Raynaud’s Phenomenon
This is an intermittent loss of blood supply to the fingers, toes, nose, ears and possibly other parts of the body. Usually the fingers go white, blue and red. There may be considerable pain, numbness or tingling, but not all these changes necessarily occur in every patient. The stimulus is usually a change in temperature or stress. It is more common in women and may be either primary or secondary to other diseases.
These symptoms are due to an intermittent lack of blood in the affected parts when the arteries normally supplying them spasmodically contract. An attack will often be triggered by touching cold objects or exposure to cold of any kind. Emotions, such as anxiety, also play a part, as can smoking. Primary Raynaud’s occurs spontaneously, without any underlying condition being present. It can be hereditary, in which case it is usually fairly mild
Scleroderma
Scleroderma, also known as Systemic Sclerosis, is a disease affecting the connective tissue. Scleroderma means hard skin but the hardness is not limited to the skin – the internal organs (lungs, heart, kidneys and gut) and their blood supply may become damaged. The disease can be mild or severe, the cause is still unknown and treatment is inadequate.
[boxibt style=”success”]Information Courtesy of:
Raynaud’s & Scleroderma Association
112 Crewe Road, Alsager, Cheshire ST7 2JA
For Further information visit the website:
www.raynauds.demon.co.uk[/boxibt]