Raynaud’s disease is a rare disorder that occurs there is a problem in the blood vessels of fingers and toes causing numbness, it temporarily overreacts to low temperature/ cold weather or stress. It may cause reduced blood flow and spasms of blood vessels in those areas, and smaller arteries that supply blood to your skin become narrow, limiting blood flow to affected areas. There is higher likelihood of women going through Raynaud’s phenomenon or syndrome than men. Also, it seems to affect people in colder regions.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES:

  1. Primary form: This happens on its own without any other illness alone, It is the most common type and less severe than the secondary form
  2. Secondary form: This may happen along with other diseases, known as secondary form. The diseases most often linked are autoimmune or connective tissue diseases such as Lupus (systemic lupus erythematous), Scleroderma, Buerger disease, Sjögren syndrome, Rheumatoid arthritis, Thyroid disorders, Pulmonary hypertension

SYMPTOMS:

Primary form:

  • Cold fingers or toes
  • Color changes in response to cold temperature or stress ( blue or white)
  • Numbness or tingling in fingers and toes
  • Stinging or throbbing pain upon warming
  • Ulcers in the tips of fingers

Secondary form:

  • Same as the primary form
  • People can expect similar pain to arthritis, thickening or hardening of the skin

DIETARY INTERVENTION

  • Warm your hands, feet, or other affected areas, by doing such things
  • Try to be indoors or in a more warm place.
  • Put your affected fingers under warm tap water
  • Massage your hands and feet
  • Strategies to maintain body warmth by dressing warmly in thermal underwear, layered clothing, and a hat when going outside and arranging appropriate heating in both the home and working environment.
  • Stress can trigger can attack, so try to be relaxed and do not have stressful situations in life.
  • Practice a stress-relieving technique that works for you, try meditating, yoga, or deep breaths
  • Omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium, and antioxidant supplementation  can be supportive as it has antioxidant properties that help fight off free radicals and reduce inflammation
  • Add some functional foods like chilies, cayenne pepper, and ginger as they are known to warm the body by increasing blood circulation
  • Changing your daily lifestyle and also incorporating supplements that would ease the blood flow will help one to navigate this syndrome better
  • Fish oil. Studies show taking fish oil supplements could help improve tolerance to cold exposure, it delays vasospasm (a sudden contraction of blood vessels)
  • Ginkgo. Ginkgo supplements could help decrease the number of Raynaud’s attacks, by increasing blood flow.