Raynaud’s phenomenon causes people to feel tingling and numbness in their fingers and toes in particularly cold weather. According to a new study, those symptoms can be troublesome when it’s hot out, too.

Raynaud’s phenomenon, also called Raynaud’s syndrome, is a condition that causes the small blood vessels in the extremities to constrict. The decreased blood flow can cause fingers and toes to change color, go numb, or become painful.

A study published last week inLancet Rheumatologyinvestigated which temperatures tend to trigger Raynaud’s symptoms. The study included more than 2,200 people with the autoimmune disease scleroderma. Raynaud’s is often one of the first symptoms of scleroderma, and all the participants had both conditions.

Participants were asked to rate the severity of their Raynaud’s symptoms on a ten-point scale every three months from 2014 to 2023. The researchers compared those severity scores to the true temperature and the “feels like” temperature, which includes wind chill and humidity, where the participants lived.

Raynaud’s symptoms are typically triggered in cold weather. Surprisingly, this study showed that the average severity scores also increased when temperatures rose above 77 degrees F.

That may be due to the temperature shift when people in hot environments enter air-conditioned buildings, saidThomas Bush, MD, a retired clinical rheumatologist who worked at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for thirty years.

Understanding the temperature inflection points at which Raynaud’s symptoms become more severe could help people prepare for an attack, he said.

“For most patients, Raynaud’s is just sort of a nuisance, but it can lead to some skin damage and ulcers, little ulcers in the fingertips and so forth,” Bush said.

Raynaud’s Syndrome in Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS

Different Types of Raynaud’s Phenomenon

There are varying estimates for how many people have Raynaud’s. The Arthritis Foundation says it may affect up to one in ten people.

Primary Raynaud’s is the most common form of the condition. There is no known cause for primary Raynaud’s, but it tends to be more common in young adults, women, and people with a family history of the syndrome.

Secondary Raynaud’s is linked to another disease, a medication, or environmental exposures, like the repeated use of vibrating machinery and exposure to certain chemicals. For people with certain autoimmune diseases, like the scleroderma patients involved in this study, Raynaud’s often appears as an early symptom.

According to the study authors, helping those people understand when Raynaud’s attacks may occur could help them better predict and thus prepare for these adverse symptoms.

Raynaud’s and Warming Climates

“Even though the overall temperature is increasing and the number of heat waves is increasing for some parts of the globe, we’re going to continue to have episodes of extreme cold,” Bush said.

In the past few years, some parts of the country have experienced unseasonably harsh winters or unexpected bouts of extreme cold with temperatures low enough to trigger severe one to two Raynaud’s attacks in a week, Bush said.

“That will persist with climate change and global warming into the projected future,” he said.

What This Means For YouOne of the most common triggers for a Raynaud’s attack is a sudden change in ambient temperature and exposure to cold. But other triggers, like stress and smoking cigarettes, can cause an attack, too. To minimize the frequency and severity of attacks, you can wear gloves and warm clothes when it’s cold out, limit or stop smoking, and prevent trauma to the hands. Talk to your doctor about whether blood pressure medications could help stabilize your blood flow.

What This Means For You

One of the most common triggers for a Raynaud’s attack is a sudden change in ambient temperature and exposure to cold. But other triggers, like stress and smoking cigarettes, can cause an attack, too. To minimize the frequency and severity of attacks, you can wear gloves and warm clothes when it’s cold out, limit or stop smoking, and prevent trauma to the hands. Talk to your doctor about whether blood pressure medications could help stabilize your blood flow.

5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.Raynaud’s phenomenon.Virgili-Gervais G, Matthews B, Nassar EL, et al.The association of outdoor temperature and self-reported Raynaud’s phenomenon severity among people with systemic sclerosis: a Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network Cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2024;6(10):e684-e692. doi:10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00189-9Arthritis Foundation.Raynaud’s disease.Khouri C, Roustit M, Cracowski JL.Impact of global warming on Raynaud’s phenomenon: a modelling study.F1000Res.2020;9:829. doi:10.12688/f1000research.24939.1Bush T.Potential adverse health consequences of climate change related to rheumatic diseases.J Clim Chang Health. 2021;3:2667-2782. doi:10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100029

5 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.Raynaud’s phenomenon.Virgili-Gervais G, Matthews B, Nassar EL, et al.The association of outdoor temperature and self-reported Raynaud’s phenomenon severity among people with systemic sclerosis: a Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network Cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2024;6(10):e684-e692. doi:10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00189-9Arthritis Foundation.Raynaud’s disease.Khouri C, Roustit M, Cracowski JL.Impact of global warming on Raynaud’s phenomenon: a modelling study.F1000Res.2020;9:829. doi:10.12688/f1000research.24939.1Bush T.Potential adverse health consequences of climate change related to rheumatic diseases.J Clim Chang Health. 2021;3:2667-2782. doi:10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100029

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.Raynaud’s phenomenon.Virgili-Gervais G, Matthews B, Nassar EL, et al.The association of outdoor temperature and self-reported Raynaud’s phenomenon severity among people with systemic sclerosis: a Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network Cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2024;6(10):e684-e692. doi:10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00189-9Arthritis Foundation.Raynaud’s disease.Khouri C, Roustit M, Cracowski JL.Impact of global warming on Raynaud’s phenomenon: a modelling study.F1000Res.2020;9:829. doi:10.12688/f1000research.24939.1Bush T.Potential adverse health consequences of climate change related to rheumatic diseases.J Clim Chang Health. 2021;3:2667-2782. doi:10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100029

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.Raynaud’s phenomenon.

Virgili-Gervais G, Matthews B, Nassar EL, et al.The association of outdoor temperature and self-reported Raynaud’s phenomenon severity among people with systemic sclerosis: a Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network Cohort study.Lancet Rheumatol. 2024;6(10):e684-e692. doi:10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00189-9

Arthritis Foundation.Raynaud’s disease.

Khouri C, Roustit M, Cracowski JL.Impact of global warming on Raynaud’s phenomenon: a modelling study.F1000Res.2020;9:829. doi:10.12688/f1000research.24939.1

Bush T.Potential adverse health consequences of climate change related to rheumatic diseases.J Clim Chang Health. 2021;3:2667-2782. doi:10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100029

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