There is no single test to diagnose Raynaud’s phenomenon. Doctors usually diagnose Raynaud’s phenomenon after taking a complete medical history, an exam, and tests. Tests may include:
- Blood tests.
- Looking at fingernail tissue with a microscope.
If you are diagnosed with Raynaud’s phenomenon, your doctor will likely perform more tests to determine what form of the disease you have.
- Nailfold capillaroscopy: during this test, your doctor will put a drop of oil on your nailfolds, the skin at the base of the fingernail. Your doctor will then examines your nailfolds under a microscope to look for problems in the tiny blood vessels called capillaries. If your capillaries are enlarged or malformed, you may have a connective tissue disease.
- Antinuclear antibody (ANA) test: in this blood test, the doctor determines whether your body is producing special proteins called antibodies. These abnormal antibodies are often found in people who have connective tissue diseases or autoimmune disorders.
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate): this blood test measures how quickly your red blood cells fall to the bottom of a test tube of unclotted blood. Red blood cells that fall rapidly descending may suggest you have inflammation in your body. This is a sign that you may have an inflammatory disease.
There are several treatments for Raynaud’s phenomenon. The goal of treatment is to:
- Reduce how many attacks you have.
- Make attacks less severe.
- Prevent tissue damage.
- Prevent loss of finger and toe tissue.
Treatment for Primary Raynaud’s Phenomenon
People with the primary form of Raynaud’s phenomenon are rarely treated with medication. Most people with the primary form of Raynaud’s phenomenon can prevent or manage the disease without medicine. Strategies include:
- Keep your hands and feet warm and dry.
- Warm your hands and feet with warm water.
- Avoid air conditioning.
- Wear gloves to touch frozen or cold foods.
- Wear many layers of loose clothing and a hat when it’s cold.
- Use chemical warmers, such as small heating pouches that can be placed in pockets, mittens, boots, or shoes.
- Talk to your doctor before exercising outside in cold weather.
- Don’t smoke.
- Avoid medicines that make symptoms worse.
- Control stress.
- Exercise regularly.
Treatment for Secondary Form of Raynaud’s Phenomenon
People with secondary form of Raynaud’s phenomenon are more likely than those with the primary form to be treated with medicines. If you have the secondary form of Raynaud’s phenomenon, your doctor may prescribe medicines because severe attacks that cause ulcers or tissue damage are more likely. Medicines used to treat Raynaud’s phenomenon include:
- Blood pressure medicines.
- Medicines that relax blood vessels.
Pregnant woman should not take these medicines.
Surgery
If you have a severe cases of Raynaud’s phenomenon, you may need surgery to restore blood flow to parts of the body affected by the disease.
There are steps you can take to decrease the number of Raynaud's attacks you have and the severity of these attacks.
- Keep warm. Set your thermostat to a higher temperature. You lose a lot of body hear through your head; wear a hat. Keep your feet warm and dry. In cold weather, wear several layers of loose clothing, socks, hats, and gloves or mittens. Keep pocket warmers in your pockets if you are will be outside for a long time. Use insulated drinking glasses when drinking something cold. Put on gloves before handling frozen or refrigerated foods.
- Avoid rapidly shifting temperatures and damp climates. Rapidly moving from 90 degrees outside to a 70-degree air-conditioned room can bring on an attack. So can damp rainy weather.
- Avoid air conditioning. In warm weather, air conditioning also can bring on attacks.
- Do not smoke. The nicotine in cigarettes causes the skin temperature to drop, which may lead to an attack.
- Avoid medicines that bring on attacks. Certain medicines cause the blood vessel to narrow, which can bring on an attack. These include beta-blockers, cold preparations, caffeine, narcotics, some migraine headache medications, and some chemotherapy drugs. Talk to your doctor before starting any new medicines. Do not stop any medicines you are taking without talking to your doctor first.
- Control stress. Because stress can bring on an attack, learning how to manage or control stress is important. Talk to your doctor about stress reduction techniques.
- Exercise regularly. Exercise can improve your overall well-being. In addition, it can increase your energy level, help control your weight, keep your heart healthy, and improve sleep. Talk to their doctors before starting an exercise program.
There is no way to prevent Raynaud’s phenomenon but there are way to prevent an attack. See the above section, Living with Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Your prognosis often depends on what form of the disease you have and what underlying health condition(s) you have. Many people with Raynaud's phenomenon have mild symptoms that do not not cause any blood vessel or tissue damage. These symptoms are easily managed, often without medicines. Others have more severe symptoms. For most people with Raynaud's phenomenon, the disease is lifelong.