere humid you may not want your gloves wet during the warmer months because of the danger of fungal growth. I live in a desert, so fritzing them with a spray bottle of water keeps me cool when I have to be out in it, and they dry within minutes.

YamahaMama, that's not a stupid question at all! That's exactly the sort of question we're all left with, because I'd bet even our therapists have never thought it through. During the last big influenza scare we emailed all the garment makers and asked them for advice about hygiene with LE garments, and not one of them had any suggestions (except to wash them absolutely every day), though a couple told us nobody had ever asked them that before. Anyway, here's what everybody here came up with:
http://www.stepup-speakout.org/Lymphedema.htm#GLOVES_AND_HYGIENE

My LE is bilateral, so I do have to remove my gloves to use the bathroom and to wash my hands. <sigh!>

The business about irritated finger webs is a serious problem. My glove fabric has to be soft because I'm compression-sensitive, so it's been easier to get used to than if I were wearing something as tough as Elvarex. The good news is that your finger webs get used to it (at least to some degree) so they react less. In the meantime, though, I used cornstarch to ease the chafing. I dumped some into the toe of a clean cotton sock and rubber-banded the top of the sock closed, then I could pat it on just where I wanted it without getting it all over the floor. BUT, cornstarch, being a carbohydrate, might encourage fungal problems too, so somebody suggested another kind of powder with the same properties, but I forget what it was -- anybody?

No doubt while I've been typing all this five other people have posted with good ideas, but I still hope some of this helps!

Hugs,
Binney

YamahaMama

@ KS1 Thanks for the info on the length of the fingers...  I suppose you would have to have custom gloves to get them that long...  I remember my therapist telling me "they feel really tight on the fingertips the first time, but that goes away..."  Sometimes it gets better, but sometimes, the numb fingertips never seem to fully go away, but especially the thumb.

@Karla Thanks for the hygiene lesson! :-)  I think it's easier for me to remove the gauntlet versus the glove, and I will just have to get in the habit of remembering to take it off...  For your Carrisa glove, do you wear that just in the evenings, or do you sleep in it?  My night sleeve is similar to an oven mit, also, I would say, but made by Solaris.  Funny!  I never would have made that connection in similarity to an oven mit, but you nailed it! 

These discussion boards are a wealth of information!  Thank you to all you ladies who offer your suggestions and expertise and experience to those of us coming behind you!

YamahaMama

Thank you, Binney!  I have read some of the things on stepup-speakout, but I need to bookmark that site so I can go through it at length...  I've seen a lot of your posts, and you are a great help! 

Otter, thanks for the info on the gauntlets versus gloves...  I find the gauntlet SO much more comfortable than the glove, but I may have to just suck it up and start wearing the glove all the time, or at least more than I do... 

SpunkyGirl

I wear a sleeve and glove most of the time when I exercise.  For the first few years after diagnosis (wow, somehow it feels good to say that) I wore a gauntlet to run in because it was cooler, but I found that I did get some swelling, especially in my pinkie.  That little bit of swelling convinced me that I better be wearing a glove, and now it doesn't even bother me. 

cookiegal

Interesting all.

My LE really is mostly upper arm...though I do have it mildly in my lower arm, and almost nothing in my hand. However, my fingers are just plain plumpy in the lower digits. Not LE, just fat there.

Honestly I am not sure how much compression my glove is even giving my fingers...but the gauntlets I have tried (Lymphedivas and Juzo) just seem to constrict my fingers in the wrong place.

Maybe I am just not used to it. Both the fitter and the MD says it looks fine, but it just feels wrong to have my finger flesh squished up.

I do wear them for social occasions...If I have a long long sleeve outfit I can conceal it completely.  

Another factor: the Juzo gauntlets are 25$ compared to 100+ for a glove, so I can have as many as I want, and if it gets stained just toss it. My fitter even dyes them black for free.

I am still waiting (almost 2 months now) for my first set of custom garments. I think a custom gauntlet may be a solution...but then I lose the cheap/semi disposable aspect.

I did read an article by Dr. Cheville out of Mayo that some people may be able to go sleeve only sometimes...and maybe I am one of them. It's just frustrating that even with everone saying it's ok for me to wear a gauntlet, I can not find one that feels right.

Anyway...I don't think the photo in the thread is the same Juzo I have. I suspect like everything else this is trial and error.

So I guess, besides juzo and lymphedivas what other brands of gauntlets are there?

cookiegal

Oh...@Iago. That lookes like the medi glove I have, except on my the fingers cover most of my top knuckel. I like that gauntlet because it looks lower, If I could get one that fit me like that instead of cutting across the top of the bottom knuckle, I might be ok.

HantaYo

Namaste!

Thanks Binney about the sleeves/gauntlets tightening back up with just a wash without using a dryer.  That makes me worry a bit less.  I liked the idea of spritzing the sleeves to cool off but unfortunately I live in the humid midwest.  I quess I will stick to sticking my head in the streams to cool off.

Unfortuanately the one shoulder sling bag will not carry enough for me.  I need a full size back pack that can carry 40# and thus I need the bag frame to distribute the majority of weight to my hips.  I have never liked having any weight on my shoulders and have developed a habit of only using the shoulder straps to keep the bag from swinging so there is no actual weight distributed on my shoulders.  However, the staps do fit firmly (compress) against my clavicles so I will have to make sure it doesn't affect things.  At age 64 I am not ready to stop backpacking so I am hoping I have "conditioned" my Lymph drainage as well as me feet for this trek.  Just like I have to pay special attention to keep my feet in good shape on a trip I will be paying special attention keep my LE in control.  We will only be backpacking for 5 days 4 nights so I actually might be able to stay under 40#.  And spring time the water is plentiful so won't have to haul too much of that at a time.

Karla

lago

Wow this thread has been very active today. I was out watching my husband play baseball. Fun but I'm a little scared. Some bug bit me on my non LE arm. I didn't notice it till much later when I saw some blood. Washed it off and but ant bacterial stuff on it. Hope I don't get LE in that arm.

hymil I'm not complaining about the long extremities. It's been a challenge all my life. I actually have a petite body with long legs & arms.I wear petite sleeveless shirts so the arm holes don't come down too long but of course I can't wear the regular size. Thank goodness gap make lowrise jeans in long lengths! I'm 5'6" and my inseam is a 33"… but I like my jeans a little longer for a break or when I wear heels. Regular rise jeans either come up to my foobs or the crotch is 1/2 way to my knees.

Cookiegal My glove is a medi 95 glove. Medi is one of the companies that make a long sleeve. Yes I had to get a long sleeve. I don't know why they don't make one for longer fingers. Stands to reason someone with long arms (and legs) would have long fingers too. I would have loved to do one of the lymphedeva products but they don't come in long.

YamahaMama itch/soreness between fingers. Initially I did have some soreness in some of the web areas of my fingers when the gloves are brand new.  Once they stretch out a bit (after a 3-5 days) I don't have the issue. I do wash and wear my gloves every day. I might have felt a little cutting off the circulation but I would bend my fingers a bit to stretch them out. Like I said a few says and they're fine. If you look at the photo you can see the ends hit almost right in the middle between the  knuckles

At times I remove my glove to wash my hands. When I do house work, wash dishes I put the latex glove right over my compression glove. When I'm preparing food I actually removed the compression glove before I put on the latex glove… the latex glove doesn't fit as well with the compression glove so when using big sharp knives I don't want to be fumbling.
< I use these for housework, washing dishes & food prep