Raynaud's Disease (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Raynaud's phenomenon

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

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

Questions and Answers about Raynaud's Phenomenon(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Raynauds_Phenomenon/default.asp
Raynaud's Disease(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/raynaud/ray_what.html

Overviews

Raynaud's Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/raynauds-disease/DS00433/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Diagnosis/Symptoms

ANA (Antinuclear Antibody Test)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ana/test.html

Related Issues

Cold Agglutinin Syndrome: What Are the Symptoms?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cold-agglutinin/AN00400/METHOD=print
Limited Scleroderma (CREST Syndrome)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/crest-syndrome/DS00580/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Pictures & Photographs

Raynaud's Disease(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/raynaudsDisease.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Raynaud Disease(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Raynaud+Disease%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Raynaud's phenomenon: pathogenesis and management. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18656283&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Prognostic model based on nailfold capillaroscopy for identifying Raynaud's phenomenon... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18576359&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Treatment for Raynaud's: beyond calcium channel blockers. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18505148&tool=MedlinePlus
Raynaud's Disease -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=raynaud+disease[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(editorial[pt]+OR+letter[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

raynaud - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=raynaud

Organizations

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases - http://www.niams.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.niams.nih.gov/Portal_En_Espanol/

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
Symptoms - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/symptoms.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Raynaud's Disease is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/