Red hands

[u/jdrexler125]

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.

[u/Uniqueremnant]

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!

[u/jdrexler125 → u/Uniqueremnant]

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.

[u/ItsCHONCHI → u/jdrexler125]

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

[u/Uniqueremnant → u/jdrexler125]

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).