Raynaud Phenomenon (cont.)

Medical Author:

Shabir Bhimji, MD

Coauthor:

Tammy Shields, MD

Coauthor:

Christopher Colwell, MD

Medical Editor:

Alan D Forker, MD

Medical Editor:

Mary L Windle, PharmD

Medical Editor:

Michael E Zevitz, MD

Raynaud's Phenomenon Symptoms

When someone has an attack of Raynaud's phenomenon, the small arteries of the arms and legs shut down, which limits blood flow to the distal organs. The tissues become deprived of the blood's oxygen, which causes color changes in the skin.

At first, the skin blanches, turning very white, then blue as the tissues get colder. The person reports numbness in the fingers and occasional pain. Affected skin feels very cold. The areas suffering from lack of oxygen are very well demarcated, usually occurring at joint lines.
Changes usually occur in the fingers. Blanching may occur in only 1 or 2 fingers, but it is not uncommon to see changes in all fingers. In addition, it may affect the toes, tip of the nose, or even the earlobes. Raynaud's phenomenon is almost always bilateral, but occasionally may only affect one hand.
After the arteries relax again, the tissues get oxygen. Skin color changes from blue to a bright red color. The color change from white to blue to red is called a triphasic reaction. These color changes from pallor (white) to cyanosis (blue) to rubor (red), the medical terminology for these colors in the triphasic reaction, are essential information for your doctor to make the diagnosis.