A TEACHER who suffers from a condition that makes his hands and feet painfully cold is hoping that others can learn from his experience.

Tom Waltham, who lives near Brackenhall, has Raynaud’s, a disorder of the blood vessels supplying the skin.

The condition causes the blood vessels to narrow, limiting blood circulation to affected areas.

Around 20% of the UK population have Raynaud’s which makes parts of the body – usually fingers and toes – feel numb and cool even during the summer months.

Tom, 26, started experiencing symptoms a decade ago.

He said: “I was walking to college one day and suddenly noticed that I couldn’t feel my fingers and toes.

“It was a warm day so it clearly wasn’t the weather and when I got to college I noticed my fingers had turned white.

“They then started tingling almost like pins and needles.”

People with Raynaud’s can develop other serious conditions like such as scleroderma, a disease which affects the connective tissue, immune system and can damage the internal organs and their blood supply.

But Tom, of Robin Hood Road, was quick to get an early diagnosis and luckily had no underlying conditions.

He said: “It was just a case of circulation to my hands and feet.

“I started to wear gloves around the house and still do to this day when I’m at work.

“I was prescribed a channel blocker which I took for a few years.

“I then carried on taking herbal remedies such as ginkgo biloba and ginger extract, which I still take during the winter months.”