Hands and Feet Are Cold
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Try one of these related symptoms.
My hands and feet are cold
Cold hands
Cold legs
Cold extremities
The soles get cold
Cold hands and/or feet
Always cold
About the Symptom
It describes the feeling of cold extremities all the time, no matter what the weather is outside or temperature around the individual. Sometimes. people will also notice their fingertips and toes may change colors. This may be an isolated finding or come together with a number of other symptoms. There are also many potential causes.
When to See a Doctor
Seek professional care if you experience any of the following symptoms
- Chest tightness
- Abnormal sensation (tingling, prickling)
- Palpitation
- Back pain
- Numbness / sensory disorder
- Peripheral cyanosis
- Chest pain
Possible Causes
Generally, Hands and feet are cold can be related to:
- Buerger's Disease (Thromboangiitis Obliterans)
This is a rare inflammatory disease affecting the arms and legs due to blood clots of the small and medium-sized arteries and veins. It is not due to blockage from fats and cholesterols. It tends to happen in younger men who are heavy smokers and can lead to complete loss of blood to fingertips requiring amputation.
- Diabetic Gangrene
With this condition, a wound (often in the feet) does not heal well due to diabetes. Diabetes weakens circulation and the immune system resulting in poor wound healing. Diabetes also decreases sensation in the extremities so people often do not have pain or notice the tissue until it is completed dead. The tissue becomes black and dry appearing as it completely dies off. This wound may also become a source of infection leading to spread of infection to other parts of the body.
- Bullous Disease of Diabetes
A condition in which blisters appear on the arms, hands and legs, typically seen in long-standing or poorly controlled diabetes.
- Arteriosclerosis Obliterans
- Cervical Spondylosis
- Hypothyroidism
- Scleroderma
Related Serious Diseases
Sometimes, Hands and feet are cold may be related to these serious diseases:
- Frostbite
Frostbite is a skin injury that happens after exposure to low temperatures. The skin freezes and blood vessels constrict.
- Myocardial Infarction (MI) / Unstable Angina
- Aortic Dissection / Aortic Aneurysm Rupture
Doctor's Diagnostic Questions
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this symptom:
- Do you often have cold hands and feet?
- When did you first notice having cold hands and feet?
- How often do you experience cold hands and feet?
- How are your cold hands and feet now?
Reviewed By:
Kenji Taylor, MD, MSc (Family Medicine, Primary Care)
Dr. Taylor is a Japanese-African American physician who grew up and was educated in the United States but spent a considerable amount of time in Japan as a college student, working professional and now father of three. After graduating from Brown, he worked in finance first before attending medical school at Penn. He then completed a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control before going on to specialize in Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he was also a chief resident. After a faculty position at Stanford, he moved with his family to Japan where he continues to see families on a military base outside of Tokyo, teach Japanese residents and serve remotely as a medical director for Roots Community Health Center. He also enjoys editing and writing podcast summaries for Hippo Education.
Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.
Content updated on Jan 30, 2025
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
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Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1References
Kadian-Dodov D. Cold Hands or Feet: Is It Raynaud's or Not? Med Clin North Am. 2023 Sep;107(5):829-844. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2023.04.005. Epub 2023 Jun 4. PMID: 37541711.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37541711/