Raynaud’s Disease: How Does It Affect Your Feet?

October is Raynaud’s Awareness Month. This disease causes your toes and fingers to feel numb or icy when you’re exposed to cold temperatures or stressed. The symptoms begin when the tiny arteries that supply blood to your skin narrow, reducing blood flow to the affected areas. In today’s post, Dr. Mark Thompson and Dr. Brandon Holloway of Amarillo Foot Specialists located in the Amarillo, TX panhandle, are digging deeper into Raynaud’s and how it affects your feet.

Anyone can get Raynaud’s, but women are more likely to be affected than their male counterparts. Your risk is elevated if you reside in a colder climate or if you are a smoker. Having a close relative - a parent, child, or sibling – who has the disease also seems to increase your risk.

Symptoms of Raynaud’s Disease include cold toes or fingers and changes in the color of your skin color when stressed or cold.  After you warm-up, you may experience prickly or stinging pain or numbness in your toes and fingers.

Raynaud’s attacks develop in three stages:

1. Your toes typically turn white.

2. They turn blue when you may experience numbness or cold.

3. As you warm up or relax and your circulation recovers, your toes may turn red, and throbbing, swelling, or tingling may also set in.

Treatment for Raynaud’s

While Raynaud’s is uncomfortable, you may experience ulcers (open wounds) or tissue damage if your blood flow is limited for too long. In rare cases, when left untreated, Raynaud’s can lead to toe or foot amputations.

Preventing Raynaud’s

·        Preheat your car on cold days.

·        Always layer up when going outside in the cold. Wear coats with snug wrists to keep the cold air from hitting your skin.

·        Chemical warmers might help keep your toes and fingers warm but avoid direct contact with your skin.

·        During the summer months, monitor your air conditioning carefully because cold temperatures can trigger an attack.

·        Always wear socks, even when inside. You may even choose to wear mittens and socks in bed at night during colder months.

If you’ve had a Raynaud’s attack recently, contact the office of Dr. Mark Thompson and Dr. Brandon Holloway of Amarillo Foot Specialists located in the Amarillo, TX panhandle today at (806) 322-3338 to schedule a consultation. Proper podiatric care is the safest and best way to prevent limited blood flow from leaving you with foot damage that could be permanent.