Raynaud's Disease
Raynaud’s Disease
Raynaud’s disease is a condition characterized by feeling of numbness and cold in the areas of body like fingers and toes in response to cold temperature and stress. It occur due to vasospasm of the blood vessels supplying blood to the skin.
Symptoms
Symptoms include:
- Toes and fingers become cold
- Blueish discoloration of skin in response to cold or stress
- Stinging pain, numbness and pricking on warming
- Raynaud’s phenomenon can also affect other parts of body like nose, lips, ears and even nipples.
Causes
Exact cause of this condition is not known till now. It mainly occur due to constriction of blood vessels in the body in response to cold temperatures or stress. There are two main types of Raynaud’s phenomenon i-e primary and secondary. Primary Raynaud’s phenomenon is known as Raynaud’s disease and is not associated with any other medical condition. Secondary Raynaud’s disease is associated with diseases like; connective tissue diseases, diseases of the arteries, carpal tunnel syndrome.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of this condition depends upon detailed medical history and complete general physical examination of the patient. Other tests include:
- Nailfold capillaroscopy to sort out primary and secondary Raynaud’s disease.
- Antinuclear antibodies test.
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
Treatment
Treatment options include:
- Dressing in layers and wearing warm dresses and gloves to prevent the occurrence of the symptoms.
- Medications to dilate blood vessels are prescribed like Calcium channel blockers, vasodialators.
- Nerve surgery and chemical injections are sometimes considered.
Lifestyle and home remedies
- Be active and exercise regularly.
- Quit smoking
- Consume healthy and organic diets.
- Manage stress
- Avoid being prone to change in temperature abruptly