Woman Times = Reporter Kwak Eun-young
During the cold winter months, many people visit the hospital complaining of cold hands and feet. Cold hands and feet appear naturally due to the cold weather, but if your hands and feet are too cold and cold, it may be a peripheral vascular problem, so it is good to get tested. Kangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital Professor Cho Seong-shin of the Department of Vascular Surgery teaches about the symptoms and treatment of peripheral vascular circulation disorders.
◇ Peripheral circulatory disorders occur more frequently in women
Raynaud’s syndrome is a representative peripheral blood circulation disorder that causes cold hands and feet. Due to the excessive response of the sympathetic nerve, peripheral blood vessels in the fingers and toes are extremely restricted, leading to circulatory disorders.
Raynaud’s syndrome is about twice as common in women as it is in men. Although women may have thinner blood vessels than men, there are various risk factors such as menarche, pregnancy, hormonal changes following childbirth, history of exposure to cold water for household tasks such as washing dishes, and blood flow to internal organs such as the uterus and ovaries.
If warm blood is not distributed to the fingertips and toes, the hands can become cold and cold, and the color of the fingers can change. Blood vessels constrict and fingertips and toes turn white, and if this condition persists, cyanosis appears due to lack of oxygen and turns blue. Again, blood vessels relax and blood is distributed, turning red. In severe cases, oxygen supply to the fingers and toes is not performed normally, which can lead to numbness, itching and pain, and even necrosis of the skin.
If symptoms are suspected, a blood vessel function test which checks whether peripheral blood flow rate and temperature return within a few minutes after immersing the hand in cold water for a specified period of time, or immersing the hand in cold water and isotope injection. drug to observe changes in the symptom site Diagnosis is made by nuclear medicine. The purpose of the treatment is to relieve symptoms, and as most of the pain is mild, the symptoms are managed with medication.
Professor Cho Seong-shin from the Department of Vascular Surgery at Kyunghee University Hospital in Gangdong said, “It is good to avoid exposure to cold air or cold water as much as possible by controlling your body temperature well, and wearing socks, slippers, and gloves to protect yourself. If symptoms are severe, drug treatment is used to relieve symptoms, but when drugs are not well controlled, a sympathetic nerve block is sometimes treated. If you are a smoker, you must stop smoking to prevent peripheral vasoconstriction.”
◇ Atherosclerosis causes cold feet and calf pain
Another factor that blocks peripheral blood circulation is arteriosclerosis. When one of the arteries, which is the way to send blood from the heart, is blocked, the amount of blood going to the peripheral blood vessels is reduced and the hands or feet become cold Arteriosclerosis is often accompanied by risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The feet rather than the hands feel cold, and there are many cases where only one foot feels cold symptoms.
In the early stages, the main symptoms are cold feet and calf pain when walking or climbing stairs, but as the condition progresses, the pain is accompanied by black changes in the toes. Necrosis of the fingertips and toes increases if proper diagnosis and treatment are not made. If the timing of the treatment is delayed, septicemia can occur, and in severe cases, a situation where the leg must be amputated often occurs and where death can occur, so caution is needed.
Diagnosis is made by measuring the blood pressure of both arms and legs at the same time while lying down, and measuring the ratio of ankle blood pressure to upper arm blood pressure. Treatments involve making a small hole in the skin and inserting an instrument attached to a thin wire into the blood vessel to puncture the blocked blood vessel, cutting the skin and creating a new pathway to avoid surgery to send blood to the outskirts.
Professor Cho Sung-shin said, “If a blood vessel problem is detected and treated at the right time, drug treatment is often enough. If you suspect the initial symptoms, it is good to visit the hospital to find out the exact cause. “
