Ideas for covering gauntlet while kneading bread?

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carol57
carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
edited June 2014 in Lymphedema

The good news is that starting Monday, I'm attending a four-day artisan bread-baking class. The bad news is that I know for sure that my usually mild LE isn't too happy after I knead bread the old fashioned way (but I do it anyway and just limit a day's kneading to a few loaves: hate using a machine!). Normally I do not use the sleeve/gauntlet while doing this--keeping it short. 

But at the bread school, there's no getting around lots of kneading time each day, and I really do not have any interest in missing the chance to work under the skilled supervision I'll benefit from.  So--I'm thinking of some pretty tight latex gloves, so I won't lose any tactile sensation.  But is there any risk to me (or the expensive gauntlet) of wearing those over the gauntlet for hours on end?   Thanks for any ideas here.  --Carol

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  • sarah1968uk
    sarah1968uk Member Posts: 580
    edited February 2012

     Hi Carol,

     Shouldn't think so. I make bread occasionally and use rubber gloves. They protect my sleeve well - it has fingers too - but there can be a prob. with the dough sticking to them until the right elasticy texture has been achieved. There is no risk with the extra activity with your LE, as my LE therapist says that wearing your LE garments when you are using your arm more helps the blood pump round better - in fact, makes the LE better!

     Hope this is of some help. Enjoy your class and bread!

     Ah, sorry Carol. I just re-read your post and see that you were asking, more specifically, if the latex GLOVES will be a problem with LE. If the gauntlet covers your fingers I would imagine you would be fine, if not, not sure, sorry. Maybe someone else could advise?

    Sarah x

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Thanks, Sarah. I was thinking latex gloves (well actually what I have at the house is a non-latex version) because they are so clingy, compared to rubber gloves. I thought perhaps the tighter the glove over my hand and gauntlet, the more likely it would stay put and not get yanked off by the bread dough. So much of kneading is the feel of the dough in the hands.  Just wondering if wearing essentially skin-tight gloves over the gauntlet will push the gauntlet into my skin and interrupt lymph flow or set me up for any nasties of any sort.

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  • BeckySharp
    BeckySharp Member Posts: 935
    edited February 2012

    Wow--the problems everyone poses.  Is your gauntlet a lighter compression one?  If so it seems like wearing the latex would only make one more layer of compression.  I use the food service gloves but they are loose but they are very thin but I can feel through them.  They would probably give you several at a Subway restaurant.  I even cut out the fingertips for more tactile sensation.  I can just smell the bread baking......  Becky

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Becky, I have some of those food service gloves, too.  I'll throw them in my bag. I just wonder if the bread dough will yank them off because they're loose. Maybe for the sleeve I'll tape some plastic wrap around it from the elbow down.

    At least this is a problem to solve that's for fun mode, instead of some of the worse problems people have to get help on here. --Carol

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  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited February 2012

    Carol, since you haven't been at this stupid LE business long, maybe you don't have several changes of old gauntlets, but once you do you can consider just putting them on clean and kneading. When you're done, rinse them under the faucet to get the dough off, then take them off and hand-wash, and dry 'em. Pull on a fresh pair and you're good to go. Doubtful that there's anything in bread dough that'll damage the fabric.

    The problem for me with hours (or even 15 minutes) of latex glove use is that my hands sweat, which makes my garments damp. And you don't want to wear wet garments for any length of time because of the risk of infection. 

    One of the nastiest features of arm/hand LE is that you need to wear the stupid garments SPECIFICALLY when you're working in the kitchen, which is when it's most inconvenient.Yell 

    Your class sounds delicious in every way! Pass around one of those warm loaves fresh from the oven, yes?Cool
    Binney

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Ah, Binney...you are so correct that I'm such an LE newbie that I have not got any compression discards yet.  And because I'm (mercifully) mild in my LE, I use the sleeve/gauntlet only during notably stressful circumstances, such as lifting weights in the gym, flying, and when I know I'm out of bounds on normal activity.  So--I have only one of each!  I think I'll default to my short-flight solution, which is to wear an UA shirt instead of sleeve and gauntlet.  Not enough compression to send fluid into my hand (I don't think so, anyway) but enough so support my upper arm and truncal side, where I have my LE problems.  I never in a million years would have thought of the sweating/wet gauntlet issue, so once again, thank you tons for your spot-on and may I say timely advice!

    Carol 

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  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited February 2012
    Becky, do your hands sweat from the rubber gloves? Maybe it's just me.
    Binney
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  • BeckySharp
    BeckySharp Member Posts: 935
    edited February 2012

    Binney--When I cut out the fingertips on food service gloves they do not sweat.  Otherwise YES!  The food service gloves without the fingertips cut out can take longer wear before I start sweating as opposed to latex or the rubber ones for washing dishes, cleaning, etc.  Sometimes when I start sweating I take them off for a few minutes and can then wear again for 10-15 minutes.  Becky

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  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited February 2012

    Thanks, Becky. Somebody needs to come up with a solution for this -- some kind of protective glove that doesn't make us sweat and isn't so loose it slips off if we're doing something sticky in the kitchen (but isn't so tight it adds unwanted compression). We should bring it up to some of the garment-makers.

    Hmmmmm. Might just be easier to come up with a cure for LE...Undecided

    Hugs,
    Binney

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  • BeckySharp
    BeckySharp Member Posts: 935
    edited February 2012

    Binney--Thanks for the tip on  using an old clean gauntlet for some tasks that won't ruin.  I am beginning to have a stock of old ones.  Maybe a glove that wicks could be made???  I have also used cloth garden gloves as I don't sweat as quickly and can wash them.  I vote for the cure for LE!  Becky

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited February 2012

    I had wondered the same, lol, but had also thought that my bread making days were over. That is so cool that you still make bread, in spite of the LE.

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Momine, I have to say that making bread has been therapy for me. A year ago, I was waiting for biopsy results while attending an artisan breadmaking school. The news eventually led to prophy bmx / diep recon and the attendant recovery, and then the sad realization that I would have LE as my takeaway parting gift. But with six weeks off or so for surgical recovery, I just kept on baking bread, before surgery to distract myself (including giving baguette classes to friends), and afterward to console myself. We all have our ways to bury ourselves in something distracting that we love to do, and making beautiful bread by hand is mine. It is worth dealing with some swelling, if need (knead?) be!



    Not to mention that in my rural area, I have to drive a long way for a proper loaf of bread, and it costs $6!



    I am in Vermont for the bread school, and pretty far from home in Michigan. But if I can find it, I will try a pair of good old fashioned cotton gloves over my gauntlet, hopefully not too tight. If I find a pair, I should be able to work flour into them so the dough won't stick. Or, I will use the exam gloves, but only when kneading, so not enough time for sweat to moisten my gauntlet.



    This LE journey certainly takes us to unexpected places!



    Carol

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  • kira66715
    kira66715 Member Posts: 4,681
    edited February 2012

    Carol, there's a book, "the best bread ever" by van over, it's out of print, but Amazon sells it, and you make the bread in your food processor.

    I haven't made bread for a while, but used to a lot, and this book was a bit fussy, but the bread was great.

    http://www.amazon.com/Best-Bread-Ever-Homemade-Processor/dp/product-description/0767900324

    Kira

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Kira, I will investigate, and I have on occasion made bread using food processor or Kitchen Aid stand mixer. But...just not the same, and I don't mean product, I mean process.  The feel of the dough at all of its stages is something I really miss if I use a machine.  Not ready to say 'uncle' on old-fashioned hand kneading just yet!  Crazy LE does not own my kneading arms!

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited February 2012

    It cheers me to know that you have been able to continue with the bread, and I hear you on living in the boonies without decent bread. Thankfully, I have a great baker just around the corner.



    Yes, the LE is quite something, even if the docs tend to treat it like an irrelevant detail. Mine is mild, and under control for the time being, but it worries me and I feel changes very keenly. Right now, I am just trying to relearn to cook basic foods and trying to gauge how much I can do before the arm starts feeling funny.

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  • BeckySharp
    BeckySharp Member Posts: 935
    edited February 2012

    Hey Carol--You need to post a picture of one of your made from scratch loaves.  Pass me a slice with honey!

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012
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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    So, no LE issues today!  Bread in top photo is a seeded cayenne cracker. The 'S' shaped bread is a semolina sesame bread, and the round one is a type of focaccia.  It is positively criminal that photos do not convey aroma...

    Thanks ladies for the gauntlet protection suggestions.  Today I wore the Under Armour shirt, but tomorrow I am going to try the sleeve/gauntlet and pop an exam glove on when I need to knead. Most fortunately, my LE arm is my non-dominant arm and today I focused very much on putting as much kneading weight as possible on my dominant hand.

    Carol 

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Answer found!  I bought a pair of cotton/spandex (97% / 3% so not very elastic at all) gloves, the kind meant for using with lotion overnight.  Bought them at CVS for about $4.  The gloves are not so perfectly formed, so I can use both on my LE hand.  Also bought from CVS an extra-wide white men's sock, and I cut off the foot. This I used to cover my compression sleeve, and to overlap the cotton glove slightly, because that glove has almost no cuff.  And, I cut a small hole in the sock, near the top of the cuff. The top of the cuff is the part of the sock I put at my wrist, and I put my thumb through the hole--which kept the sleeve cover where it needed to be, protecting it and not allowing any flour or dough to find its way under the cotton glove.  

    Both pieces worked fabulously; not a shred of dough stuck to either, even while kneading a very wet baguette dough. I was able to use both hands as I normally would, no adaptation necessary.  I did work a little flour into the cotton items, just a little, and none of that migrated into my compression sleeve or gauntlet.  I felt I had all the tactile sensation I needed, although of course I was using my non-LE hand to check the texture of my dough as I worked.

     

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  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited February 2012

    Carol, brilliant! The picture is wonderful too. Love the sock idea especially.

    How's the taste-testing going? No LE problems with that, I'll bet!Laughing Yum!
    Binney

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Binney, taste-testing is divine, and throw some fabulous Vermont cheese into the mix, and a person could almost forget she has LE!  --Carol

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  • GottaloveNED
    GottaloveNED Member Posts: 211
    edited February 2012

    I used socks to cover my bandages at work during my active phase. I cut the toe off and made a thumb hole like you did. It kept the bandages from slipping and from working their way loose when I was especially active and was a cheap way to keep the palm clean. I LOVE the idea of using it over a cotton glove to help guard the sleeve. I'll be doing that for my next messy project at school. THANKS!

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  • BeckySharp
    BeckySharp Member Posts: 935
    edited February 2012

    What a problem solver you are Carol!  Now you have to determine a good "brownie" bread to bake for Binney's sake!

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    Ha! I keep a sourdough starter, which means tossing some of it each week when it's time to feed it. I hate throwing the discard portion away, so I'm always looking for creative ways to use it.  Recently I chanced upon a recipe for sourdough brownies that use the starter discard.  Thought it would be a real winner. And it was....horrible!  Tasted great, but so dry you could light a match to it and throw it in the fireplace to get the logs going!  I'll have to work on that...

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  • MiniMacsMom
    MiniMacsMom Member Posts: 595
    edited February 2012

    Can u mail ur starter? I tried to start one from powder kit from the coop but it didnt seem to work great. So I have been looking for a good starter :-)

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  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited February 2012

    The good folks at King Arthur Flour will indeed mail you their sourdough starter, and it's a good one!

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