Raynaud’s Awareness Month highlights a condition that affects the blood supply to certain parts of the body such as the fingers and toes.
Raynaud's Disease
Known as Raynaud’s disease, Raynaud’s syndrome or Raynaud’s. It affects up to 20% of the adult population, worldwide. In the UK there may be as many as 10 million people living with the condition. Primary Raynaud’s usually begins in your 20s or 30s.
Secondary Raynaud's Disease
Secondary Raynaud’s depending on the cause can start at any age. Secondary Raynaud’s is associated with conditions that cause the immune system to attack healthy tissue resulting in conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It can be triggered by stress or anxiety and cold temperatures. It happens when the blood vessels go into temporary spasm, which blocks the flow of blood, resulting in poor blood circulation. The affected area will then change colour to white, then blue and as the blood flow returns back to red again.
As part of the condition, you may also experience numbness, pain and pins and needles. Symptoms may last several minutes to several hours. For those who have it, it’s not a serious threat – but it can be annoying because it may be difficult to use your fingers. Sometimes the condition can just go away.
Conclusion
Other parts of the body that could also be affected by Raynaud’s include the nose, lips, nipples and ears. To control its symptoms, avoid the cold, wear gloves and use relaxation techniques when feeling stressed. If you’re a smoker stop smoking because that can affect your circulation. It is more common in women than it is in men. (Source: nhsinform/scot)
I am fortunate I rarely feel the cold but this means that I struggle in the heat.
Having said that, the condition you describe sounds very uncomfortable, although thankfully not life-threatening.
Yes, I would rather be too warm than too cold, because it's easier to take layers off than it is to put layers on and still be cold with layers on.
I appreciate you'd settle for being less warm, and I'd settle for a little more warmth, but my problem is a lot more problematic than yours, particularly because I deal with circulation issues.
I've often wondered if I may have this issue, as my hands get cold very easily and I lose the ability to grasp things like a wrench. I also wonder if it was from getting frostbite when I decided to run away in the middle of winter and didn't want to go to school.
My parents didn't bother taking me to a hospital, which most normal parents would do; so the damage was probably permanent. This makes me wonder why I choose to live in such a cold climate, but my family and friends are here, including my daughter.
It doesn't really matter since I don't see most of them, but I'm seriously considering moving to a much warmer climate.
I've seen photos of people with the condition where the finger tips go blue and in other cases white. If anyone had the condition they would know.
A friend of my daughter had the condition when she was little, but her mum didn't go into detail suffice to say she had it.
I think living in a warmer climate will help. We never know how our circumstances will change, but sometimes we do have to be instrumental.