REYNAUDS AND SCLERODERMA
RAYNAUD'S PHENOMENON
This is an intermittent loss of blood supply to the fingers,
toes, nose, ears and possibly other parts of the body. Usually
the fingers go white, blue and red. There may be considerable
pain, numbness or tingling, but not all these changes necessarily
occur in every patient. The stimulus is usually a change
in temperature or stress.
It is more common in women and may be either primary or
secondary to other diseases.
These symptoms are due to an intermittent lack of blood
in the affected parts when the arteries normally supplying
them spasmodically contract. An attack will often be triggered
by touching cold objects or exposure to cold of any kind.
Emotions, such as anxiety, also play a part, as can smoking.
Primary Raynaud's occurs spontaneously, without any underlying
condition being present. It can be hereditary, in which
case it is usually fairly mild
SCLERODERMA
Scleroderma, also known as Systemic Sclerosis, is a disease
affecting the
connective tissue. Scleroderma means hard skin but the hardness
is not
limited to the skin - the internal organs (lungs, heart,
kidneys and gut)
and their blood supply may become damaged. The disease can
be mild or
severe, the cause is still unknown and treatment is inadequate.
Information Courtesy of:
Raynaud's & Scleroderma Association
112 Crewe Road, Alsager, Cheshire ST7 2JA
For Further information visit the website:
www.raynauds.demon.co.uk
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