Raynauds disease

raynaud disease - Raynaud's disease is a rare disorder of the blood vessels, usually in the fingers and toes. People with this disorder have attacks that cause the blood vessels to narrow. When this happens, blood can't get to the surface of the skin and the affected areas turn white and blue. When the blood flow returns, the skin turns red and throbs or tingles. In severe cases, loss of blood flow can cause sores or tissue death. Cold weather and stress can trigger attacks. Often the cause of Raynaud's is not known. People in colder climates are more likely to develop Raynaud's than people in warmer areas.

Treatment for Raynaud's may include drugs to keep the blood vessels open. There are also simple things you can do yourself, such as

 * Soaking hands in warm water at the first sign of an attack
 * Keeping your hands and feet warm in cold weather
@saierchok (1294)
United States
July 20, 2008 1:59pm CST
[i]hi, I thought since medicine is my future profession I have to give it some interest, and get to know people who are interested in it.. so what I have in mind is to start a series of discussions that describe some medical phenomenas or diseases.. and get some help, or discuss it with people who know it, or have been facing it.. [/i]Raynauds Disease:Raynaud's disease is a rare disorder of the blood vessels, usually in the fingers and toes. People with this disorder have attacks that cause the blood vessels to narrow. When this happens, blood can't get to the surface of the skin and the affected areas turn white and blue. When the blood flow returns, the skin turns red and throbs or tingles. In severe cases, loss of blood flow can cause sores or tissue death. Cold weather and stress can trigger attacks. Often the cause of Raynaud's is not known. People in colder climates are more likely to develop Raynaud's than people in warmer areas. Treatment for Raynaud's may include drugs to keep the blood vessels open. There are also simple things you can do yourself, such as * Soaking hands in warm water at the first sign of an attack * Keeping your hands and feet warm in cold weather
1 person likes this
2 responses
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
20 Jul 08
firstly thank you for sharing such interesting information. however, being the hypochondriac i am, i'm starting to think i might have this. my fingers or toes don't really turn white and blue. but sometimes the tips do turn red and throbs or tingles. does that mean i might have a mild form of the Raynaud's? how do i go about finding out whether i do have it? guess i'm being paranoid here. keep sharing though, i'm sure lots of us finds such information interesting. cheers ;p
1 person likes this
@saierchok (1294)
• United States
21 Jul 08
hey there most of us get paranoid and think they got something once they read about it.. it's naturally for fingers to get blue and numb once exposed to cold tempretures! do you get this phenomena at any time? or it just happenes when exposed to cold tempretures
• Singapore
22 Jul 08
i'm glad that i'm not the only paranoid one. i live in the tropics so the temperature is about the same all year round. i think i might have a problem regulating my body temperature. my hair stands when the wind blows especially if it's extremely warm. my extremities don't get blue but they do get numb. i get the tingling sensation at random times, regardless of the temperature. my doctor told me that it's due to the length of my extremities.
@saierchok (1294)
• United States
24 Jul 08
I don't think it's raynauds either.. because it seems to be much milder than the real disease, however it does resemble it! I wonder now how long your extremities are!!
@CharRay7 (1549)
• United States
21 Jul 08
Hands with Raynauds disease - photo of hands with Raynauds disease
Hi saierchok I have always been interested in the medical profession. I wanted to be a registered nurse when I graduated from high school, but found that boys were more interesting. I have now went back to college and taking courses to get my Associate Science degree in Medical Coding and Billing. The course I'm taking right now is Medical Terminology and is very difficult! Thank you for starting this discussion as it made me go look for additionl information on Raynauds disease. Have a great day, Char
@saierchok (1294)
• United States
24 Jul 08
hello charray! it's cool you found boys more interesting I wonder what you did! any ways I had to look up this discussion after my father asked me about the disease! so.. i decided to put it here for us all to get benefits!