Dress in layers and a hat to keep your core temperature warm. Recommendations to prevent a Raynaud’s episode from occurring: Secondary Raynaud’s is treated with medications that help the blood vessels relax (vasodilate). It is much more serious and can often times cause associated skin ulcers in the fingertips and nail folds. Secondary Raynaud’s is associated with a medical condition, typically connective tissue diseases, such as lupus, scleroderma, or RA. It is more common in women and usually episodes start to occur between ages 15-30. Primary Raynaud’s does not cause tissue damage and is more of a nuisance than harmful. Primary Raynaud’s is the most common type and is not linked to any underlying medical condition or cause. There are 2 types of Raynaud’s: Primary Raynaud’s and Secondary Raynaud’s. This can also occur in response to emotional stress such as nervousness or excitement. Once the blood flow returns, the digits turn red and can become very warm, and even swollen. The affected digits turn white as blood flow is cut-off, and the resulting lack of oxygen can cause the fingers to turn to a bluish color. Raynaud’s phenomenon is a disorder of the small blood vessels in the extremities, mainly the fingers and toes that cause the blood vessels to narrow (vasospasm) and restrict blood flow when the body is exposed to cold temperatures. In people who have Raynaud’s phenomenon this normal response to a colder temperature is exaggerated. So what exactly was happening to my fingers when this occurred?Īccording to the American College of Rheumatology, when your body is exposed to cold temperatures it limits blood flow to the extremities to preserve core body temperature. After about 10 minutes in front of the heater vents they would warm up again but become very red and throb. A few years ago, I started to notice that when I changed environments from warm to cold-for instance, leaving the warm house to get into a cold car-that my fingertips would lose sensation and turn white. Unfortunately this usually means that we can expect the temperatures to drop outside as we head into January. With the mild weather we have been experiencing so far this December, it is hard to imagine that winter officially begins in just a few days.
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