Blue Fingers - Causes and Therapies

If our fingers are blue or bluish, then this is due to a lack of supply of oxygen, especially in Raynaud's syndrome or acrocyanosis, a vascular spasm. The arteries cramp, while the veins dilate: The oxygen-poor blood in the veins turns out to be blue.

contents

• The Raynaud's syndrome
• symptoms
• causes
• diagnosis
• therapy
• Home remedies and self-help
• references

The Raynaud's syndrome

Raynaud's syndrome is a circulatory disorder. Triggers are cold, wet or cramping. In strong cold, the fingers first turn white and cool off, because no warm blood of the arteries gets into it. Warming up the fingers, they turn reddish, because arterial blood penetrates into them.

But if the vessels are closed, the fingers turn blue. The oxygen is missing. Normally, the metabolism ensures that the vascular spasm dissolves again and blood gets into the fingers.

Blue fingers indicate that something is wrong with the blood circulation. There are multiple reasons for that. Image: staras - fotolia

Raynaud's syndrome manifests as vascular spasms in the fingers and toes. Raynaud's primary syndrome is characterized by no basal disease of the vessels. The victims are mostly young women, but also generally people who put a lot of pressure on their fingers, for example by working on machines that permanently burden the blood vessels.

The primary Raynaud syndrome affects mainly women in or after puberty. A genetic disposition is suspected because the disease occurs in families. The seizures are usually dissolved by cold and affect both hands.

The secondary Raynaud syndrome, however, accompanies very different diseases such as nerve damage, scleroderma or arterial occlusive disease. Medications such as beta-blockers or ergotamine can also trigger a secondary Raynaud's syndrome.

symptoms

Raynaud's syndrome is not only evident in blue fingers. Cramps on fingers and rarely the toes, auricles, nose, knees or nipples occur in seizures. Those affected feel pain, numbness and tingling.
The seizures can last a few minutes, but also several hours. In bad cases, the fingertips die off.

causes

In Raynaud's syndrome, the vessels in the fingers, toes and skin are constricted too long. The body also throttles the blood flow normally to store heat. But in Raynaud syndrome, the arteries close too much. In the primary Raynaud's syndrome, physicians discuss a malfunction of the nerves.

diagnosis

A Raynaud's syndrome usually recognizes the doctor, if the person concerned explains the exact symptoms to him. Then he must rule out that a basic disease exists. To diagnose a secondary Raynaud syndrome, the physician takes blood samples that examine vascular specialists.

therapy

The primary Raynaud's syndrome often disappears by itself. Medications that relieve the spasms include nitrates such as prazosin or sildenafil and calcium antagonists such as nifedipine. Secondary Raynaud syndrome requires treatment for the underlying disease.

A hand massage can relieve the symptoms of blue fingers. Image: Jonas Glaubitz - fotolia

Home remedies and self-help

Heat helps against the cramping of the vessels. Keep your hands in warm water, massage and move your fingers. Wear warm clothing, such as hand warmers or jackets with lined pockets. If you smoke, you should at least discontinue it for the duration of the discomfort, as it additionally narrows the vessels. Lots of exercise and sport helps against blue fingers. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)

references

http://www.klinikum.uni-muenchen.de/Gefaesszentrum/download/de/1100-fuer-patienten/dga-raynaud_screen_1_.pdf