Raynaud’s disease is a disease of the blood vessels which provide blood to the skin. This condition results in the fingers, feet and sometimes the ears, tongue, nose, nipples and knees to feel cold and numb. The portion of the body affected becomes white as a consequence of the decrease in blood supply; next, the look of a blue tinge happens as oxygen becomes depleted in the region red indicates that the blood supply has returned to normal.
Raynaud’s disease
It must be noted that while the above experience is deemed typical, not every individual with Raynaud’s disease experiences these changes nor do they occur in every attack. The source of Raynaud’s disease remains unknown, though, some theories state that an antibody immune response could be involved. This is encouraged by the fact that patients with Raynaud’s have abnormal immunologic evaluation results.
Other concepts for Raynaud’s disease discuss vascular hyperactivity that’s brought on by cold temperatures or emotional stress. However, the question of why the blood vessels overreact remains unanswered. Your body, to keep itself warm, reduces blood flow to the fingers and feet.
How?
It accomplishes this by narrowing the little arteries beneath the skin of the extremities. This is a standard response but individuals suffering with Raynaud’s disease become extremely sensitive to cold and the arteries that go to their fingers and toes go into “vasospasm”. Due to cold temperatures can have a dramatic effect on sufferers simple things like washing hands with cold water, taking something from the freezer or coming in contact with a cold breeze can trigger an attack. In some people a stressful event is sufficient to provoke a Raynaud’s attack.
Primary Raynaud’s This occurs if there’s not any other underlying condition associated with the disease and most commonly affects the hands and feet. Raynaud’s Phenomenon This is also called Secondary Raynaud’s and is a condition frequently associated with autoimmune diseases or connective tissue disorders such as scleroderma, systemic lupus, polymyositis, Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms
Common Raynaud’s disease symptoms include color changes in the skin and pain and numbness because of the diminished flow of blood. A tingling sensation, swelling and pain can occur as flow improves. Raynaud’s Phenomenon could damage your skin and the connective tissues in the affected region. Additionally, blisters and ulcers may develop, become infected and require a while to heal.
Severe cases may cause gangrene and the loss of a finger. Raynaud’s attacks can affect a couple of fingers or feet and the affected digits can be different each time. Despite the fact that Raynaud’s Phenomenon isn’t a life threatening illness, severe cases cause disability and strikes may grow more severe. The main objective of Raynaud’s disease treatment is to stop or decrease the number and severity of the attacks; the secondary aim is to avoid tissue damage. Concerning medication there are a number of drugs the physician can prescribe to dilate blood vessels and improve circulation, but these drugs aren’t specific to Raynaud’s disease and several have side effects.