I have been meaning to write a post about Raynaud’s Phenomenon and Chillblains for some time. So why not today while I’m watching snow fall peacefully and thinking, that won’t be good for my toes.

First off, for those of you that don’t know, Raynaud’s is a circulation condition in which cold temperatures or strong emotions cause blood vessel spasms that block blood flow to the fingers, toes, ears, and nose. Meanwhile, Chillblains is a tissue condition that occurs with cold exposure, causing redness, blisters, pain, inflammation and itching.

For me, what this actually means is that I have struggled with cold hands and feet from poor circulation my whole life. When I hit puberty, this translated into my hands and feet occasionally (usually at really inopportune times, because Raynaud’s can be associated with emotion) turning really spectacular shades of blue, red and purple. In my late 20’s, the most common symptom is losing all blood flow to my hands and feet when they’re extremely cold or in high altitude. This causes them to go white and numb.

Then, this year rolls around and my toes are now prone to the really painful, unattractive blisters associated with Chillblains after cold exposure. Fun!

I’m only writing about this because it took me forever to diagnose these two problems. When I first got Chillblains, I thought I’d had a run-in with a troop of vicious spiders that had bit up my toes.

Now, unfortunately, the only treatment I’ve been prescribed is avoiding cold (Ha! Who are we kidding? I ski and snowboard… and I’m training for a marathon in the winter). Other tips include warming your extremities slowly when you come in from the cold (much like frostbite). I’ve also found putting witch hazel on my toes twice a day helps a little.

Though my doc says these are two separate issues from Rheumatoid Arthritis, I’m not convinced it’s unrelated. I am curious how many of you autoimmuners out there also suffer from circulation issues? If so, any tips?

AND, in case you didn’t see my last post, please consider donating to help me reach my goal of raising $500 for autoimmune disease research and running my first marathon! I’m only $200 away!