I have Raynaulds. A couple things... Everyone is different and of course cold temperatures can make it worse, but you also may want to note that emotional stress can set it off. Caffeine can worsen it for some people too.

I wear gloves and extra socks sometimes when it's bad or when I have to clean out the fridge/freezer, etc.. but I think you may find the cold is coming form the inside out so no matter how much you cover your extremities, they may still feel cold. At least mine do. I do find keeping your overall temperature higher helps. So, putting on a sweater or vest in addition to gloves and socks even when you are inside actually seems to help my hands and feet feel less cold.

Good luck. I hope your condition is mild and doesn't present itself too often.

My Indiana BFF's daughter had it. She was in high school and I remember seeing her hands during the winter. She must have had it really bad because they would crack and bleed and sometimes get sores on them. Feet, too, although I never saw them. Her mom bought everything new that came out for her. Wish they'd had the internet back then. I'm sure there's a lot more info/help now than in the late '70's.

I wish you the best and hope your case is mild.

Apparently there are special gloves and socks that you can but, I am going to look into that. Unfortunately I live in a cold climate so winters are going to pose a real problem.

My neighbor has Raynaud's. Do you smoke? She quit and is now using a e-cig. She was have about 15+ attacks of Raynaud's a week, now maybe only a only a couple.. if that.
I don't know much about it myself. Just pay close attention to it.

Yes, I have had it for many years. Now that I am retired and don't have to get out on a cold morning I don't suffer from it as much as before. But, just tonight I had a glass of milk with my evening meal and my fingers turned white from just handling the cold glass of milk. It's something you just have to learn how to adjust your life style with gloves and warm clothing all winter. In the summer always carry a light jacket or sweater in the car.

joann's got a good point, smoking is suppose to be really bad for Raynauds too.

I haven't heard much about the gloves/socks. I knew they existed but never really thought they would help much. Did you Doctor recommend them? And, are you talking about the infarred heated ones, the circulatory ones, or the fingerless arthritic ones? I'd try to hunt down some reviews from unbiased sites before purchasing. If they help any, please let us know.

Yes, I am going to have to be more careful during the winter months.

My Raynaud's started in my feet about 30 years ago. At the time, my hands were unaffected, but they soon followed suit. It has gotten progressively worse, and for quite a few years now I get sores on my fingers and damage to the pre-emergent fingernails, so that they grow in deformed. They don't start looking normal again until the fall, at which point the whole cycle starts over again.

This winter was the worst yet, because not only were the sores on the tops and sides of my fingers as usual, but on the pads and fingertips as well. There are thousands of nerve endings in the fingers, and the sores are wickedly painful. Doing the slightest task was torture. I couldn't operate a manual can opener or peel a carrot. In the normal course of events we bump our fingers on things and never even notice. I, on the other hand, cried out in pain numerous times per day this winter. And since I'm all by myself, I didn't do it for attention. :-)

I thank again the KTers who recommended Working Hands. It didn't help with the pain, of course, nor protect me from getting the sores, but I strongly suspect it kept them from cracking and opening more than they did. Open Raynaud's sores are dangerous because they can turn into gangrene.

I solved the problem in my feet by wearing these every day. I go through at least one pair a day, six or seven months of the year. It's an expense, but well worth it. They stick onto the outside of my socks, and are very effective. I've tried battery powered socks and socks that claimed to keep feet warm--no deal.

I also carry one of these in my pocket all day, even if I never leave the house. It instantly warms my hands when needed, and lasts a long time.

When I do have to go outdoors--to get firewood or whatever--I don't stay long. Even so, only the combination of gloves within mittens will keep my hands warm for longer than a couple of minutes.

For those who want to see the visible damage, here are a couple of pictures of my hands. I didn't put them into the post because they're not pretty pictures and you might not want to look. They actually looked worse at other times this winter, but these will give you an idea of what happens.

photo 1

photo 2

My Raynaud's is not as bad as yours, Susan. I have red raised bumpy sores on my hands, but so far no open ones. My feet are usually white when I go in the bath tub. I take a warm/hot bubble bath every night and watch my toes change color. They go from white to black to purple and then pink. Occasionally in the middle of summer if I handle frozen food in a store, my finger(s) will got totally numb and feel like a dead person's finger. It will be white and totally with out feeling. I run warm water on it and gradually it pinks up. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life but I do have fibromyalgia and I heard that is related.

Lily, your white toes can't be very comfortable. I recommend the Toastie Toes foot warmers. I have fibromyalgia, too, BTW.

Enjoying spring, I don't know if your doctor mentioned it, but Raynaud's can be a condition on its own (primary) or be a symptom of an underlying autoimmune disease (secondary). When mine was first diagnosed, I was also diagnosed with lupus, but that diagnosis has since been withdrawn. So the Raynsud's is primary. Someone at the KT has scleroderma, and Raynaud's almost always goes with that.

My mother had both scleroderma and Raynaud's for about thirty years. They made her life very difficult.

I have very mild primary Raynauds. Thus far I have uncomfortably cold hands and feet in the winter. I wear socks and slippers in the house and often gloves. I always have hand and foot warmers in my go bag in my vehicle.

I can only say I really sympathize with those of you who suffer with these more advanced forms. My very relatively mild case makes me miserable enough.

I have an amazing collection of thick fluffy socks and warm insulated mittens for a Californian. LOL

I carry those little magic stretch gloves with me into the grocery store for when I need to shop in the freezer section even during warm weather. Trouble is I forget to use them at times.

So far mine is very mild but I have heard that the more times your feet and hands get cold the more nerve damage it does. So I guess the trick is to make sure you keep warm. Good idea wildchild about to use those stretch gloves when shopping in the freezer section.

Now that I know what I have I am certainly going to try very hard not to get my feet and hands cold, it is going to be tricky living in a cold climate.

Has anyone every bought those special gloves and socks???

Thanks for all your replies, it is comforting to know I am not alone.

Has anyone every bought those special gloves and socks???

What sort of gloves and socks do you mean? Can you describe them? I've tried various products, without success.

Wow Alisande, my Reynaud's is not as bad as yours. Mine is secondary to scleroderma. But my nails are crummy. Aside from cracking and splitting often, most of them bend forward now. I also see some similarity with the bottom of the nail, near the cuticle to yours. Oh, and another weird thing the nail and fingertip seem joined farther up than they used to. I keep an eye on it, but don't stress about it. My sister has some severe damage from lupus and I know my problems aren't even close to hers.

I was looking at this site for "gloves and socks" for Raynaud's. I wish I would hear from someone who has bought them to find out if they work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gloves and Socks for Raynaud's

I wish I could give you some feedback, but I've never heard of them. Carla mentioned infrared products above; maybe she's heard some comment.

I will say I didn't think much of their "Customer Message." A splint and surgery for Raynauds?? Makes no sense. Sounds like this person had carpal tunnel instead.

Also, I question part of their claim:

Far infrared rays gently penetrate the soft tissues of your hands and begin a number of therapeutic processes that lead to the rejuvenation of tiny capillaries, blood vessels, and nerves. This process helps to prevent and reverse the damaging effects of repetitive Raynauds attacks.

I may be wrong, but I don't think the nerves get damaged. If they did, I wouldn't be in such acute pain every winter. It's tissue (and nails in their infancy) that gets damaged. In Raynaud's Syndrome, the capillaries shut down at a certain temperature. This temp can vary from person to person. I don't understand the "rejuvenation" they're talking about. Sounds like a snake-oil sales pitch to me, but again, I'm not an expert, even though dealing with the condition is a major issue for me.

Dr. Andrew Weil recommmends 100mg of niacin twice a day for Raynaud's, and also 120 to 240mg of ginkgo. I've taken both, but rather randomly. I'll try a more regular dose next year--although today is ridiculously cold and windy. And rainy!

Thanks alisade for mentioning Niacin and ginkgo, I will give that a try next winter. Dr. Weil usually has good advice.

My nails are strong and thick and don't bend. My thumb nails have always had ridges on them but are not brittle. The day the temperatures rise, my symptoms almost completely disappear. But today is cold, rainy, and windy and my feet feel frozen. My toes are pure white.