Big Medicine

I have suffered from Raynaud’s syndrome for a number of years.  Cold is the trigger for the syndrome.  Raynaud’s affects the body’s extremities—fingers and toes normally.  For me, fingers are the problem.   Something as simple as grabbing a cold steering wheel might trigger a Raynaud’s event.  Once triggered, my fingers abruptly turn stark white and go entirely numb.

Raynaud’s syndrome is an over-response by our body when confronted by cold.  Essentially, the smaller arteries that supply blood to the skin constrict excessively, limiting blood supply to the affected area.

When suffering a Raynaud’s episode, my hands feel dead and function poorly.  They will feel this way until normal circulation is restored.  To end an episode, I must warm my hands in some fashion. 

I recently learned of a surprising medicine that may be of some value in combatting Raynaud’s syndrome.

The medicine?

Viagra.

I am normally not big on prescriptions (pun intended), but…

—Mitchell Hegman