The symptoms of Raynaud's tend to depend on the frequency, duration and severity of the attacks. Attacks may just affect just one or two fingers or toes, or they may affect other areas of the body such as the nose, cheeks, earlobes, nipples or tongue.
In general, the sequence of events is as follows:
An attack may last less than a minute to several hours. Over time, attacks may grow more severe.
The symptoms of primary Raynaud's tend to be relatively mild, whereas secondary Raynaud's tends to cause more severe symptoms, in addition to other symptoms related to the underlying condition, such as joint pain and swelling, and rashes.
Raynaud's sufferers tend to take longer to heal. Women also stand a greater risk of pre-eclampsia (toxemia of pregnancy), a potentially serious set of complications that can occur during pregnancy. This heightened reaction to cold can also cause chilblains (or perniosis), which can result in severe damage if left untreated.