Just looking for advice - my fingertips started turning purple in cold temperatures five years ago ( they first turn a pale waxy colour). My GP sent me to a rheumatologist who asked me to describe the colour changes and was quite adamant that what I was describing wasn't Raynaud's apparently because the whole process begins as a mottling of blue/purple/pale and salmon and then settles into a more definite blue or purple. The picture below shows my fingers after five minutes without gloves in winter . in the summer my palms burn and turn uniformly bright red and this turns out to be erythromelagia. Does anyone with Raynaud's have fingertips like this? Many thanks for reading.
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I can only say I was diagnosed with Raynauds ten years ago and my fingers turned cream, blue and then red, all very painful. I was sent to see a rheumatologist to exclude the secondary form of scleroderma and then referred to a vascular surgeon who had me in each year late September for flolan infusions. The colouration is not always the same. I would ask to be referred to a vascular specialist. Good luck.
Thank you Jenny. Did your fingers ever resemble those in the photo?
yup...when they begin to warm up, what do they feel like?
They hurt, a sort of toothache type of ache, only in my fingertips.
yes and with what looked like blue bruising in the creases.
Yes, exactly, it's the tiny veins that become visible during an attack, it's as though the veins rise to the surface.
yes, The colder the greater the artery constriction, the more painful during the dilation of the arteries.
No one sits and closely monitors color change..aargh...it's Raynaulds....I can't putvmy hands in the freezer without bringing tears to my eyes during the warm up.
The constriction does not hurt...warm up can be a killer...and feet too.
hugs
I do. Burning and stinging. Painful my cutacal are horrible. My fingers get infected . Very painful
Yes, exactly, it’s the tiny veins that become visible during an attack, it’s as though the veins rise to the surface with what looked like blue bruising in the creases.
Yep, what you’re describing sounds super familiar if you’ve got Raynaud’s—but honestly, the color patterns can be all over the place from person to person. You know what? That “waxy pale → blue/purple → red” thing can look slightly different each time, and those tiny veins popping up in the creases? Classic.
Here’s the thing: the pain usually hits when the fingers start warming back up, and yep, it can feel like a deep toothache in your fingertips. Some people even get infections if it’s severe and the skin cracks—so keeping them moisturized and warm is huge.
Honestly, if you haven’t already, a vascular specialist or rheumatologist follow-up is worth it—they can check it’s not secondary to something else. And gloves, layers, hand warmers… you’ll become best friends with them in winter, trust me.
You’re definitely not imagining it; Raynaud’s can be brutal, but you’re not alone.