'It's like I've been shut in a fridge' HEALTH matters echo2 IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR HEALTH.

Byline: GREG TINDLE

AS a child Jean Williams had always been affected by the cold with the most visible affects following a dip in the sea which would see the youngster turn a pale shade of blue.

But over the years the cold and wet weather caused no real problems which was just as well as Jean spent most of her working life as a gardener working outdoors tending the magnificent grounds of the Grade 1 listed Duffryn Gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Jean's passion for gardening also included stints working in nurseries, local authority parks and in the grounds of residential homes for the elderly.

But it was when Jean decided on an indoor life and opened a small fruit and veg shop that the first real signs of a problem started to emerge, a periodic loss of feeling and painful tingling in her fingers forced her to give up the venture.

She said "It was a simple problem of getting my hands in and out of the till and dealing with the money."

It was around the same time that Jean and husband Islwyn went on a camping holiday to Oxwich, Swansea, and Jean was unable to help put up the tent.

"My fingers were tingling and numb, it felt like a form of cramp. At first I thought it could be motor neurone disease as my twin brother Graham had been diagnosed with this and the symptoms seemed to be similar."

Jean decided to seek medical help and was initially diagnosed as suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, a wrist condition, in the which the tendons and nerves are affected, usually by repeated actions such as knitting or typing.

But attending a hospital check soon after the diagnosis Jean was given a completely different diagnosis - by the same doctor - who after taking a blood test concluded that Jean was suffering from Reynaud's Disease, a condition which affects the extremities such as fingers and toes but also the nose and ears which can be painfully affected by the loss of blood supply in the small blood vessels.

From that diagnosis 20 years ago Jean, 80, of Cadoxton, Barry, has fought a daily battle against the cold and even on the warmest days rarely turns off the heating in her home.

"It can be very painful and starts when my fingers go dead and turn white and when the circulation returns it comes back with a rush which is incredibly painful.

"It also affects other parts of the body when a chill passes through you as though you have been shut in a fridge.

"Even after a bath within a few minutes I can be really cold and the only way to warm up is to go to bed "If I go out I have to really wrap up as if any cold gets to the head it goes straight to my hands. You feel absolutely dreadful.

"Supermarkets can be a real problem as I can't go anywhere near the freezers. When the Raynaud's strikes I can't lift anything and if I sit down I've got to wear a cardigan or shawl whatever the temperature."

Jean tried a selection of different drugs to try to control the condition and has been on one form of medication for 20 years but this has not stopped the attacks.

Another down side of the problem if that when her blood vessels close down her heating bills go up.

"We have the heating on all the time and this is getting very expensive.

"We pay pounds 30 a month for our gas and electricity and on a pension that's a lot of money - but we have no choice," said Jean.

CAPTION(S):

DEBILITATING CONDITION: Jean Williams suffers with Reynaud's Disease and faces a daily battle against feeling cold even on the warmest days and rarely turns off the heating PICTURE: Richard Swingler Y