My hands look dead.

[Snookum96]

I've had this a few times before. At first I was thinking Raynaud's but it doesn't look like any of the pictures I've seen of Raynaud's hands.

This is my hand beside my husband's hand. This was about 10 minutes after we noticed and they were actually quite a bit worse before we took this. The palms look like that too.

Any ideas on what this could be caused by?

 

[halcyon]

Looks like cyanosis.

 

[WillowJ]

My Raynaud's hands do that, but to be fair I have other circulation problems, too. I have some form of dysautonomia, and a connective tissue problem, and ME itself could impair microcirculation in some way, which could lead to this result. I actually get discoloration extending up my limbs. (That's why I like my PCP: because he notices stuff like this and it matters to him, even if he does not know what it is exactly.)

One thing you can do to test how bad it is is a capillary refill test (press on the end of a finger until it turns white, and time with a stopwatch how long it takes to turn pink or, well, purple will do, again). It should be under 2 seconds. If it is less than 2 seconds, make sure your doctor notices next time you are in and have discolored hands. (If you are like me, it is not hard to get while you are out and uncomfortable.) Go ahead and send your photo to your doc now, if you think the doc wouldn't mind.

If it is more than 2 seconds, I would suggest to call your doctor or go to an immediate care center.

This is a capillary refill test and is described here:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003394.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4513433/

The timing is the same in pediatric:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21238980

Of course, I'm a fellow patient, not a doctor, nurse, etc.

 

[Snookum96]

My Raynaud's hands do that, but to be fair I have other circulation problems, too. I have some form of dysautonomia, and a connective tissue problem, and ME itself could impair microcirculation in some way, which could lead to this result. I actually get discoloration extending up my limbs. (That's why I like my PCP: because he notices stuff like this and it matters to him, even if he does not know what it is exactly.)

One thing you can do to test how bad it is is a capillary refill test (press on the end of a finger until it turns white, and time with a stopwatch how long it takes to turn pink or, well, purple will do, again). It should be under 2 seconds. If it is less than 2 seconds, make sure your doctor notices next time you are in and have discolored hands. (If you are like me, it is not hard to get while you are out and uncomfortable.) Go ahead and send your photo to your doc now, if you think the doc wouldn't mind.

If it is more than 2 seconds, I would suggest to call your doctor or go to an immediate care center.

This is a capillary refill test and is described here:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003394.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4513433/

The timing is the same in pediatric:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21238980

Of course, I'm a fellow patient, not a doctor, nurse, etc.

Thank you!

My hands are back to a more normal colour now. I did the test and I'm less than 2 seconds but will send the picture to my doctor anyways.

This doesn't happen all the time and was worse today than it usually is. I did more today than I usually do getting ready to move so that could have contributed.

It never seems to happen when I'm at the doctors though.

 

[Valentijn]

@Snookum96 - Do you have a pulse oximeter? It can show if you're having oxygenation problems.

 

[Snookum96]

@Snookum96 - Do you have a pulse oximeter? It can show if you're having oxygenation problems.

No I don't. I think I'll look into getting one though. It happened again today although not nearly as bad.

It seems to happen any time I use my hands a lot and I've been busier getting ready to move.

Thank you for replying!

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

Thank you!

My hands are back to a more normal colour now. I did the test and I'm less than 2 seconds but will send the picture to my doctor anyways.

This doesn't happen all the time and was worse today than it usually is. I did more today than I usually do getting ready to move so that could have contributed.

It never seems to happen when I'm at the doctors though.

This is the classic history and appearance of acrocyanosis. It differs from Raynaud's in that (I am assuming in your case) it is not preceded by a white (or candle wax yellow) phase and there is no sharp demarcation of the blueish across a finger bone level. It is well recognised as associated with a whole range of autoimmune conditions, mostly ones that are linked to antinuclear antibodies. It is also described as associated with ME/CFS although people on PR do not mention it very often. It can also occur in healthy people, almost always women. In itself it is not harmful but it can be uncomfortable.

So if you have ME/CFS this is not unexpected. But if I saw this in the clinic I would ask for an antinuclear antibody test. If you have an associated autoimmune condition it is important to know about it.

 

[Snookum96]

This is the classic history and appearance of acrocyanosis. It differs from Raynaud's in that (I am assuming in your case) it is not preceded by a white (or candle wax yellow) phase and there is no sharp demarcation of the blueish across a finger bone level. It is well recognised as associated with a whole range of autoimmune conditions, mostly ones that are linked to antinuclear antibodies. It is also described as associated with ME/CFS although people on PR do not mention it very often. It can also occur in healthy people, almost always women. In itself it is not harmful but it can be uncomfortable.

So if you have ME/CFS this is not unexpected. But if I saw this in the clinic I would ask for an antinuclear antibody test. If you have an associated autoimmune condition it is important to know about it.

Thank you!

Seems to be happening when I eat. I get really cold and that brings it on. No pain it just scares other people when they see it.