Painful, itchy hands and feet

[breninphx]

Hello. I am a 38 year old female.  For the past about 5 years now I have expereinced the following issue that seems to be getting worse.  I suffer from severe itchy and painful hand and feet whenever they are exposed to cold.  There is no spots, blistersor color change, but they are extremely painful and extremely itchy.  I can't so much as carry something cold in my hands, walk on tile floor barefoot for even a few seconds before itch starts. Basically it's whenever they start getting cold.  The pain and itch is found no where else on my body expect for the hands and feets.
Any advice as to what this might be or what I can do besides the obvious of keeping them warm would be highly appreciated.  Thank you.

[DonnaX369]

I have the same exact symptoms. I'm 51 years old and have had lupus for several years. I have always had the discoloration in my hands that Reynaud's causes but none of the discomfort until a few months ago when I was in a supermarket walking through the freezer isle and my hands started to itch under the skin, no hives just itch and a few days later different supermarket,my hands started to itch again. A few days later I was outside in the early morning and rinsed my feet of with cold water from the hose and the under the skin itch that continues until they warmed up. And today (it's fall in PA around 55 degrees) I am sitting in my living room with the front door open and my hands are itchy, I was never one to wear gloves in the winter, but if this is any indication.. it's going to be an awful itchy winter!

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Have you considered Raynaud's disease ? It is a condition where the blood vessels at the fingertips and toes constrict when the parts come in contact with cold. Sometimes nose and earlobes are also involved.

Raynaud's can be primary or secondary. Primary Raynaud’s is usually found in young age. The secondary Raynaud's can be caused by connective tissue disorder, carpel tunnel syndrome, medicines like the beta blockers and some rheumatic diseases.

A second possibility is that of a peripheral neuropathy. But your symptoms are not classical of a neuropathy.

Please consult your physician and get a reference for the appropriate specialist. I think you should see a general surgeon for this.

Regards