Raynaud's syndrome

Content:

Raynaud's disease is a pathological disorder in the work of the autonomic nervous system, characterized by the appearance of trophic disorders and pain in the fingertips.

Causes of the disease

Doctors can not name the exact causes of Raynaud's disease. It is known that women are prone to this pathology is 5 times more than men. It is believed that the disease results from a spasm of small vessels - capillaries. Most often, such a spasm is caused by a general overcooling of the body.

In countries with a cold climate, the disease is more common than in the southern regions. Rarely, Raynaud's disease can be provoked by such pathologies as diabetes mellitus, lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis , and diseases of the spine. Occasionally occupational factors, such as vibration or persistent psycho-emotional stress, can become a predisposing factor for the development of Raynaud's syndrome.

If we are talking about an independent disease, then doctors diagnose "Raynaud's disease", and when this pathology is accompanied by other disorders in the body listed above, then it is referred to as "Raynaud's syndrome". In both cases, the features of the course of the disease and its clinical symptoms are almost the same.

Remember that Raynaud's disease should not be allowed to take its course and ignore its clinic. This can lead to chronic circulatory disorders in the limbs, which often ends with gangrene and subsequent amputation of the fingers.

Symptoms of Raynaud's syndrome

Most often, the disease develops in female individuals in the second decade of life. In medicine, cases have been described where Raynaud's disease was diagnosed in children 10-12 years old, about half of these cases were due to hereditary predisposition. In some cases, the disease may develop after suffering severe stress. If Raynaud's disease develops in people over 25 years old, who previously had no problems with blood circulation, then this fact is often caused by the presence of a concomitant disease in the patient. In rare cases, the disease can develop in people over 50 years of age. As a rule, this occurs against the background of serious hormonal disruptions, constant stresses and diseases of the organs of the endocrine system.

Sometimes Raynaud's disease can occur due to the effect on the human body of a complex of factors - hypothermia, stress, endocrine system diseases. The probability of influence of hereditary factor is only 5%.

One of the earliest clinical symptoms of Raynaud's syndrome is increased chilliness of the fingertips. As the disease progresses, numbness of the fingers and loss of sensitivity of the phalanges are added to the chilliness. These disorders can be observed in the form of attacks and disappear completely in time. Most often, the fingertips are involved in the pathological process, less often - the earlobes, the tip of the nose and the tips of the fingers of the lower extremities. The attack can last from several minutes to several hours. All these symptoms are most characteristic of the first stage of Raynaud's disease.

The second stage of the disease is characterized by the patient's complaints of sudden attacks of suffocation, as a result of which trophic tissue disorders may develop - swelling of the fingers and their increased vulnerability.

The disease progresses slowly, but involution is possible at any of the stages of Raynaud's syndrome (reverse pathology development), which occurs against the background of the onset of pregnancy, menopause, change of residence and climate of the country.

The frequency of disturbances in the nervous system in Raynaud's disease reaches 60% of cases. Patients complain about:

constant headache
feeling of heaviness in the temples
back pain and limbs.

Some patients have strong paroxysmal migraines. In 10% of cases Raynaud's disease is accompanied by an increase in blood pressure. In some patients, during an attack, there are pains in the region of the heart that are not displayed on the electrocardiogram and are of a functional nature.

Despite the numerous complaints of patients on limb hypersensitivity to cold exposure, sensitivity disorders in patients with idiopathic Raynaud's syndrome are very rare.

Numerous examinations of patients with the idiopathic form of the disease showed normal patency of the blood vessels of the extremities, and therefore it is difficult to explain where this feeling of heaviness and tingling in the fingertips area of the patient came from. During the examination of small blood vessels, only a small tone was diagnosed in such patients.

Diagnosis of Raynaud's syndrome

When examining a patient with suspected Raynaud's syndrome, it is first necessary to establish whether blanching and desensitization of the tips of the fingers is not a normal physiological response. To do this, conduct a special study - affect the patient's skin with different cold temperatures. It is acceptable to blanching the limbs and reducing the sensitivity of the fingers. However, after warming the patient, all these phenomena disappear, and the skin on the limbs becomes a normal shade, without areas of blueness. In patients with true Raynaud's disease, the reverse development of vasospasm lasts longer, with the presence of cyanosis in some places of the fingertips.

The most difficult to differentiate idiopathic form of the disease from the secondary Raynaud syndrome. Back in 1932, scientists formulated 5 main criteria for the diagnosis of idiopathic Raynaud's disease:

the duration of the disease is at least 2 years;
the patient has no diseases that could provoke Raynaud's syndrome;
the patient has a strict symmetry of the vascular and trophoparalytic symptoms;
a person has no signs of gangrene on the skin of the extremities;
in humans there is occasional blanching of the tips of the fingers and a decrease in the sensitivity of the extremities under the influence of cold or stress.

However, if the disease continues in a patient for more than 2 years, the doctor should rule out the presence of systemic blood disorders and other pathologies that could cause Raynaud's syndrome.

Special attention should be paid to the following symptoms:

the presence of nonhealing long-term wounds and abrasions,
the thinning of the phalanges of the fingers,
difficulty swallowing and closing the mouth of the patient.

If the patient has all of these symptoms, then there is a suspicion of systemic scleroderma.

Systemic lupus is characterized by the appearance of a erythematous rash on the face in the form of a butterfly - symmetrical on both sides. In addition, the patient has an increased sensitivity to bright sunlight, pericarditis symptoms and hair loss.

The combination of signs of Raynaud's disease with dryness of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity and eyes is characteristic of Sjogren's syndrome. The doctor should ask the patient whether he is taking drugs from the group of beta-blockers, which, even with prolonged uncontrolled use, can provoke dry mucous membranes.

Men over 40 years of age should be interviewed on the subject of smoking to determine if Raynaud's syndrome is the cause of possible concomitant endarteritis obliterans. To exclude the influence of the professional factor on the development of the disease, it is necessary to interview the patient about possible work with vibrating instruments.

Raynaud's disease treatment

The treatment of patients with Raynaud's disease is somewhat difficult, since it is necessary first of all to establish the specific cause that provoked the development of this pathology. If Raynaud's disease is diagnosed against the background of a concomitant disease, then the management of such patients is carried out in parallel with the observation of the appropriate specialist (cardiologist, endocrinologist, rheumatologist, vascular surgeon).

As a rule, Raynaud’s disease treatment is symptomatic and includes the use of:

fortifying drugs
antispasmodics,
analgesics,
medications that normalize hormones.

Special management tactics for patients with this pathology is required for a professional factor in the development of the disease. To do this, first of all, it is necessary to eliminate the factor affecting the appearance of attacks - cold, vibration and others.

When diagnosing the idiopathic form of the disease, when the pathology is caused only by stress, humidity, climate and cold effects on the body, the exclusion of these factors can lead to a decrease in attacks of Raynaud's syndrome.

In some forms of the disease, characterized by the development of irreversible trophic disorders and a strong pain syndrome, surgical intervention is shown to the patient in order to alleviate his condition. However, this method can hardly be called effective: observation of the operated patients shows that the return of all the clinical symptoms of Raynaud's disease appears within 2-3 weeks after surgery.

In order to improve the microcirculation in the capillaries, calcium blockers are prescribed to the patient, only they need to be taken for a long time.

Since Raynaud's syndrome is accompanied by a number of disorders in the nervous system, the patient is shown taking psychotropic drugs - antidepressants, tranquilizers.

Unconventional approach to the treatment of Raynaud's disease

First of all, patients with a diagnosis of Raynaud's syndrome are recommended to massage the affected areas - fingers, hands, lower limbs. Massaging movements should begin with the tips of the fingers, gradually moving to the shoulder. Movement at the same time should be smooth - you can stroke the skin, rub, pinch, pat. This massage should be carried out for at least 2 weeks for 10 minutes. After that, you need to take a break for 1 week, and then repeat the course. If the clinical symptoms of the disease spread to the earlobes, they should also be massaged, stroked and rubbed.

To make the treatment even more effective, massage can be carried out after wetting your hands with massage oil and adding a few drops of mint, anise, motherwort or yarrow to it. These oils have an antispasmodic and analgesic effect.

Well-established hot baths with the addition of a decoction of herbs in the water - motherwort, valerian root, dill blossoms, yarrow. You can also add a few drops of essential oils listed above to the water. The duration of the treatment bath is 15 minutes, while the water temperature should not exceed 39-40 degrees. During this time, the patient warms up properly, the blood supply to the small blood vessels increases, and the heartbeat becomes more frequent.

Instead of a bath you can try the bath. They are prepared in the same way as a medicinal bath, they only dip their hands or feet into the water. It is important to monitor the temperature of the water - you can not keep the limbs in the bath after cooling water. This is not only not beneficial, but can also lead to an exacerbation of Raynaud’s attacks.

Disease prevention

People who suffer from migraines are predisposed to the development of Raynaud's syndrome. The development of this pathology can be avoided by following simple guidelines:

Avoid contact with chemicals.
Avoid general supercooling of the body and especially hypothermia of the extremities.
Eliminate the effects of vibration waves on the body.
To abandon the pernicious accustomed (smoking) and drinking alcohol.
Take some pharmacological drugs only on prescription.

If after a stress or hypothermia, the person feels numb of the fingertips and notice a change in the skin tone of the limbs, you should immediately see a doctor. No need to self-medicate. A seemingly harmless pathology can lead to irreversible effects in the body.

| 17 December 2014 | | 3,231 | Uncategorized