Raynaud’s Disease and Raynaud’s Syndrome

Medically Reviewed by Jabeen Begum, MD on May 07, 2024
Written by WebMD Editorial Contributor, Amy Gopal
8 min read

Raynaud’s disease, also called Raynaud's syndrome or Raynaud's phenomenon, is when blood vessels in your fingers, toes, and other extremities temporarily overreact to low temperatures or stress. For most people, it isn’t a serious health problem. But for some, the reduced blood flow can cause damage.

This condition is named after Maurice Raynaud, the French doctor who first identified it in 1862. You may hear it called by many names. There are two types of Raynaud's syndrome:

Primary Raynaud’s syndrome (or Raynaud’s disease) is not linked to any underlying illness. The symptoms are often mild. This is the more common form of Raynaud's.

Secondary Raynaud’s syndrome (or Raynaud’s phenomenon) results from another illness. It’s a condition that often attacks your body’s connective tissues, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Secondary Raynaud's is less common, but it’s more likely to cause serious health problems. This can include things such as skin sores and gangrene. These happen when cells and tissue in your toes and fingers die from a lack of blood.

Raynaud's syndrome symptoms include:

  • Cold fingers and toes. You may experience Raynaud's on other body parts including your ears, nose, nipples, or lips.
  • Your skin might turn white or blue when it’s cold or when you’re stressed. As you warm up, it could turn red.
  • The affected areas feel tingly, prickly, or painful when they start to warm up.
  • You may see sores or gangrene on your fingers with secondary Raynaud's.

When it’s cold, your body tries to conserve heat. One way it does that is to slow down blood flow to the areas farthest from your heart -- your hands, feet, and other extremities. To do that, the network of small arteries that carry blood to those points gets narrower, moving them away from your skin. This is called the vasomotor response.

If you have Raynaud’s, your response is off. Those arteries shrink more than normal, and faster than normal. That can make your fingers and toes feel numb and change color to white or blue. This usually lasts about 15 minutes. When the arteries relax and your body warms back up, your fingers feel tingly and turn red before returning to normal.

Recent research has focused on identifying the genes that cause Raynaud's, and low blood sugar levels or blood disorders may add to your risk of getting it. The exact cause is still unknown.

Secondary Raynaud’s syndrome works the same as primary Raynaud's, but you get it as a result of another disease. Conditions that make you more likely to get Raynaud's phenomenon include:

Connective tissue diseases. If you have scleroderma, a rare disease that causes your skin to harden and scar, you may also have Raynaud's. Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjogren's syndrome also make it more likely.

Artery disease. This includes conditions such as:

Carpal tunnel syndrome. Pressure on a major nerve in your hand can cause numbness, and pain, making you more sensitive to the cold.

Repetitive action or vibration. Any movement you make over and over, such as typing or playing the piano, can cause an overuse injury. So can using tools that vibrate, such as jackhammers.

Smoking. It narrows your blood vessels.

Injuries. This includes damage to your hands or feet from breaks, surgery, or frostbite.

Certain medications. These include

As many as 1 in 20 people in the U.S. may have some form of Raynaud’s syndrome. Most have primary Raynaud’s.

Risk factors for primary Raynaud's syndrome include:

Age. People of all ages can get primary Raynaud’s, but it usually shows up between ages 15 and 30.

Sex. People assigned female at birth are nine times more likely to get it than those assigned male at birth.

Family history. If a family member has Raynaud's, you're more likely to get it too.

Climate. The condition is more common among people living in cold climates.

Risk factors for secondary Raynaud's syndrome include:

Age. People with secondary Raynaud’s tend to get it after 35.

Other diseases. People with illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and lupus are more likely to get secondary Raynaud’s.

Medication. People who use some medicines to treat cancer, migraines, or high blood pressure may be more likely to get Raynaud’s.

Job-related. People who have carpal tunnel syndrome or use vibrating tools such as jackhammers may be more likely to get Raynaud’s.

If your doctor thinks you have Raynaud’s, they’ll ask questions about your symptoms and look at your fingers and toes. They might also use a special magnifying glass called a dermoscope to check the blood vessels around your fingernails to see if they’re larger than normal or oddly shaped. This test is called nailfold capillaroscopy.

If the doctor thinks your condition is a result of another health problem, they might take some of your blood to test in a lab. This lets them check for signs of an autoimmune disorder such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

Treatment goals include preventing Raynaud’s episodes or limiting them when they do happen. You can focus on keeping your hands and feet warm and dry, controlling stress, and getting regular exercise.

Raynaud’s medication

Your doctor might ask you to avoid some drugs, including over-the-counter cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine. They can make your symptoms worse by causing your blood vessels to narrow.

If you have secondary Raynaud’s, your doctor might prescribe medicines to control your blood pressure and relax your blood vessels. If you get sores on your skin as a result, you might need to apply a cream that contains one of these drugs. These include:

Calcium channel blockers. Examples include nifedipine (Afeditab CR, Procardia), amlodipine (Norvasc), felodipine, and isradipine.

Vasodilators. These include the high blood pressure drug losartan (Cozaar), the erectile dysfunction medication sildenafil (Viagra, Revatio), the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), and a class of medications called prostaglandins. Another example is a nitroglycerin cream you can put on the base of your fingers to help heal sores.

Surgery for Raynaud’s syndrome

If your condition doesn’t improve after these steps and you’re at risk of severe problems, such as losing parts of your fingers or toes, your doctor might consider surgery. These procedures involve cutting the nerves to the blood vessels in your skin to limit how much they open and close. The doctor might also inject drugs into your hands or feet to block those nerves.

Home treatment for Raynaud’s

These steps can also help you control your condition:

Avoid smoke. Don’t smoke, and stay away from secondhand smoke, too. It can make your blood vessels close up, which lowers your skin temperature.

Exercise. It’ll boost your circulation. If you have secondary Raynaud’s, check with your doctor before you try an outdoor workout in cold weather.

Manage stress. Keeping it under control could help cut the number of attacks.

Keep your temperature constant. Don’t go straight from a chilly space to a warm space. Also, avoid the frozen food section of the grocery store as much as possible.

Dress for the cold. Wear layers, gloves, and heavy socks. Buy chemical warmers for your pockets, gloves, and socks.

Avoid some medications. Decongestants with phenylephrine, diet pills, migraine medications with ergotamine, herbal medications with ephedra, and the blood pressure medication clonidine (Catapres) can all narrow your blood vessels.

Soak your hands. Or, run warm water over them when you feel an attack starting.

Specialty gloves can help keep your hands warm to prevent or relieve a Raynaud's attack. Glove options include:

  • Insulated wool gloves
  • Gloves made with "self-heating" fabric
  • Microwaveable mittens
  • Battery-powered gloves

Some gloves are now made using copper and silver fibers to help retain your body's heat and encourage blood circulation. More research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of these newer fabrics, but a variety of options are available on the market today.

While Raynaud's can't kill you, serious cases of secondary Raynaud's syndrome can cut off the blood flow to your skin and lead to tissue damage. A completely blocked artery can lead to skin sores (ulcers) or dead tissue (gangrene). It’s rare, but if this happens, your doctor might have to remove a finger or toe.

There are two types of Raynaud's syndrome -- primary Raynaud's (Raynaud's disease) and secondary Raynaud's (Raynaud's phenomenon). Both forms cause your body to overreact in response to cold temperatures, making your fingers, toes, and other extremities feel numb and change color to white or blue. It's painful when your body warms up again, and complications include sores and tissue damage. While there's no cure for Raynaud's, it can be treated with a combination of medication, home remedies, and lifestyle changes.

What is the life expectancy of Raynaud's syndrome?

Raynaud's syndrome is a lifelong condition, but there's no indication that it reduces life expectancy.

When should I be concerned about Raynaud's?

You should see a doctor if any of the following symptoms occur:

  • Sores or ulcers -- this could be a sign of tissue damage
  • Loss of function in your hands, feet, or other affected body parts
  • A Raynaud's attack on only one side of your body
  • Side effects from Raynaud's medications

If any symptoms get worse, or new symptoms appear, talk to your doctor.

What foods should you avoid with Raynaud's disease?

While you can still consume them, cold drinks and frozen foods may trigger a Raynaud's flare-up, so be careful handling them.

Caffeine can also be a trigger because it causes your blood vessels to narrow. Look out for sources of caffeine such as:

  • Tea and coffee, even if decaffeinated
  • Chocolate or chocolate-flavored foods
  • Chewing gum
  • Energy drinks
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