Raynaud's disease
What is Raynaud's disease?
Other causes of tingling or numbness
Symptoms of Raynaud's disease
Causes of Raynaud's disease
Prevention / remedies / cures / treatment for Raynaud's disease
What is Raynaud's disease?
Raynaud's disease (Raynaud phenomenon) is an excessively reduced blood flow in the fingers, toes, and occasionally other parts of the body, in response to cold or emotional stress. The blood vessels in the affected area constrict for a period, causing the skin to turn a pale, white or blue colour. The whole hand or foot feels cold, in particular the fingers or toes.
Raynaud's events are episodic. There is normally a period of cold and numbness in the affected areas, that is brought on by a trigger. After the episode, there may be redness and a prickly feeling as the blood flow returns to normal.
Raynaud's disease often develops in young women in their teens and early adulthood. However, it normally disappears during pregnancy, because of the increased surface blood flow.
Other causes of tingling or numbness
Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet can have other causes apart from Reynaud's disease. Pins and needles can occur because of diabetes. Another possible cause is vitamin D deficiency and vitamin B deficiency, especially of B12. The vitamin B deficiencies can occur because of weak stomach acid. In this case, the first thing to treat is weak and ageing digestion.
If you are unable or do not need to treat weak digestion, you can supplement vitamin B12 with methylcobalamin, the best and most absorbable and useable form of B12. Nutritional yeast is also a good food source of a range of B vitamins.
Symptoms of Raynaud's disease
- Cold hands or feet, especially fingers and toes. The nose, earlobes and other parts of the body may also be affected.
- Feeling is reduced or eliminated in the area (numbness).
- White or pale discolouration (pallor) in the affected areas (especially fingers and toes), due to the narrowing of the blood vessels and restriction of blood flow. With continued lack of blood flow, the area may turn a blue colour.
- When the episode subsides or the area is warmed the blood flow returns. The skin first turns red, and then back to a normal colour. This is often accompanied by a painful prickly pins-and-needles sensation, swelling, throbbing or tingling as the blood flow resumes.
- In severe cases, the loss of blood flow can cause sores or even necrosis. Chronic, recurrent cases of Raynaud phenomenon can result in atrophy of the skin, subcutaneous tissues, and muscle.
- Nails become brittle with longitudinal ridges.
- Breastfeeding. Raynaud's disease can cause the nipples to turn white and become extremely painful.
Causes and triggers of Raynaud's disease
The underlying cause of the syndrome is probably a hormonal / nutritional / mineral imbalance.
- Cold. Exposure to cold, on any part of the body.
- Magnesium deficiency.
- Underactive thyroid and other hormonal conditions.
- Cardiovascular disease may predispose blood vessels to spasm.
- Adrenal exhaustion (fatigue).
- Smoking.
- Chronic stress.
- Caffeine.
- Mercury. See heavy metal poisoning.
Prevention / remedies / cures / treatment for Raynaud's disease
If you use any of these remedies, please come back next week (or whenever you have an outcome) and let us know about your experience. Please leave a comment as many people are interested.
See details of remedies recommended by Grow Youthful visitors, and their experience with them.
- Magnesium oil.
- Exercise.
- Citrus (lemon) bioflavonoids.
- Vitamin B complex.
- Cinnamon.
- Selenium. The best way to get selenium is to eat one or two Brazil nuts per day. Eating more than this raises the risk of getting barium or other harmful elements.
- Zinc.
- Treat underlying conditions such as hypothyroidism and cardiovascular disease.