Our Spring 2025 RA Q&A column shares inquiries we’ve received about Raynaud’s, symptoms, products, treatments, doctors, warming tips and more. We hope fellow Frosties are finding our responses in these articles helpful.
I’m in my eighties and was just told that I have Raynaud’s Phenomenon. I had never heard of this before. I’ve lived in Florida for the past 20 years during the winter and now moved back to Ohio. I was told cold weather can cause Raynaud’s. How warm does it need to get for this to go away?
Sorry to hear of your Raynaud’s symptoms now that you’re living in a colder climate. There’s not one answer to your question, as we each have our own temperature thresholds for triggering Raynaud’s attacks. For some, it can be as warm as 75 degrees. Others can tolerate as low as 50 degree weather, it’s really an individual issue. I’d suggest you track the temperatures that trigger your attacks, then be proactive in wrapping up well on days when you see the forecast is likely to be uncomfortable for you.
But it’s not just the outside temps that can trigger attacks. It could be holding a cold can of soda, walking through the refrigerated section of the grocery store, reaching into the freezer, or sitting in an air conditioned theatre in the summer months. Also, any dramatic change in temperature, up or down, can trigger an attack. So exiting a cold air conditioned store on a hot humid day – when you might think you’ll feel relief – can actually result in the opposite effect.
If you find that your attacks are severe enough to warrant medication, there are treatment options that you can explore with your doctor. Here’s an article on the subject: Treatment Options for Raynaud’s Phenomenon. We also review several heated and warming items that you might find useful in our Product Showcase. Hope the above information is helpful.
I have secondary Raynaud’s from vibration exposure in a machine shop. I just had a ‘cold immersion test’ done and was hoping you might have a resource to help interpret the results.
We don’t have any medical professionals on our all-volunteer team to provide an expert answer on this issue, but I believe they are only measuring the amount of time it takes for your finger temperature to return to normal after being removed from the ice water. What I’ve seen reported is that the threshold is about 20 minutes. If it takes that long or more, you probably have Raynaud’s.
Keep in mind it’s not an exact science, and this test isn’t fully accurate in all cases. There really is no formal test to diagnose Raynaud’s. Even this one is only directional. A doctor needs to take into account your description of the symptoms you describe, maybe review photos you bring showing the color changes you’ve experienced or actually witness an attack. It’s really frustrating, but that’s where we are right now!
Please could you tell me where in the UK to get a nail fold capillaroscopy? Would you consider this the best test for diagnosing secondary Raynaud’s? Thanks for your help.
Sorry but we’re based in the U.S. Here most rheumatologists can perform a nailfold capillaroscopy, not sure if it’s the same in your country. You might want to contact the UK-based SRUK organization. Here’s their email address: info@sruk.co.uk.
The key standard is the ANA blood test – it stands for antinuclear antibody test. If it’s positive, then it’s likely an autoimmune disease is involved, and more tests are needed to determine which one(s). Even if positive, it’s possible no other issues will surface. In this case it’s considered an undifferentiated connective tissue disease with nothing else to treat, but the Raynaud’s is considered secondary, and a doctor will want to continue monitoring the patient to see if the numbers are rising (or falling) and if other symptoms are becoming an issue.
The nailfold capillaroscopy is used to detect abnormalities in the skin around the nails that can be associated with connective tissue diseases, particularly scleroderma. So it’s a good non-invasive indicator that can be done right in the doctor’s office to study if a primary ailment is likely present to which a patient’s Raynaud’s can be secondary. But it’s generally not done alone – a rheumatologist would also want to run an ANA blood test for further confirmation.
I specifically want to know what office adaptions I can use to help. I do a lot of typing and developed Raynaud’s this past year – more recently I feel it is getting worse . It doesn’t even have to be that cold, mornings are especially bad.
To your question about ideas for typing and staying warm in the office, I’d suggest trying The Writer’s Glove (come in pairs, but the name is singular). These gloves are a thin, stretchy combination of polyester and spandex, with a hint of copper (known to help regulate blood flow and boost circulation). They were designed for use indoors offering enough dexterity for typing. Their initial design was pretty good, but their upgraded version really fits like a second skin! The gloves now incorporate a thin slice of graphene known for its thermal properties as an excellent source for retaining body heat and keeping hands warm. With the original version, I needed a few minutes to adjust to wearing them before typing well, but with the new ones you’re just not conscious of wearing anything at all on your hands for easy instant typing. They are a really great option for us Frosties who need a lot of dexterity in the office. Here’s our full product review with order and discount information: The Writer’s Glove®
Separate from gloves for typing, keep in mind that it’s important to keep your core warm, not just fingers and toes, as Raynaud’s attacks happen in response to the body sending blood away from the extremities in order to redirect it to the core when it senses you’re under threat of cold or stress. So dress in layers to help trap heat and insulate the body. Consider a heated vest, which may just look like a standard layer to fellow office workers, but you’ll be toasty for hours wearing one (good brands include Volt, Gobi, G-Tech and Gerbing). Adding a scarf around the neck seems to warm the whole body for many of us. And keep warming products handy, such as disposable and rechargeable hand warmers (HotHands Warmers, Ocoopa Rechargeable Hand Warmers). Hope the above ideas are helpful.
We’d appreciate your feedback on our Spring 2025 RA Q&A column. Have questions for us? We’re not medical professionals or the Good Housekeeping Lab when it comes to testing products, but we’ll do our best to provide fellow Frosties with answers. Write to us at info@raynauds.org.
