When you live in Edmonton, toques, scarves and mittens are a must anytime you need to go outside between November and March. But what if mittens and gloves are never enough to keep your hands warm? Double glove? Hold your hands in a fist inside your mitts? Don’t go outside? Let’s dive into one of the possible reasons why your hands are always cold and what you can do to get through winter.
Cold hands are a symptom of decreased blood flow. Reduction in blood flow to the hands and fingers is caused by either vasoconstriction (tightening of the blood vessels) or vaso-occlusion (a blockage in a blood vessel). In most cases, hands feel cold and maybe tingly and red but warm up fairly easily. In more serious cases, hands will turn white then blue when cold and rapidly become red when the blood rushes back into the fingers which can be very painful. The most common disease known to cause cold hands is Raynaud’s disease.
What is Raynaud’s disease?
Raynaud’s disease is a condition where the small blood vessels in your extremities are very sensitive to stress and react by reducing or sometimes completely obstructing the blood flow to your limbs. They are often also very reactive to cold exposure, whether from low temperatures or even just handling cold objects. It is unknown what truly triggers the episode but thankfully, there usually isn’t permanent damage to your tissue.
The primary form of Raynaud’s disease occurs on its own and is the most common type, often affecting women under 30 years old. Secondary Raynaud’s disease, also known as Raynaud’s phenomenon, presents as a symptom of other conditions like scleroderma, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis as well as long standing exposure to vibration, fractures, surgeries, frostbites and more.
Signs and symptoms of Raynaud’s disease
Raynaud’s disease goes beyond just having cold hands. It can affect your hands, feet, ears, nose, lips and nipples. Here are the most common symptoms of Raynaud’s disease:
Temperature change: the affected body parts are cold to touch
Color change: when exposed to cold or stress, the skin of the affected body parts will turn white/pale from decreased blood flow, then blue due to lack of oxygenation of the tissue and finally turn red once warmed up as the blood flow returns. Depending on your skin tone, the changes in color might be easier or harder to see
Sensation: you can feel some numbness and/or tingling to your affected body parts
Pain: a throbbing and/or burning pain can be felt in the affected body parts
Swelling: you can develop temporary swelling to the affected body parts
Symptoms can last from a few seconds to multiple minutes. If despite attempts at rewarming your skin, the symptoms do not resolve, you should seek attention from your family doctor or rheumatologist as it may be a sign of a more serious disease. In severe cases, Raynaud’s disease can lead to ulceration of skin.
Treatment for Raynaud’s disease
Lifestyle changes play a big role in successfully managing Raynaud’s disease. Start with small realistic changes that you can sustain and build from there. Here are a few examples of lifestyle changes you can try implementing (if applicable):
Exercise regularly to improve blood circulation and help manage stress
Avoid big temperature changes
Keep your home warm
Use gloves or oven mitts when taking food out of the fridge or freezer
Wear warm clothing when going outside in fall and winter (warm socks, boots, mitts or gloves, wrist cuffs, add self heating hand/feet warmer pouches when needed)
Consider stopping nicotine consumption (cigarette, vaping, nicotine pods) as nicotine contributes to vasoconstriction and restricts blood flow.
Do not consume too much (or any) caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, sodas, energy drinks) as caffeine also causes vasoconstriction
How can our Physiotherapists in Edmonton help with Raynaud’s disease?
Our physiotherapists and occupational therapists specializing in hand therapy can help you determine and establish a sustainable plan for lifestyle changes including customizing a general exercise program, developing management strategies to use during attacks of Raynaud’s disease, assist you in choosing clothing options (ex: heated garments) to best meet your needs, develop an exercise program to address stiffness and pain that can follow episodes of Raynaud’s disease, and a lot more. Various medication options also exist to help manage the disease, but these are beyond the scope of this post and we would recommend talking to your family physician about this. Contact us for more information or if you'd like to talk to a hand therapist about your specific condition.
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