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Raynaud's Disease

Key Points:
Raynaud's Disease Treatments

Type of Anaesthetic: 
None

Length of Procedure: 
Around 15 minutes

Nights in Hospital:
Usually None

Recovery:
Time off Work: Usually None
Back to Normal: around 2 days
Signs & Symptoms
  • Cold fingers or toes
  • Colour changes in your skin in response to cold or stress
  • Numb, prickly feeling or stinging pain upon warming or stress relief.
  • In severe cases finger tip ulceration or amputation may occur

During an attack of Raynaud's, affected areas of your skin usually first turn white. Then, the affected areas often turn blue and feel cold and numb. As you warm and circulation improves, the affected areas may turn red, throb, tingle or swell. The order of the colour changes isn't the same for everyone, and not everyone experiences all three colours.

Although Raynaud's most commonly affects your fingers and toes, the condition can also affect other areas of your body, such as your nose, lips, ears and even nipples. After warming, it may take 15 minutes for normal blood flow to return to the area.

Causes
With Raynaud's, arteries to your fingers and toes go into vasospasm when exposed to cold or stress, narrowing your vessels and temporarily limiting blood supply. Over time, these small arteries may thicken slightly, further limiting blood flow.

Cold temperatures are most likely to trigger an attack. Exposure to cold, such as putting your hands in cold water, taking something from a freezer or encountering cold air, is the most likely trigger. For some people, emotional stress can cause an episode of Raynaud's.

Types of Raynaud’s
There are two main types of the condition:

1) Primary Raynaud's. Also called Raynaud's disease, this most common form isn't the result of an underlying associated medical condition that could provoke vasospasm.

2) Secondary Raynaud's. Also called Raynaud's phenomenon, this form is caused by an underlying problem. Although secondary Raynaud's is less common than the primary form, it tends to be more serious. Signs and symptoms of secondary Raynaud's usually appear later in life — around age 40 — than they do for primary Raynaud's.

Causes of secondary Raynaud's include:
  • Connective tissue diseases. Most people who have a rare disease that leads to hardening and scarring of the skin (scleroderma) have Raynaud's. Other diseases that increase the risk of Raynaud's include Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome.
  • Diseases of the arteries. Raynaud's phenomenon can be associated with various diseases that affect arteries, such as the buildup of plaques in blood vessels that feed the heart (atherosclerosis) or a disorder in which the blood vessels of the hands and feet become inflamed (Buerger's disease). A type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries of the lungs (primary pulmonary hypertension) can be linked to Raynaud's.
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This condition involves pressure on a major nerve to your hand (median nerve) producing numbness and pain in the affected hand. The hand may become more susceptible to cold temperatures and episodes of Raynaud's.
  • Repetitive action or vibration. Typing, playing piano or doing similar movements for long periods and operating vibrating tools, such as jackhammers, can increase your risk of developing Raynaud's.
  • Smoking. Smoking constricts blood vessels and is a potential cause of Raynaud's.
  • Injuries. Injuries to the hands or feet, such as wrist fracture, surgery or frostbite, can lead to Raynaud's phenomenon.
  • Certain medications. Some drugs — including beta blockers, which are used to treat high blood pressure; migraine medications that contain ergotamine have been linked to Raynaud’s.

Treatment
Aberdeen is one of the few centers in the UK specializing in Botulinum Toxin therapy for moderate to severe Raynaud’s disease. The aim of treatment is to inject the Botulium toxin near the blood vessels thereby reducing the spasm and improving blood flow. Results are usually obvious within 5 days of treatment and can lead to dramatic improvement in the quality of the skin.

Other treatment methods include Dressing for the cold in layers and wearing gloves or heavy socks, and this is usually effective in dealing with mild symptoms of Raynaud's. 

Depending on the cause of your symptoms, medications may help treat Raynaud's. To widen (dilate) blood vessels and promote circulation, your GP may prescribe:
  • Calcium channel blockers. Examples include nifedipine 
  • Alpha blockers.  Examples include doxazosin (Cardura).
  • Vasodilators. Examples include nitroglycerin cream.
If you experience any symptoms that you are concerned about please don't hesitate to Contact Us
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