RaynaudsRelief.com is a website designed to educate on the 3 stages of Raynaud's Phenomenon, the two main types of Raynaud's and solutions to the Raynaud's Phenomenon.
Cold fingers caused by
Raynaud's Disease
The first and most common stage of the Raynaud's Phenomenon
Everyone has been outside when it is freezing cold and had their hands or feet turn white and become numb. The reason that your extremities turn white is due to vasoconstriction. Vasoconstriction decreases blood flow by constricting the wall of your blood vessels causing less blood to flow to your outer extremities (i.e. fingers, hands, feet, toes, etc). This is the body's natural reaction in an attempt to retain its core heat. The average person suffering from cold weather or Raynaud's Phenomenon doesn't typically experience any worse side effects, but it can get much more severe for a chronic Raynaud's Disease sufferer. Imagine now that your hands or feet are so cold that they turn from white to blue. This is the next stage of the Raynaud's Phenomenon.
The last 2 stages experienced by Raynaud's sufferers
The blue color that has now taken over your fingers is caused by cyanosis, which is the color of deoxygenated hemoglobin near the skins surface. It appears to be blue but you are really seeing a dark red color that shows blue when refracted and absorbed by the skin. This is more prominent when coupled with the effects of vasoconstriction and is mostly found in fingers, underneath fingernails and lips. Put simply this stage is the effects of oxygen depleted blood (dark red blood) caused and made prominent by the first step of Raynaud's which is vasoconstriction.
The last step of Raynaud's would be when you are starting to bounce back and return to normal color. Once you start to warm up your blood vessels will start to dilate and blood rushes back into your affected areas. This can get painful and the two most common effects of this are swelling and the feeling of "pins and needles". The feeling of pins and needles is known as Paresthesia and can also be associated with the feeling of an extremity "falling asleep".
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Cold fingers caused by Raynaud's Disease, showing the
temperature of the fingers. Darker means colder.
What kind of Raynaud's do you experience?
Now that you understand the different stages of Raynaud's, let's look at two main types of Raynaud's sufferers. Someone who suffers from Raynaud's Disease can have a Raynaud's episode caused by many different triggers. The main triggers are cold weather and emotional stress with the most common demographic afflicted being young adult women. The second type of Raynaud's sufferer is someone who doesn't have the chronic disorder but has exposed themselves to cold temperatures and experiences the side effects of the Raynaud's Phenomenon.
Finally a product and Company that can help
Raynaud's is your body's natural reaction to the cold and can be a very painful experience and those that suffer from Raynaud's Disease are far more susceptible to the above mentioned stages of the Phenomenon. People who suffer from chronic Raynaud's Disease are often times limited from performing activities and events in the colder months and in some severe cases all year round. Although Raynaud's isn't curable, the Raynaud's Phenomenon can be avoided by even the most severe Raynaud's Disease sufferer. The main key is to keep your core temperature and extremities warm. That is easy at home or in your car because you can always get another blanket, throw another log on the fire or just turn the heat up. Once you step into an environment that you can't control the temperature in you are at the mercy of your body's ability to stay warm. There are products that can help you stay warm and help fight the side effects of Raynaud's Phenomenon. Available now to consumers are heated clothes designed for the US Military but trendy enough to wear to the store. Gerbing's Heated Clothing has been providing consumers with clothes and accessories that give them that "just out of the dryer warmth" for over 30 years. Traditionally Gerbing's Heated Clothing has provided motorcyclists with heated suits that were tethered to the motorcycle itself. Gerbing's Heated Clothing now has launched the new Core Heat products that are powered by a 7 volt rechargeable lithium battery. Our clothes and accessories can now operate at high temperatures for extended periods of time with a battery that is smaller than most cell phones. Gerbing's Heated Clothing uses a patented high grade Microwire technology that was developed for the US Military. From the sporty Core Heated Vests to our wide variety of Core Heated Gloves and accessories we believe in the quality of our products and that is why every product that leaves Gerbing's Heated Clothing carries a lifetime warranty on its wiring.
A warm hand just out of a heated Gerbing's glove, showing
a perfect heat distribution. Average temperature: 96.3°F.
Also note the warm air rising from the hand.
Gerbing's Heated Clothing's new Core Heated Vests allows users to be comfortable in cold weather without piling on bulky layers. The Softshell vest comes in a men's and women's cut and has a small sleek thermostat that allows the user to fine tune the heat output for their specific need. The Core Heated Fleece Vest comes in black and Camo for a day at the ballgame or a day in the tree stand. Once you try one of our heated vests on you will wonder why you didn't get one earlier.
The Core Heated Glove line includes four varieties of heated gloves to keep you from getting cold hands. The Snow gloves are aimed at the skier who would like a little added warmth on the slope plus the comfort of an Aqua-Tex lining to keep them 100% waterproof. The Camo gloves are made with whisper quiet micro fleece and are made with Aqua-Tex and Thinsulate to keep them waterproof and warm. Core Heated Fleece Gloves are a lightweight two layered glove for a great fit and look for around town or at the ball game. Core Heated Mitts have a brushed polyester shell with a poly fleece interior and are made to slide on and off easily.
The next time you have a Raynaud's episode remember that you don't have to be miserable and you can call on Gerbing's Core Heat to keep you warm.
