Raynaud’s and Scleroderma

Raynaud’s disease is basically a disorder of the blood vessels which supply blood to the skin. This condition causes the toes, fingers and occasionally the nose, ears, knees, nipples and tongue to feel numb and cold.

A typical attack of Raynaud takes place in stages and might appear as follows:
The part of the body which is affected firstly turns out to be white as a result of the reduction in supply of blood. Next, the appearance of a blue tinge takes place as oxygen gets reduced in the area and red mark implies that the supply of blood has came back to normal.

It should be noted that though the above experience is regarded as typical, not every individual with Raynaud’s disease experiences these changes nor do they take place in every attack.

Raynaud’s episodes can be found out by cold, either by touching cold objects or by being in a cold environment, body particularly lessens flow of blood by constricting the small arteries beneath the skin of your extremities.

Scleroderma is also known as systemic sclerosis. Scleroderma is a connective tissue, autoimmune disease. Scleroderma leads to thickening and inflammation of the skin. Genes may play the main role in the development of scleroderma. Scleroderma is a dispersed connective tissue disease characterized by changes in the blood vessels, skin, internal organs and skeletal muscles.

A disease of connective tissue is one which affects tissues like skin, cartilage and tendons. In few cases, scleroderma also affects the internal organs and blood vessels. In these disorders, antibodies of a person are directed against his/her own tissues.

Scleroderma can be classified in terms of the location and degree of the skin involvement. Accordingly, scleroderma has been classified into two main groups, limited and diffuse. Diffuse form of scleroderma involves symmetric thickening of skin of the face, extremities, trunk (chest, abdomen, back or flanks) which can progress rapidly to hardening after an early inflammatory phase. Organ disease can take place early on and can be serious. Organs affected consist of the esophagus, lungs, and bowels with scarring, kidneys, and heart.

Scleroderma can affect many different organs and organ systems. Exposure to industrial solvents or an environmental agent might play a main role in inclining towards scleroderma. Medications that help with circulation of blood are angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and low-dose enteric-coated aspirin. Hydroxychloroquine drug has comparatively few side-effects, and it is also helpful for the arthritis that can be related to scleroderma.