Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep my overly-warm hands from making the icing in the decorating bag melt or get too soft?

keep an ice pack next to you to cool your hands down every once in a while. I have the same problem with warm hands and this seems to work.

Sometimes I just start with firm icing, knowing that my hot hands will soften it!

everytime you wash or rinse your hands in the sink do so ending in the coldest water rinse you can get for a few seconds. washing your hands in hot water warms them up substantially. aside from that i like the ice pack idea! i have this problem especially with chocolate buttercream, where eventually the buttercream starts turning darker colors in the bag from the chocolate melting gross!

I have a new idea that came to me when I was piping a 3-tiered wedding cake and two sheet cakes with all IMBC scroll work, AND I have hot hands. I was always going in the freezer and chilling my hands on anything I could find, then I think I actually said "Eureka!" when I thought of this...

Fill two icing bags with your icing. Put one in the fridge, and start piping with the other one. When it feels like it's going to start getting too soft (or even before, and before the other one chills too hard), switch them, taking the tip off the softening one and putting it on the chilled one. Put the softening one in the fridge and work with the chilled one for awhile. Switch back and forth. It worked great!

I have the same problem!!!! I have tried the ice packs. They didn't work for me. I think my hands over compensated for the cold and kicked in the heat big time!! Hope you find something!
I only make cakes for my kids, and now I have a winter baby, so maybe that will help!!

homecook has a great idea! i was going to suggest that, because that is exactly what i do.

Thanks so much for your replies!! At least I am not the only one who melts the icing!!

I like the chilling the icing idea. Maybe I will try that too. Thanks Homecook.