White and very cold hands of corpse-finger disease, the suffering of women

Leichenfingerkrankheit: The Raynaud syndrome especially women
Some people are more concerned about the cold season than others: In people who suffer from the so-called Raynaud syndrome, the blood circulation in the fingers is abruptly reduced enormously or even stopped. Trigger is often a cold. The phenomenon, also known as "corpse-finger disease", mainly affects women.
Circulatory disorders in the fingers
Some people have a particularly difficult time in winter: In people who suffer from the so-called Raynaud's syndrome, it can lead to enormous circulatory problems in the fingers, especially at low temperatures, which then quickly ice cold and white.

This phenomenon, also called "corpse-finger disease" or "white-finger disease", may also affect the toes or nipples of lactating women. They often have very sensitive breasts, especially in cold weather. According to the German Society of Vascular Medicine, up to 20 percent of the population in Europe is affected by Raynaud's syndrome.

Cold as a trigger
The typical symptom of Raynaud's phenomenon is the white fingers. Especially women suffer from it. "They make up 90 percent of those affected," said Clemens Fahrig, medical director of the Evangelical Hospital Hubertus in Berlin and head of the vascular center Berlin-Brandenburg, in a message from the news agency dpa. The trigger is usually a cold. This can be icy wind, cold water from the faucet or even the freezing temperatures in the freezer. "This stimulus causes the vessels in the fingers, and more rarely in the toes, to contract and the blood circulation to come to a standstill," says Fahrig. The phenomenon is named after the French physician Maurice Raynaud, who described it for the first time in the 19th century.

Vascular spasm can take several hours
In some cases, the vascular spasm lasts only a few minutes, in others it dissolves only after several hours. But even a prolonged shortage does not hurt the tissue, explained the vascular specialist. However, the side effects can be very unpleasant. At first, they are cold and when the blood returns, it can cause tingling and pain in the fingers. The attacks often occur in puberty for the first time. In addition to cold, excitement, stress and some medications can trigger. Little is known about the causes. According to Fahrig, low blood pressure seems to play a role. In addition, often several members of a family are affected.

As a disease, the syndrome is not referred to, but life planning can be greatly influenced by: "Occupations in which a lot of working outside or dealing with cold water, are problematic."

Heat helps best
Heat is the most effective antidote. This must be remembered in time. "Hands must not get cold first," explained Fahrig. Therefore, for example, gloves should be dressed already in the apartment. "Plus, even the thickest lambskin mittens will not work if they have seams that let the cold in," says the expert. It makes sense to use the so-called onion principle: thin, silk gloves - warmed up on the heater - make windproof models with climate membranes. An alternative may be heatable gloves. But if the vascular spasm has already begun and the fingers are cold and bloodless, you should be careful when warming up with warm water, because with the blood has also given way to the heat sensitivity: "There is a risk of scalding due to hot water," warned Fahrig. Small, gel-filled heat pads are safer. Since stress can also be a trigger for the phenomenon, some doctors recommend relaxation exercises for stress relief as a therapy or prevention.

Especially young women affected
The Raynaud syndrome mainly affects young women. "If blood pressure increases with age, it can get better or even disappear," says Fahrig. However, if it does increase or only occurs after the 40th birthday, this is an alarm signal: "Maybe it is then the symptom of scleroderma," explained Keihan Ahmadi-Simab, Medical Director of the Klinikum Stephansplatz in Hamburg. This inflammatory autoimmune disease leads to hardening of the skin and can attack internal organs.

A blood test and an examination of the fine finger blood vessels under the microscope can bring clarity. In some cases, treatment with medication is required. "If a scleroderma is recognized at such an early stage, we can counteract the further course of the disease and possible complications much better," said the internist and rheumatologist Ahmadi-Simab. Fahrig also recommends having Raynaud's symptoms checked out when they first appear or when they worsen. However, he said: "Less than five percent of sufferers actually develop scleroderma." (Ad)