what does it mean if i'm always cold？

I used to feel very cold in my body. In summer, when I blew the air conditioning a little, it made me shiver. In winter, even if I wore thick clothes and shoes, I still felt my hands and feet cold. This issue has always troubled me, giving me a taste of the fear of cold weather and not wanting to go out with friends. In fact, sometimes the cold may not be caused by the weather, but by my own physical problems. With such worries, I have consulted many doctors and found some reliable reasons. Let's take a look together.

1. Insufficient sleep

Feeling cold may just mean you need more sleep. It is a very common phenomenon that when we are overtired, we are more likely to feel cold. Although the exact reason for this result is not yet clear, it is a well-known fact that insufficient sleep increases levels of stress hormones such as cortisol.

When there is insufficient sleep, the body reacts as if under attack, causing blood to transfer to the main organs. This means that blood will leave less important body areas such as limbs and skin surfaces. Ischemia causes the skin temperature to decrease, and then the cold receptors inside the skin are activated, so we will feel cold.

Interruption of the biological clock may also be an important reason why we feel cold. To prepare for sleep, our body temperature will naturally decrease. However, if our non sleep time exceeds the normal standard, we will feel chilly all over.

2. Thyroid problems

A chill all over the body may also be a sign of hypothyroidism. According to a survey, about one in fifty women and one in a thousand men have problems with hypothyroidism. Once this condition occurs, the thyroid gland in front of the neck cannot produce enough thyroid hormone, which is used to regulate many bodily functions such as digestion, metabolism, and body temperature.

A decrease in metabolism means a decrease in the body's ability to generate heat. This condition may also disrupt the function of the hypothalamus, which is responsible for regulating body temperature. This is also another important reason why we feel cold. Other symptoms include fatigue, muscle spasms, dry skin, and easy breakage of hair and nails.

3. Hyperglycemia

Cold hands and feet - especially tingling or numbness in hands and feet, which may be caused by diabetes. High blood sugar is a typical characteristic of this disease. In fact, many people have suffered from diabetes, but they do not realize that they feel tired and often go to the toilet, but did not think that this is because they have diabetes, but that it is caused by other reasons.

This situation is most prominent in type 2 diabetes. Compared with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes symptoms appear slower and less obvious, so they are often ignored.

Undiagnosed and untreated patients with diabetes may have peripheral neuropathy, and then hyperglycemia will damage the capillary vessels that supply blood to the hand and foot nerves. Ischemia can make hands and feet feel cold and numb. Usually, feeling cold starts from the feet because it is farthest from the heart. Insufficient blood circulation is most likely to first harm the feet.

4. Symptoms of infection

Fever raises body temperature, but ironically, the more you get a fever, the colder you feel. The normal body temperature of a person is about 37 degrees Celsius, but the most obvious reaction after being hit by infectious diseases such as influenza is an increase in body temperature. Then, we will feel cold, even trembling, as the core body temperature rises, creating a contrast with the ambient temperature around our body.

In addition, life-threatening sepsis can also cause the body's immune system to overreact to infection, causing patients to feel abnormally cold on their skin. This is because blood is transferred to important organs such as the heart.

5. Skin itching

Severe skin diseases such as eczema may cause redness and inflammation of the skin, often accompanied by itching, but they can also make patients feel cold in the skin area affected by eczema. The skin is a part of the body's temperature regulation mechanism and has the ability to maintain core temperature. Scratching exacerbates inflammation, leading to vasodilation and redness of the skin. This causes more blood to flow from the heart to the surface of the skin, which is then lost.

This situation is very different from Raynaud's disease, which causes blood vessels in the fingers and toes to become thinner, which is the human body's response to low temperature. After suffering from Raynaud's disease, fingers and toes can feel cold to the touch, as the blood supply in these areas is blocked and the hands and feet turn white. But when the blood flow returns to normal, they will gradually warm up, then turn blue, and then turn red.

6. Food contains too little iron

Feeling cold all over may be a symptom of iron deficiency anemia. This symptom occurs when there is insufficient red blood cells in the body. The function of red blood cells is to transport oxygen to various parts of the body.

Once suffering from iron deficiency anemia, oxygen rich blood is transferred to important organs such as the heart and brain. This causes the blood vessels on the surface of the skin to close.

This symptom may become more severe after eating, as the blood supply to the main organs increases during digestion. Other symptoms include fatigue, lack of vitality, palpitations, and pale complexion.

7. Caused by heart disease medication

Prescription drugs for diseases such as hypertension, angina, and arrhythmia—— β- One side effect of receptor blockers is cold sensation in the fingers and toes. β- Receptor blockers work by causing the heart to beat slower and exert less force. This may cause the blood vessels in the limbs to contract, hinder blood flow, and cause you to feel cold.

8. Atherosclerosis

If one of your legs feels cold, it may be a sign of atherosclerosis. After suffering from this disease, a fatty substance called plaque accumulates in the arteries. If this occurs in the main arteries of the legs, it can make the legs or feet feel cold because the amount of blood flowing into these areas is significantly reduced.

But the surface of the body with damaged arteries may not necessarily feel cold. For example, if the knee is blocked, it can affect the downward flow of blood, which may make the calf feel cold and painful. Any artery in the body may have "dirt", but only the legs may experience a cold sensation because they have very thick arteries inside. If not treated in time, atherosclerosis may increase the risk of thrombosis, or even cause stroke or heart attack and other diseases.

9. Women are more likely to feel cold

If your partner doesn't feel cold, and you feel cold, sometimes it's necessary to find the reason based on your gender. The female hormone estradiol makes the peripheral blood vessels in the fingers and toes more sensitive to cold, even if the temperature drops slightly, they will still feel it. The temperature of our limbs may also affect our perception of cold.

For the cold caused by these reasons, we must strictly follow the doctor's methods to regulate our body, and at the same time, we can wear DOACE heating clothes to warm up. After plugging in the mobile power supply, the 8 carbon fiber heating elements on the clothes will quickly heat up, making you feel like sitting next to a fireplace indoors, very warm! In addition, he also has a 4-in-1 switch: it provides three heating levels, from 40 ℃/104 ℉ to 65 ℃/149 ℉. You can freely customize heating pads according to your own needs, making your body comfortable like spring and not sweating due to overheating. My favorite design is the off light design, which allows the control lights to be turned off while the heating suit is working, so that I don't attract people's strange eyes when I go on the street.