Marchia is among the millions -- predominantly women --who suffer from a not widely known condition called Raynaud's phenomenon. It's more than just a case of cold feet or hands. Raynaud's causes a temporary loss of blood flow to the fingers, toes and, sometimes, the nose or ears. In the majority of cases, the disorder is harmless albeit annoying. During attacks, the affected areas turn white or blue and numb from a lack of circulation. When the blood flow returns, the areas can turn red and throb, tingle or swell. It occurs more in the winters.
An estimated 16 percent of women in various places worldwide with similar climates have the disorder. It can be frightening. It often starts in one or two fingers. The finger turns dead white, and it feels numb. When the blood comes back, it can be painful. Most people with Raynaud's begin to have attacks between ages 15 and 40. More than 75 percent of those with the disorder are women. When a person gets cold, the body's natural response is to conserve blood for the brain and internal organs by constricting the vessels in the extremities. But for reasons the experts still don't understand, the blood vessels in a person with Raynaud's overreact and constrict too much in response to the cold.
Stress also can trigger an attack for some people. People have no evidence of poor circulation. Between attacks, they look normal. They don't show any abnormalities. They just get white fingers in the cold. The vast majority of patients -- as many as 90 percent -- suffer from this harmless form, called primary Raynaud's phenomenon. Most of the time, Raynaud's doesn't cause any permanent damage. Those with primary Raynaud's often don't seek medical treatment or simply mention it to their doctor in passing. The primary form is usually milder, and often, people will bring it to their doctor's attention because it's painful. It's disconcerting when your hands turn red, white and blue and cold.
In some cases, however, the disorder actually is caused by damage to the blood vessels from other diseases, particularly scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Some drugs, including beta blockers, also can cause secondary Raynaud's phenomenon, as can smoking cigarettes. Other cases of the secondary disorder are caused by damage from working with vibrating equipment. When the disorder is caused by an underlying injury or disease, it's called secondary Raynaud's phenomenon. People with secondary Raynaud's tend to have more severe cases, meaning they're at increased risk for tissue damage, Raynor said.
If it's recurrent, they should bring it to their primary-care physician's attention. Physicians become suspicious that a patient has secondary Raynaud's if the person is a man, older or younger than the typical ages of its onset (15-40), experiences extreme pain during attacks, or has other symptoms, such as arthritis or joint pain. Patients with the disorder often can keep it under control themselves. The first choice is to explain to the patient what they have -- a benign disease -- and talk them into keeping their whole body warm. Warm mittens help, but patients are warned not to ignore the rest of their body. The neck and forehead, particularly, are vulnerable areas that can trigger an attack if chilled, so keep them covered.
Some patients can prevent attacks by using biofeedback, a technique in which people are trained to "think" themselves warm. But you have to spend a lot of time, and this is why patients don't want to do it. If the problems persist, doctors often prescribe a drug called a calcium channel blocker to help keep the blood vessels from constricting. And in extreme cases, hand surgery is done to block the nerves that trigger episodes.