How do I know whether I have Primary or Secondary Raynauds?
The form is determined by a careful examination from your physician, who looks for signs of an underlying disease (for example, thickened skin in scleroderma, or sun-sensitive skin rashes in lupus). A blood test known as the ANA (antinuclear antibody test) is usually done. If the workup is negative for symptoms of other diseases, and the ANA is negative, it is likely that the Raynaud’s is primary. However, it may take years for other disease signs to develop, so your physician may want to follow you for a few years before assuring you that nothing else is likely to happen. A positive ANA is only a marker for the presence of an underlying connective tissue disease. However, some people have a positive ANA for many years, but never develop any symptoms of scleroderma, lupus or another rheumatic disease. These individuals probably would be assumed to have primary Raynaud’s. In most of these cases, the patient is said to have an “undifferentiated connective tissue disease.” Other than watc
