The autoimmune blog Sick with Optimism recently published a list of cold drink strategies for Raynaud’s sufferers titled “5 Cold Drink Hacks for Raynaud’s Protection.”
The author (not identified), who also suffers from scleroderma, shares her story of being bullied as a child in the snow. Reading about the episode is enough to send chills down any Frostie’s spine! Sad to think how many of us have lived through such incidents without understanding why our reaction to snow and ice was so much stronger than that experienced by other children.
She rightly describes a main trigger of attacks as due to changes in temperature. That’s not something most doctors share with us. We’re not only susceptible to the cold, but any dramatic change in temperature – even going from a freezing cold store into the hot and humid weather outdoors can cause a Raynaud’s attack.
She also makes the comment that “each episode can cause permanent damage to nerves and blood vessels.” This is an extreme outcome, but something more of an issue for severe sufferers like the author with the secondary form of Raynaud’s. What is true is that Ray