Raynaud’s disease, also known as Raynaud’s phenomenon or syndrome, is a fairly rare condition that affects about 200,000 people in the United States. This disease of the blood vessels causes the fingers and toes to become sensitive to cold and numb in response to stress or cold temperatures. With this condition, the arteries that supply blood to the skin become narrow to limit blood circulation to certain areas. When the blood vessels narrow, they can nearly shut down completely. This can cause pain in addition to numbness and sensitivity. When the blood vessels narrow, the fingers and toes can turn blue and white.
Raynaud’s syndrome commonly overlaps with lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the body’s tissues. Raynaud’s comes in two forms: primary, which usually happens on its own with an unknown cause and secondary, which can be the result of injury or another disease. The condition is more common in women, especially those with a family history of Raynaud’s. People who live in cold climates also have a higher risk of developing Raynaud’s. Fortunately, Raynaud’s can be managed with treatment once diagnosed. Typical treatment includes medication that keeps blood vessels open and keeping the feet and hands warm in the winter.
1. Sensitivity to Cold
People with Raynaud’s disease have an extreme sensitivity to cold. This is one of the primary signs of Raynaud’s disease, as cold temperatures can cause a flare-up in symptoms. Normal blood vessels in the skin always contract and reduce blood flow during the cold, which is the body’s way of concentrating warmth in the body. In Raynaud’s, the blood vessels constrict almost completely and cause almost total lack of blood supply. Even indoor air conditioning can be enough to cause this lack of blood flow that may be painful and cause numbness and skin changes.
This sensitivity to cold is often painful or uncomfortable and requires changes to lifestyle to reduce exposure to stress and cold. Because the sensitivity to cold can be very severe, people with Raynaud’s should keep their feet and hands warm at all times. This may require wearing gloves while shopping in a store with air conditioning, for example. For people with severe symptoms or symptoms that get triggered easily by the cold, battery-heated socks and gloves or portable heat packs can be helpful. The good news is these attacks or flare-ups can be prevented and do not need to impact life dramatically for many people. Most people have mild symptoms of Reynaud’s syndrome that can be managed with these steps without the need for medication.
2. Reduced Sensation of Touch
During a Raynaud’s attack, the body significantly reduces blood flow to the feet and hands. This makes the toes and fingers numb with a reduced sensation of touch. These attacks can last for minutes or hours and cause pain and tingling as blood flow is restored. The numbness can be reduced by soaking the hands or feet in warm — not hot — water as soon as the attack begins. Wearing gloves in chilly weather or when exposed to air conditioning can also prevent reduced sensation in many cases. Unfortunately, some people have a permanent reduced sensation to touch in their hands and feet.
3. Lack of Blood Supply
The symptoms of Raynaud’s disease are related to small blood vessels in the toes, fingers, nose, and ears. Normally, the brain sends a signal to these blood vessels to constrict and reduce blood flow to the skin in response to cold weather to keep the body warm. People with Raynaud’s disease have faulty blood vessels that constrict almost completely in response to cold. This causes a lack of blood supply to the digits that results in paleness, dramatic color changes, numbness, and pain. Many people with Raynaud’s do not require treatment, but serious cases do require medication that keeps the blood vessels open.
4. Pallor
A hallmark of Raynaud’s disease is an unusual pallor or lack of color in the fingers and toes. While some people have changes in their skin color in response to stress or cold, with the fingers and toes turning white, blue, and bright red, many others simply experience very pale, nearly bloodless digits. This symptom usually presents during a flare-up of the condition, but others experience it all the time. A pale pallor may affect only the fingers or toes, but others also experience paleness and coldness of the nose and ears. This symptom is the result of a problem in the thermoregulatory blood vessels that constrict and limit blood flow.
5. Stress
While cold is the most common trigger for an episode of Raynaud’s syndrome, many people also experience episodes in response to emotional stress. One study even found that one-third of attacks are associated with increased stress ratings, even when the ambient temperature does not decline. This link is most likely due to the fact that emotional stress also causes vasoconstriction (constricted blood vessels) in the digits of people without Raynaud’s syndrome as well. Managing stress is an important component of treatment for Raynaud’s. Therapy, yoga, meditation, and quitting smoking may be recommended to alleviate stress.
6. Numb Fingers
In some people, the numbness and coldness only happens as a response to cold weather or stress, but other people with Raynaud’s have hands that always feel cold and strange. This numbness is a result of lost blood flow to the digits. It may be a response to cold weather, air conditioning, or touching a cold object, such as removing something from the freezer. When blood supply is restored, the numbness will fade and be temporarily replaced with tingling and pain as sensation is restored. With some people, the numbness persists enough that it interferes with daily tasks like cooking or typing.
7. Skin Color Change
Fingers and toes experience a color change as a response to a lack of blood flow, usually the result of stress or cold. The digits will usually go through a color sequence of pale to blue to red. Some people do not experience much noticeable change in skin color, however. Others have fingers and toes that are almost always white, blue, or bright red without sequencing through other colors. Color changes of the digits in response to cold is a common way to diagnose Raynaud’s, but it’s important to remember that not everyone experiences typical symptoms.
