Question
I'm not sure if I'm asking the right expert, however, Icouldn't find a more appropriate 'expert' who was a rheumatologist.

I have Raynauds Disease and Arthritis. I'm going on 36yrs, I was diagnosed at 21.
Other than controlling the 'symptoms' what else can I do?  The different prescriptions don't help.  When it's damp out... I hurt.. and nothing makes it go 100%
I'm always cold in the winter, and the cold hurts too.  I can't put the heat too high in my home as my family finds it uncomfortable. So while I bundle up and wear 2 or 3 shirts (being petite, I dont have much 'natural' insulation against the cold) and thick pants and socks and slippers.. my hands ache and are icey to the touch.  How can I relieve this, short of moving to the islands?
I live in Montreal Quebec, Canada. Very humid, damp and COLD in the winters.

My other question is in regards to a client of mine.
I'm a full time Nail Artist and Technician.
The client in question is a mature woman, in her early 60's. She has athritis, I'm not sure what kind.  Her thumbs are oversized, and swollen?  Her thumbnails seem extra=ordinarily wide compared to her other fingernails. They are also thicker.

As a professional technician, I would like to know if there's a medical reason for this, and if arthrtis affects the matrix of a fingernail, or the keratin of a fingernail, to cause it to be so very thick.

Looking forward to your answer.

Thank you!
Best regards
Victoria

Answer
Hello Victoria,

Reynaulds Phenomenon is a problem with the nervous and circulatory system within the arms many times. I am not aware of anything that would reduce the symptoms 100% or even close to that. Bundling up may help a bit, but your sensation to cold and less circulation to your hands still can make you feel the problem just the same. Sometimes being in a warmer climate may help a bit, but again, it doesn't always matter what the outside temperature is when the inside temperature is less than it should be. Although it is an uncomfortable situation at best, it an autonomic (uncontrolled by will) nervous system problem that has plagued both the patients and their doctors.

Your client may certainly have Osteoarthritis which enlarges her fingers along with swelling of the knuckles; however, it is doubtful that it affects the protein matrix of the fingernail, as this is usually a metabolic problem. I would suspect as a technician you may have some difficulty dealing with her thumbnails in a professional way that you may wish to.

If I may be of further information, please feel free to contact me again.

Thank you.