page_title: Erythromelalgia
section_title: Differences with Raynaud's disease
hierarchical_section_title: Erythromelalgia / History / Differences with Raynaud's disease
caption_attribution_description: Sir Thomas Barlow, 1st Baronet
context_page_description: Erythromelalgia, formerly known as Mitchell's disease, is a rare vascular peripheral pain disorder in which blood vessels, usually in the lower extremities or hands, are episodically blocked, then become hyperemic and inflamed. There is severe burning pain and skin redness. The attacks are periodic and are commonly triggered by heat, pressure, mild activity, exertion, insomnia or stress. Erythromelalgia may occur either as a primary or secondary disorder. Secondary erythromelalgia can result from small fiber peripheral neuropathy of any cause, polycythemia vera, essential thrombocytosis, hypercholesterolemia, mushroom or mercury poisoning, and some autoimmune disorders. Primary erythromelalgia is caused by mutation of the voltage-gated sodium channel α-subunit gene SCN9A.
  In 2004 erythromelalgia became the first human disorder in which it has been possible to associate an ion channel mutation with chronic neuropathic pain, when its link to the SCN9A gene was initially published in the Journal of Medical Genetics.
caption: Sir Thomas Barlow
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