White fingers in the cold: what Raynaud’s phenomenon is and what helps

General information, not medical advice. If you have symptoms in your fingers or toes, talk to your GP.

If your fingers suddenly turn white and numb in the cold, it may be Raynaud’s phenomenon. According to the NHS, it is common and does not usually cause serious problems. This article explains what happens in your fingers, what triggers an attack and what you can do yourself.

What happens in Raynaud’s phenomenon

In Raynaud’s phenomenon the blood vessels in your fingers or toes suddenly narrow. Less blood flows through them for a while. Thuisarts, the patient website of the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG), describes what that looks like. Part of your fingers or toes suddenly turns paler, with a clear border against your normal skin colour. It usually happens in both hands or feet at the same time and you briefly lose feeling.

After a few minutes the fingers slowly darken again. On light skin they first turn blue or purple and then red. As the feeling returns, they hurt, tingle and prickle and then start to glow. According to the NHS, some people also notice it in their ears, nose or lips.

According to Thuisarts, an attack is usually over within 5 minutes, but it can last a few hours. Some people have 1 or 2 a year, others a few a week. Most people mainly have symptoms in winter. It usually starts between the ages of 12 and 30.

What can trigger an attack

Cold is the best-known trigger. It does not have to be freezing: sometimes it happens at 10 or 12 degrees and the temperature differs from person to person. Thuisarts lists other triggers:

• strong emotions such as anger, sadness or stress;
• heavy vibration, for example from a pneumatic drill or a long bike ride on a bumpy road;
• typing fast and for a long time;
• smoking.

You are more likely to have Raynaud’s phenomenon if it runs in your family, if you have migraine, if you are a woman or if you smoke. Sometimes it is linked to an illness or treatment, for example blood pressure medicines called beta blockers, or inflammation of blood vessels or joints such as rheumatoid arthritis.

What you can do yourself

The first advice from Thuisarts is to keep your whole body warm, not just your hands. Wear extra layers and gloves. If you have a lot of symptoms, you can try heated gloves or socks. The NHS also advises keeping your home warm and avoiding sudden changes in temperature. Those layers and gloves also help when you exercise outdoors in autumn and winter.

Moving helps too. According to Thuisarts, more blood flows to your fingers and your body warms up if you move often. An ordinary walk counts, and the article on 10,000 steps a day explains how many steps really matter.

If you smoke, quitting helps: according to Thuisarts, smoking makes attacks more frequent and longer. The NHS also advises not having too much caffeine, found in tea, coffee, cola and chocolate, because it may trigger symptoms. If your attacks mainly come with stress, the NHS mentions breathing exercises or yoga to help you relax. How to approach that is covered in the article on calm breathing when you feel tense.

If you work with vibrating machinery, Thuisarts says you may have no symptoms if you take a 2-minute break every quarter of an hour. If the symptoms stay severe, discuss possible changes with your employer or occupational doctor.

When to see your GP

The NHS advises seeing a GP if your symptoms are very bad or getting worse, if they affect your daily life or if they only occur on one side of your body. Also go if you have joint pain, skin rashes or muscle weakness as well, if you are over 30 and get symptoms for the first time, or if a child under 12 has them. Raynaud’s phenomenon can sometimes be a sign of another condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

If it bothers you a lot, the GP may prescribe nifedipine, a blood pressure medicine that widens the blood vessels. The good news, according to Thuisarts: as you get older, attacks usually become less frequent and less severe. In 1 in 3 people the symptoms disappear completely.

Sources

• Thuisarts, Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap (NHG). Ik heb het fenomeen van Raynaud. 2025 (last updated 27 November 2025), in Dutch.
• NHS. Raynaud’s. 2023 (last reviewed 20 July 2023).