A Strange Phenomenon That You May Have.

The information gathered from the U.S National Library of Medicine informs the public about the symptoms that Raynaud's phenomenon can have on the body and what other things can be caused by having this syndrome or disease. It is said that this syndrome mainly attacks or affects the toes and the fingers of the human body. So if you're stressing or simply cold your body narrows the blood flow or vessels in your fingers which cause the blood flow to be less and causes your fingers to turn either white or purple. The reason is because less blood flow or oxygen is being transported to those parts of the body and when the blood does come back it can leave a tingly sensation or sometimes even throbbing, causing it to be very uncomfortable. ( Raynaud’s...tingles, USNLM).

Professor Ariane L. Herrick from the University of Manchester provides the public with a solution to find out if they have Raynaud’s phenomenon. One that was mentioned in his article was nailfold capillaroscopy. This is the practice for which a doctor puts oil on your finger nails and puts it under a strong microscope to see if you have this phenomenon. He also says that the condition for this being diagnosed is “idiopathic”. Meaning that the primary reason for this to happen is unknown. (Although...RP, Herrick). Furthermore, he discusses capillaroscopy which is the act of observing the blood cells in your fingernails. This allows them to find any abnormalities that can presumably be caused by RP or SSC. (at the nailfold...techniques are available, Herrick).

Herrick also mentions that the phenomenon can be connected to other diseases that involve the tissues on the human body. For example, SSc or Systemic Sclerosis. This is a condition or syndrome where the skin on the human body is tightened. Another health problem or disease is called “ischemia”. Ischemia is when there is a restriction of blood flow which causes a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism.

There are many solutions offered by Professor Herrick that people with this problem can follow. For example, Therapy can be very helpful. Those types of therapies are: ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker: CCB, calcium channel blocker; PDE5, phosphodiesterase type 5; SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. He also says to dress warm in cold climate weather and for those who smoke to stop smoking. There are many surgeries and other possible solutions that can help you with this disease and many other precautions you can take to ensure the best results for you.

For this article I feel as if it was more informative for me. So like being able to judge it by saying I disagree or agree wouldn't feel right, therefore I believe everything that is said is true because I didn't know anything about it beforehand. This article has given me a lot of ideas as to me probably having this problem. It also has given me other possible answers because the possibilities of these other diseases or syndromes could be happening to my father. It was very detailed because the diction or terminology used I had to look up because I'm not a doctor but now I know a lot about this syndrome or phenomenon that I possibly have.

For years now my fingers would just be cold for absolutely no reason. Yeah I was stressed at the time but my body makes me seem like I'm stressed all the time… I don't know why that is but the majority of the time my fingers are the main part of my body that tends to be cold for no reason. My fingers would be cold even when I am using them for typing or playing video games. Now I have some solutions to figure out if I actually have this phenomenon.

There is one problem though that he offered that I don't agree with. That's the use of medication. Many medications have long term side effects. Those side effects can be deadly which in my eyes is not worthwhile. Also, surgeries are a no go unless it is necessary.

Just in case you guys would like to see it for yourself!!!

Herrick, Ariane L. “Evidence-Based Management of Raynaud's Phenomenon.” Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease, SAGE Publications, Dec. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5700788/.

“Raynaud's Disease | Raynaud's Syndrome.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 Feb. 2020, medlineplus.gov/raynaudsdisease.html.