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Henrie's Recipes
Raynaud's phenomenon
Posted Tue, 30 May 2000
Question
Please may I have some information on Raynaud's phenomenon?
Answer
Raynaud's phenomenon describes the particular set of symptoms which make up Raynaud's disease, which may occur in isolation for no known reason (idiopathic), or may be secondary to other diseases which affect the small vessels of the extremities such as connective tissue disorders (see SLE).
Idiopathic Raynaud's disease is most common in young women. Attacks can last from minutes to hours but are rarely bad enough to cause any skin damage. It is caused by spasm of the small vessels of the extremities, for reasons which are largely unknown.
The symptoms are precipitated by exposure to cold and sometimes by emotional upset. The skin generally progresses from becoming very pale, through a bluish tinge and finally becomes red - so called reactive hyperaemia. Some people don't go through the classical three colour changes, but simply go blue and then red. Rewarming the hands restores normal colour and sensation. The colour changes usually only affect the tips of the fingers and rarely involve the thumb.
Raynaud's disease can be distinguished from secondary Raynaud's phenomenon (due to other disease) by both hands being involved, symptoms for more than 2 years without progression and no evidence of an underlying cause.
Treatment in mild cases is by protecting the body and extremities from cold. Don't smoke since nicotine is a vasoconstrictor which will make this worse.
Drug treatment is generally ineffective, and surgery on the nerves which are involved in the response is reserved for very severe cases.
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