Conservative measures in Raynaud's disease/phenomenon

Main aim of conservative measures is to reduce exposure to triggers, such as cold and emotional stress:

• keeping warm:
  • thermal underwear, body warmers, hand muffs, ski-glove liners, fur-lined boots, electrically-heated gloves and socks
  • in addition, vasodialtion can be enhanced by
• rotating the arms in a windmill pattern
• placing the hands under warm water or in a warm body fold such as the axilla
• performing the swing-arm manoeuvre - raising both arms above the shoulders and forcefully swinging them across the body to generate a force that promotes blood flow distally to the fingers
• avoid carrying bags from handles since they impair circulation to the fingers
• stopping smoking, avoid caffeine containing beverages
• withdrawal of aggravating drugs, such as beta-blockers
• change of occupation
• avoid touching cold objects (1,2)

Reference:

• (1) Allan S. Managing Raynaud’s phenomenon. The pharmaceutical journal 2007;279
• (2) Goundry B, Bell L, Langtree M, Moorthy A. Diagnosis and management of Raynaud's phenomenon. BMJ. 2012;344:e289