Raynaud's disease: is it worth it to sound an alarm?

Raynaud's disease has become a common diagnosis in modern medicine, with mostly young women suffering from it. This disease refers to the autonomic nervous system, which is accompanied by vasospasms, resulting in a violation of their innervation.

With the progression of this pathology, an unexpected increase in the tone of certain groups of arteries is diagnosed. Why is this happening? Everything is directly related to the abnormal functioning of the nervous regulation, which is preceded by a violation of the circulation of the vessels of the extremities, which extends to the small arteries of the hands and feet. In the human body there is a false spasm of blood vessels, as a result of which they are forced to narrow, limiting the access of blood to the tissues being fed.

It is also dangerous that Raynaud's disease can progress. Everything begins quite harmlessly, and the potential patient experiences short-term attacks of anemia of the fingers, which are most often observed when exposed to cold or when in contact with cold water, for example, during washing or wet cleaning. The same symptoms can be aggravated with a strong emotional excitement. At first the fingers sharply turn white, grow numb, and a sharp pain is observed. At an early stage of the disease, everything passes after a brief massage of the hands or feet to warm them, but already with the progression of this pathology such physiotherapy is not enough. Gradually, Raynaud's disease begins to develop, the symptoms of which become more alarming and even dangerous. Attacks begin to recur much more often, and without apparent causes, their duration also increases, sometimes reaching two hours. It should also be noted that such anomalies are accompanied not by the pallor of the skin, but by its cyanosis and swelling. But this does not end there either, such changes are accompanied by the formation of ulcers in the visible foci of inflammation, which are replaced later by deep foci of necrosis of tissues. The fingers of the feet and brushes are more often affected, more rarely - such protruding parts of the body as the nose, chin and ears. In the latter examples, there is a similar clinical picture of the symptoms, but still similar in appearance with the usual frostbite.

To study this pathology is very difficult. One thing is clear: its development is associated with a violation of the flow of blood to the above-described organs, which received in medicine the definition of ischemia. A huge amount of detailed research of the arteries of patients was carried out, but, unfortunately, a pathogenic "barrier" for normal internal blood flow was never found.

To determine the origin of such an anomaly, as Raynaud's disease, has not yet been achieved, but a certain pattern has been revealed that allows foreseeing the course of the disease. Thus, early seizures may be the result of previous infections, hypothermia or overwork, and further development may be facilitated by brain trauma or emotional breakdown. In addition, the hereditary factor plays a role, testifying to the inherited response of the vessels to external stimuli.

It is not necessary to launch Raynaud's disease, whose treatment depends on the diagnosed clinical picture. So, conservative treatment means the use of vasodilator drugs, which patients sometimes take for years, subsequently experiencing significant complications with health against such medication. There is also a surgical method of treatment called sympathectomy. Its essence lies in a certain "neutralization" of pathogenic vessels, through which a spasmodic impulse flows, capable of detrimental narrowing of healthy vessels. Also, this pathology is treated with stem cells, which can definitively stop the development of the disease, but such treatment is very expensive.

Either way, Raynaud's disease should be treated timely to avoid fatal consequences for the body.