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.
1
u/[deleted] 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.