Blue Nails

Off the top of my head, two things that I can think of are Raynaud's syndrome, and cyanosis:

http://www.raynauds.org/about_raynauds.cfm

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3002.htm

At any rate, it would be a good idea if you had this checked out by a doctor.

I actually have my normal annual checkup in a couple of months so I didn't know whether to mention it or not.

It doesn't hurt or anything, maybe a slight tingle, they just turn blue whenever I am cold. I noticed this when I started working here - about a year and a half. It is an old building so half the floor is steaming hot, while the other half is freezing.

I think its only fair that yuor employers sort out the heating!

You can send a request, but what happens is they will crank the heat and those poor saps in the tropical zone will be even more uncomfortable than they currently are and then the opposite will happen and the temp will go up and down. I just put on another sweater.

It also varies during the day. Around lunch time and toward the end of the day - when many people are going in and out - it gets colder. I'm not near a door, but there must be some sort of air tunnel where the cold area just funnels near my area.

Linkat- Isn't the purpose of a checkup to tell the doctor what is bothering you? He's not a mind reader. If it were me, I would go sooner for the checkup, and have some blood work done, just to rule things out!

Phoenix has made a very good point! Do all the fingers on both hands turn blue or is it one hand? Would your employer approve of a small space heater?

It is all my fingers. Space heaters are a fire hazard - however, there are these fans that produce heat. Some one near me has one - you are not supposed to, but no one knows they are for heat - they look just like a fan - I may go pick one up.

The discoloration is called 'Peripheral cyanosis
Peripheral cyanosis suggests that there is poor circulation in the small vessels involved, such as when a person's hands are very cold. However, this condition can also be permanent even in normal temperatures; see acrocyanosis. It can also occur around the lips and ear lobes.

Get it checked out .......

I would've said it was normal, because it happens to me too...Should've known better than to assume I'm normal!

Thanks - its nice to know I am not the only freak of nature.

It really only happens when I am I cold - not any other time.

No Linkat you aren't the only freak out there!

It happens to me too, only when I'm cold...

and I'm even a guy!!! :wink:

Linkat -

If you mention it to your doctor, there're a few things you should know going in, as our health care system isn't always the most sensitive.

If you have Raynaud's-like symptoms (which it sounds like), they may run some blood tests to make sure you don't have one of a variety of immune-mediated disorders (lupus being foremost among them). Know that when they're doing this, chances are that you don't have anything that serious.

When the wife got checked out for this years ago, they told her, in essence, that they had to run some tests because her toes might fall off. (Hers is a somewhat unusal case in that it is primarily her toes that are affected.) The vast majority of people who present with these signs just have the relatively benign primary form of the disease.

(In fact, there was an editorial in one of the rheumatology journals a few years back saying that such a large portion of the population has these symptoms that it shouldn't even be called a disease.)

About four years ago I prepared a review for an MD here on Raynaud's disease/phenomenon, and he and several articles I read agreed that the medical profession as a whole is pretty bad about allaying patient fears about Raynaud's -- which is especially stupid, since some people's episodes appear to be triggered in part by stress.






I've read a hell of a lot about this if you have any questions.

(If this is even what's going on. Usuallys symptoms first appear in a woman in her early 20s.... dunno how old you are or nuthin.')








There are microwaveable hand and footwarmers that might be useful for you....

Thanks all. My doctor seems to be very thorough. A couple of years ago she asked me a variety of questions - one was about feeling tired. I told her I am almost always tired. It is probably because I don't get enough sleep though as I work full time and have kids at home, I rarely get enough sleep.

Even so, she ordered some blood work just to ensure it wasn't anything more serious than lack of sleep.

I am not in my 20s - but that is the closest you will get to my age! (I do on occassion get carded though)