We are weathering another arctic blast. Good news we have some some snow to ski a bit longer. Bad news it's been cold, like zero degree cold. Today though promises a warm up and already at 10:00am it is feeling a bit warmer, especially since we have a strong sun today.
Raynauds. A phenomenon that exaggerates the vasomotor responses to cold or stress. When exposed to cold temperatures the blood supply to the fingers or toes and in some cases nose or earlobes is markedly reduced, the skin turns pale or white and becomes cold and numb.
First time I was told I have this about 10 years ago, it was really good to know. I could not figure out why when temps start dropping below 50-60 degrees I get this response. As you can imagine Winters can be hell. Even as I type this in my warm environment, my right fingers are white and the blood is slowly working it's way back after a quick jaunt to get coffee which involved a 5 min each way ride to the Coffee house and back...that was 1/2 hr ago. Somehow Raynauds and Sjogrens, of which I also have are related, both autoimmune responses possibly. Sjogrens is a topic for another day.
Unfortunately the medical solution for Raynauds is stay warm and take Beta blockers. I tried taking Beta blockers for about two days that 10 years ago and couldn't handle it...as with most medical solutions the side effects sucked. Basically your heart feels like crap and the vaso dilation causes head aches and swells you sinus cavities and I couldn't breath through my nose. At least for me.
I'll just suffer. I'm usually ok after I get everything warmed up...just need to make sure the hands don't turn blue!
1 comment:
I have the raynauds thing too. Makes one quite attentive to temperature. I'm most susceptible to it during a post-workout cool down or sitting still for a long time at work.
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