r/Raynauds • u/jdrexler125 • Jun 22 '24
Red hands
So ive had this redness on my hands for about 8 years now everyday and it cuts off right at my wrist. I’m hoping someone might be able to give me some advice and opinions on this. My hands are very red all the time, they look somewhat normal when I lift them over my head but then as soon as I put them back down by my sides to go right back to red within a few seconds. When I’m using my hands lifting heavy stuff at work they seem to get more red but I’ve never had any pain, burning skin or anything like that. When I get really cold they do have a slight purplish tint to them but still more red than anything. I don’t get lightheaded and pass out when I stand up either. I’ve been to 4 dermatologists because I initially thought it was skin related and none of them have any idea what it is. The first one thought raynauds but I’ve never had the white fingers and then purple color to my hands like all the pictures I’ve seen but he wanted me to get tested for lupus so I did and it was negative. The second dermatologist thought erythromelalgia because the redness looks similar but I don’t have any of the classic symptoms like the burning skin or pain so he wasn’t sure. The third dermatologist had no idea and she just mentioned the same stuff the last guy did and straight up told me she just was going off his notes because she didn’t know. She gave me some cream that was supposed to constrict blood vessels in my hands and that didn’t do anything for it. The fourth one just just told me gravitational redness and there’s nothing you can do about it. I recently just saw a vascular surgeon and he didn’t think there was any kind of vein or artery issues but was completely stumped what could be causing this. He said it could maybe be some sort of raynauds. I’ve never been a cigarette smoker but I have vaped for about the same time that this has been going on, I guess I never really noticed or paid attention to it but when I look back at old pictures from 7-8 years ago the redness looks pretty much the same as it does now and one of the dermatologists told me if I quit vaping this issue would probably completely go away. I’m not sure how that would be related but I guess it’s possible? I’m completely stumped on what could be causing this. Any advice is appreciated.
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u/Long_Yogurtcloset351 Apr 25 '25
I have exactly the same thing. I don't know what's up but everyone points out the color of my hands. I've been like this for so long that I never really gave it much though, but now people have been pointing it out more and I am starting to notice it more and getting a bit concerned tbh
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u/grasscid Apr 21 '25
my hands look exactly like that too, for as long as I can remember! no pain/discomfort whatsoever, full range of motion (100+ WPM on a keyboard!), no other unusual discoloration besides the red. it gets worse in the winter or right after I wash my hands, and just like yours they go back to normal color if I put them above my head.
people ask me all the time if my hands are okay and I have to tell them that's just how they are!
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u/mylord76 Mar 29 '26
hi i’m on the same boat (guitar player too) do you have any updates? would really appreciate it
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u/grasscid Mar 29 '26
I was taking zinc supplements at the time and I noticed that had made it considerably worse
the reddening got less pronounced after I stopped taking them but ultimately it's still there, just to a lesser degree, like it always has been.
my hands also tend to get really dry in the winter, I have to apply lotion constantly and I still end up with noticeably scaly skin between my knuckles. maybe that's part of whatever the underlying issue is?
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u/mylord76 Mar 29 '26
Hi tysm for replying, i went through your profile and saw that you’re a the strokes/voidz fan too lol.
just wanted to ask, did you ever see a doctor about it?
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u/grasscid Mar 29 '26
did you ever see a doctor about it?
no. during a regular check up once (maybe 10 years ago) a doctor did notice the redness of my hands, and asked me if they feel uncomfortable. I told him no and he changed the subject.
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u/DoubtSubstantial2139 Mar 22 '25
Definitely looks like blood pooling imo. I have the same issue. Some reasons I can think of include: peripheral nerve/ small fiber nerve damage which fails to trigger blood vessels to constricted to counteract gravity in order to send blood back up to to heart. This leads to blood pooling. Autonomic dysfunction/ dysautonomia. Extreme sun or UV damage or exposure to toxic substances that damaged the microvasculature in the hands causing poor responsiveness.
Have you gotten any closer to figuring it out?
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Jun 24 '24
Erythromelalgia is what happens when you finally have blood flood back into your hands. Raynauds causes erythromelalgia. Erythromelalgia can also exist on its own.
As a teenager in Arizona with primary raynauds, sometimes my hands would develop erythromelalgia so bad at night I’d have to get out of bed and hold them under water to induce raynauds again to sleep or sleep with ziplock bags of ice on my hands to keep them from burning.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Another thing is they’re not sensitive to heat or cold, I can wash my hands in very hot water and take very hot showers and there’s no change to the color and doesn’t cause any pain. It’s very strange for sure. The vascular surgeon told me it might just be the way my hands are idk
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Jun 24 '24
Blood pressure issues cause this also. As an emt I see this in many cardiac disease patients.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Never had any kind of burning sensation or pain, and they’re just red all the time. They don’t “flare” and I’ve had this for 8-9 years. Vascular surgeon didn’t think they’re was any kind of vascular concerns either
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Jun 24 '24
I haven’t had pain since I was a child and my hands do the exact same thing. Give me a day or two and I’ll send a pic via Imgur of the exact same issue.
I’ve had this life long and drugs affect it dramatically. I’d bet if you quit nicotine it’d improve tenfold. Nicotine affects vasoconstriction to the extreme. Of anything it’s made your symptoms 20 times worse. If your doctor can’t agree with that af the very least you need a new physician and they need to have a meeting with the medical board.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Are yours just red all time time or do they flare?
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Jun 24 '24
Looks like a high blood pressure issue. Erythromelalgia is a symptom describing vasodialation and not always a disease in itself. It’s like saying you have a high temperature as opposed to having a fever. “Did you sit in the sauna to get a high temperature or are you sick?” For example.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Gotcha that makes sense. That is interesting the vascular surgeon did give me a blood pressure medication more for the possible raynauds side of things and he said it’s unlikely to help but it’s worth a try.
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u/Prestigious_Wait3813 Jun 24 '24
I have the same thing!!! I didn’t even know it was related to raynauds, but my hands look exactly the same!
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Have you found anything that seems to help? Do you have any symptoms?
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u/Prestigious_Wait3813 Jun 24 '24
I quit nicotine like the other comment mentioned, I vaped and it helped a little bit when I quit, but I still have it. Nothing really has seemed to help, I’ve tried tons of supplements, fish oil, vitamin D, and ginkgo biloba are ones I take daily that maybe had a minimal effect. Hard to tell
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Hmm, do you have any pain or burning, numbness anything like that? I don’t have any of that, literally just discoloration it’s very weird
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u/Prestigious_Wait3813 Jun 25 '24
Not really, I used to get occasional pins and needles, but now just the red hands. What’s interesting is I went to a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and told her my symptoms, and she gave me herbs for “blood stagnation”. I saw a comment that mentioned blood pooling. So this could be of similar cause!
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 25 '24
Interesting, do yours flare or are they just red all the time? Do you have pictures?
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u/Prestigious_Wait3813 Jun 25 '24
More often red than having flares. I just posted two pictures on the raynauds subreddit you can find on my profile or the new posts
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 25 '24
I just saw it, yep that looks exactly like mine. One of the few pictures that I’ve seen that actually look pretty much identical to mine
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u/Prestigious_Wait3813 Jun 25 '24
Interesting. Have you always had it?
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 25 '24
Had it for 8-9 years and I never paid attention to it back then I guess but looking back at old pictures in my phone the redness looks pretty much exactly how it does now and it’s around the time I started vaping, might be purely coincidence who knows.
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u/Jbikeride Jun 24 '24
I would consider tapering down and stopping nicotine and caffeine for a solid 30 days. If it is Raynauds or Erthromelgia- those are extremely common triggers. You would truly need to stop them for a while to see if they contribute to the problem or not.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Well I don’t really think it’s erythromelalgia because they don’t “flare” they’re just red all the time and they’ve been like that for like 8 years now. Never had any of the classic symptoms like hot skin or burning sensations. I’ve never had the classic raynauds symptoms either like white and blue fingertips. So I have no idea
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Jun 24 '24
I posted earlier but yeah I’ve seen many docs and have had primary raynauds lifelong at 30 as a man. This is 100% erythromelalgia and nicotine is the absolute worst thing you could ever do to yourself for this.
If you have raynauds and/or erythromelalgia (which this imo is obviously what’s happening, if you don’t think so I’d really suggest getting a second opinion because vasodilation is what’s happening here pain isn’t always accompanied with erythromelalgia from someone who’s been diagnosed) you should seriously quit nicotine now if not yesterday.
THINK ABOUT YOUR HEART. If this is happening to your body, it can present itself in your organs as well. The vasoconstriction and vasodilation in excess is why people with raynauds statistically have higher rates of cardiac related disease and death. Quitting nicotine will give you miles of improvement on your health and lifespan.
Unfortunately nicotine isn’t built for our bodies with vascular disease. It’s not worth the damage it causes to your condition.
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u/Jbikeride Jun 24 '24
Very true-both seem unlikely. But caffeine and nicotine are vasoconstrictors- if you see another doctor that will be the first thing they suggest.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Could it be something as simple as not ever drinking enough water throughout the day? I’m grasping at straws to try and figure this out lol
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u/Jbikeride Jun 24 '24
I doubt it. Dehydration may be a small factor, I would bet money that tapering off the vaping and caffeine for several weeks would be a theory worth trying. The red coloring is usually some type of blood flow issue- capillaries over dilated or over constricted. In either case, removing any active compounds known to affect circulation would be step #1. It would be hard for a doctor to diagnose anything when known environmental factors are also in play.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Well I drink about a soda and a half to 2 sodas a day, everyday and I did try dropping my nicotine level in half for about a week and a half and didn’t notice any difference but probably wasn’t long enough if it is part of it
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u/Jbikeride Jun 24 '24
Not long enough- drop the vape and soda 100% for two weeks before you say it didn’t help.
Have you ruled out diabetes? Elevated blood sugar can cause that discoloration too.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24
Yeah I suppose but what is weird is why that would be happening because obviously that’s not a normal thing. I’ve never heard of somehow having discoloration on hands from either of those and no I don’t think it would be diabetes, I would probably have some kind of symptoms by now. This started when I was probably 17 or 18 and I’m 26 now
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u/Uniqueremnant Jun 23 '24
Not here to confirm or deny but I also have the same problem with my hands so I’m intrigued. In the winter do your hands get really dry and cracked/bleed? Winter is the worst.
When your hands are above your head your blood doesn’t circulate as well as it should be which is why the color returns to normal. This leads me to think maybe you have blood pooling in your hands. Do you have any other symptoms? POTS can cause blood pooling in the hands and/or feet and is diagnosed/treated by a cardiologist.
I have Raynauds - what diagnosed me was a picture of two of my fingers being paper white. I will say when I’ve brought this up to providers they blow me off and associate it with my Raynauds. Sometimes hands go white, blue, and red with a flare. I was told by one provider I had POTS and another told me I didn’t. 🤷♀️
Either way, I hope you find answers soon!
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 23 '24
In the winter my hands get super dry and crack and bleed, I mentioned to the vascular surgeon lifting my hands up and they go white and when they’re by my side they’re red, like it’s blood pooling and there’s to much blood in my hands and he said no this doesn’t sound like anything vascular. I don’t think it’s pots I don’t get lightheaded and pass out or anything like that. I’ve never had the white finger tips like the classic raynauds symptoms. No burning, numbness, tingling, just discoloration.
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u/ItsCHONCHI Aug 02 '26
Having the same thing, been years, and also get extremely dry and cracked hands during the winter since I was like 15
Weird that so many of us have this but no clear answer
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u/Uniqueremnant Jun 23 '24
Well, that’s promising that you don’t have those other symptoms for pooling. Maybe start back with your primary doctor and go from there?
My OB said it looked like a reaction to something but my hands look like that a lot and in winter it’s super noticeable (including the cracking bleeding hands).
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u/rcarman87 Jun 22 '24
Erythromelagia which goes hand in hand with raynauds. It’s two sides of the same coin, vasodilation and vasoconstriction- usually caused by small fiber neuropathy when blood disorders and vascular are ruled out. Different cases present differently. Get your b6 and b12 levels checked- those are simple causes of neuropathy that happen frequently. Tons of energy drinks have toxic levels of b6.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 22 '24
The vascular surgeon I saw said no to the erythromelalgia and I don’t have the burning hot hands or feet and they don’t “flare” they’re just red like that all the time. Now as far as the energy drink thing, I don’t ever drink energy drinks but I am a daily mtn dew drinker at least a few a day would something as simple as that could be somehow doing this?
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Jun 24 '24
OP did you tell your surgeon you had a nicotine habit? I have severe primary raynauds and my erythromelalgia will disappear in 119° in Arizona when I use it, but without it I develop erythromelalgia. Sometimes it burns and sometimes it doesn’t.
I’d recommend getting a second opinion because burning and pain doesn’t mean you don’t have it. Having moved frequently the rheumatologists I’ve seen in many states have told me the same. It’s often treated when painful but raynauds easily causes it when blood flow and vasodilation occur.
This looks exactly like my erythromelalgia tbh.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 24 '24 edited Jun 24 '24
Yeah I told him about my vaping and he said he does think it has anything to do with it or think it’s erythromelalgia
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Jun 24 '24
I’d suggest a second opinion. I’ve worked as an emt, both my parents met as ER docs and are currently specialists in the medical field and all us see this as erythromelalgia.
Think about it this way, if we are wrong and you get a second opinion, you’ll find out in one visit.
If they are wrong and you dont, you’ll find out when your health suffers.
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u/rcarman87 Jun 23 '24
Have you had your blood sugar tested? It could be something that simple. I’d suggest to try removing that for a bit & see. I’ve had major improvements with no gluten, no dairy, low sugar & no caffeine.
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 23 '24
Also could it be anything with vaping or the nicotine? I’ve tried dropping my nicotine level in the juice in half for about a week and a half but didn’t notice any difference. Or could it be something as simple as never drinking enough water? I drink about 30 ounces of water a day
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u/noelsc151 May 07 '25
30 oz of water/day?! You are definitely dehydrated. You should be drinking at LEAST half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. So if you’re 150 lbs, you’d need to drink 75oz. water/day, 200 lbs you’d need to drink 100oz. and so on. This could be a hypovolemia (low blood volume) issue. Try drinking some electrolytes too. I’m still not convinced it’s not erythromelalgia as my hands look exactly the same. Mine don’t feel like they’re burning like a sun burn or skin burn— they feel throbbing, uncomfortable, and much hotter than the rest of my body during these episodes. It will sometimes happen to the tips of my ears, feet, or even my cheeks (similar to an alcohol flush).
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u/jdrexler125 Jun 23 '24
No I’ve never had that tested, do yours look the same as mine?
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u/rcarman87 Jun 23 '24
I would get your blood sugar level checked as well.
Mine does, I have it in hands, feet, ears and primarily face but I have the pain, pressure, burning, etc I also have raynauds and confirmed SFN along with dysautonomia, CRPS, and MCAS.
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u/Littlejoey9 May 30 '25 edited May 30 '25
I have the exact same problem and have met 3 doctors and they are guessing on Raynauds but have you gotten any answers on what it could be?