I get chill blains in the winter but now my hands and fingers seem very cold too. A friend said I might have Raynaud’s Syndrome. What is that?
Raynaud’s is a disease of the small blood vessels supplying the hands and feet, which go into spasm in response to a drop in temperature. It is very common. There are over 10 million sufferers in the UK and most of them women. Typically the hands go pale and then blue and eventually deep red, and be very painful. In its milder form it is often enough just to wear gloves and extra socks and take regular warm drinks, but if this is not enough doctors use drugs to help dilate the blood vessels and ease the symptoms.