Raynaud’s Phenomenon, pronounced (ray-NOSE), is a disorder where spasms in your blood vessels can restrict blood flow to your extremities, usually your hands. This manifests itself with discoloration of the hands and fingers, with severe cases causing a bluing of the fingertips. This lack of blood flow makes your extremities feel painfully cold.

Raynaud’s can be an early indicator of a number of connective tissue illnesses, including lupus. My wife has Raynaud’s and so does another member of her family. Strangely enough, I think I have it as well, to a lesser degree.

Those with Raynaud’s Phenomenon should avoid smoking, cold temperatures, intense vibrations, and emotional stress, so don’t argue with someone on a Winter train ride in France.

In our house, we make sure we have warm socks, and if it gets really bad, we just soak our hands or feet in some warm water. We also bought one of those parafin wax skin treatment machines. My wife likes it a lot, and she says it does help, but it’s a bit of a pain to use it.