Raynaud's Disease
Raynaud's Disease (pronounced ray-noze) is a condition that causes some areas of your body, such as your fingers, toes, tip of your nose and your ears, to feel numb and cool in response to cold temperatures or stress. It's a disorder of the blood vessels that supply blood to your skin. During a Raynaud's attack, these arteries narrow, limiting blood circulation to affected areas. You can have Raynaud's without any underlying disease associated with it, in which case it's called Raynaud's disease or primary Raynaud's.
It can also be part of another disease, in which case doctors may refer to it as Raynaud's phenomenon or secondary Raynaud's. Treatment of Raynaud's disease depends on its severity and the presence or absence of associated conditions.
For most people, Raynaud's disease is more a nuisance than a disability. I have suffered with this for most of my life, and it can be extemely uncomfortable and sometimes very painful. My hands, feet and nose are continually freezing from September until May, giving me a break during summer (warmer) months. Some years are worse than others, but I've never been able to figure out why.
Signs and Symptoms
Raynaud's disease is more than simply having cold hands and cold feet, and it's not the same as frostbite. Signs and symptoms of Raynaud's depend on the frequency, duration and severity of the blood vessel spasms that underlie the disorder.
Signs and symptoms include:
- Sequence of color changes in your skin in response to cold or stress
- Numb, prickly feeling or stinging pain upon warming or relief of stress
Occasionally, an attack affects just one or two fingers or toes. Attacks don't necessarily always affect the same digits. Although Raynaud's most commonly affects your fingers and toes, the condition can also affect other areas of your body such as your nose, cheeks, ears and even tongue. An attack may last less than a minute to several hours. Over time, attacks may grow more severe.
People who have Raynaud's accompanied by another disease may also have symptoms related to their underlying condition.
Causes
Doctors don't completely understand the cause of Raynaud's attacks, but blood vessels in the hands and feet appear to overreact to cold temperatures or stress.When your body is exposed to cold temperatures, your extremities lose heat. Your body slows down blood supply to your fingers and toes to preserve your body's core temperature. Your body specifically reduces blood flow by narrowing the small arteries under the skin of your extremities. In people with Raynaud's, this normal response is exaggerated.
Stress causes a similar reaction to cold in the body, and likewise the body's response may be exaggerated.
With Raynaud's, arteries to your fingers and toes go into what's called vasospasm. This constricts the vessels, dramatically but temporarily limiting blood supply. Over time, these same small arteries may also thicken slightly, further limiting blood flow. The result is that affected skin turns a pale and dusky color due to the lack of blood flow to the area. Once the spasms subside and blood returns to the area, the tissue may turn red before returning to a normal color.
Cold temperatures are most likely to provoke an attack. Exposure to cold can be as simple as putting your hands under a faucet of running cold water, taking something out of the freezer or exposure to cold air. For some people, exposure to cold temperatures isn't necessary. Emotional stress alone can cause an episode of Raynaud's.
Some researchers are studying whether Raynaud's may be partly an inherited disorder.
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Primary vs. Secondary Raynaud's
Primary Raynaud's
This is Raynaud's without an underlying disease or associated medical problem that could provoke vasospasm. Also called Raynaud's disease, it's the most common form of the disorder. Primary Raynaud's typically affects the digits of both hands and both feet.
Secondary Raynaud's
This is Raynaud's caused by an underlying problem. Also called Raynaud's phenomenon, secondary Raynaud's usually affects both of your hands or both feet. Although secondary Raynaud's is less common than the primary form, it's often a more complex and serious disorder.
Causes of secondary Raynaud's include:
- Scleroderma
- Lupus
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sjogren's syndrome
- Diseases of the arteries
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Repetitive trauma
- Smoking
- Certain medications
- Chemical exposure
- Other causes
Risk Factors
Primary Raynaud's mainly affects women. Although anyone can develop the condition, women between the ages of 15 and 40 are most often affected.Raynaud's disease affects a small percentage of Americans, approximately 5 to 10% of the general population and every 4 in 10,000 Canadians.
It's more common in people who live in colder climates.
Risk factors for secondary Raynaud's include associated diseases, such as scleroderma and lupus, and smoking.
People in certain occupations, such as workers who operate tools that vibrate, also may be more vulnerable to secondary Raynaud's.
Self Care
The first and most important action is to warm your hands or feet or any other affected areas of skin. The following steps can help you gently warm your fingers and toes:- move to a warmer area
- place your hands under your armpits
- wiggle your fingers and toes
- make wide circles, or windmills, with your arms
- run warm (not hot) water over your fingers and toes
- massage your hands and feet
It is extremely difficult to get my hands or feet feeling warm. I often put a warm water bottle on my feet covered with a light blanket and often have to wear warm gloves when working on my computer.
I remember the first time my feet were so cold and I just couldn't get them to warm up. This was many years ago and didn't even realize I had Raynaud's. Anyhow, I jumped into a hot bath, I figured this was the only way to get my freezing feet to warm up! Yikes, I never did that again! LOL Seriously, for those that don't know, it is extremely painful!
Foot Warmers on eBay
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Raynaud's Resources
- Raynaud's Association
- At last, help for Raynaud's sufferers is at hand! If your fingertips, toes, nose and even earlobes become painful when temperatures drop to frigid levels, you might be suffering from Raynaud's phenomenon.
- Mayo Clinic
- In Raynaud's disease, areas of your body experience an exaggerated response to cold temperatures.
Raynaud's Disease in the News
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Clairejr wrote...
Thanks for this lens. I suffer from Raynaud's and have a hard time explaining it to other people. I keep a small heater in every room so that I can always have heat blowing on my hands and feet. Another tip is to wear mittens and not gloves because gloves can constrict blood flow to the fingers. Of course, finding mittens in adult sizes can be problematic, but you can find sewing and crocheting patterns for them. I have different pairs of mittens for all temperatures under around 65º - light fleece for cool days to heavy wool for cold days.
I don't think the cayenne pepper trick works (earlier comment). I love cayenne pepper and put plenty of it in my food, but I'm still suffering.
Posted January 01, 2009
Webcodes wrote...
IT's amazing how many diseases are out there that we can't really explain why they happen. I guess it' s really a blessing to just be healthy. 5*. well done.
Posted December 18, 2008
OhMe wrote...
This is extremely well done: very informative and easy to read. Thank you for the info.
Posted December 12, 2008
TheWhistler wrote...
Terrific lens my mum suffers from this and I intend to pass the information you have provided on to her.
Thanks for the lens.
Posted December 03, 2008
debnet wrote...
Excellent lens. My eldest daughter has Raynalds and has also been warned to seek urgent medical advice if she cuts herself deeply. She frequently gets black toes...yuk! I'm not sure if I have it or not but I get extremely cold hands and feet even when everyone else is boiling hot. But I don't get the colour changes. This lens has helped me understand the condition a lot more...thank you!
Posted November 23, 2008
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