Cold Hands and Fingers

Can anyone shed some light on a personal issue I have. People freak out at how cold my hands and fingers are when they touch them. I recently took a health assesment and even the nurse commented on how cold to the touch my hands were. They generally are always like this even when I am inside? I have had people tell me poor circulation or iron defeciency. My vitals heart rate, blood pressue and LDH levels all tested very well.

Appreciate anyone who might have insight.

No idea but I have the same problem so I am interested in responses.

Do you smoke or are you underweight?

 Smokers have notoriously bad circulation, ie cold hands and feet.  If you are underweight your extremities also remain cold because your body warmth is conserved by vital organs.

Just a couple of thoughts.

On the other hand, I don't smoke, and my hands are always freezing too, so maybe it's just one of those things, no reason behind it know what I mean? 

yea my hands are CONSTANTLY like ice...and sometimes my fingers turn blue...that kinda freaks people out..but yea, I blame it on poor circulation I guess...

mine are always cold too, even when im sweating

do they turn bright white and then blue-ish? if they get freaky white you might have the same thing I have. I am seeing a doctor on Jan. 2. Check out my thread and look at the photos in these links (I posted a few hyperlinks within the thread):

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/690 44.html

Im freezing right now at 81 degrees.

WOW - alot more people than I would have ever thought.  Couple of things

a.  Not a smoker, never have been

b.  Overweight (but dropping!)

 Just might have doc check it out to be safe.

Thanks everyone.

It's a sign of being underweight. I was at an ED Hospial and EVERYONE had ice-cold hands.

weird...

OK i just got back from the endocrinologist (unrelated/related issues) and in her regular drawl of questions, my doctor asked if i was cold very regularly....and i said "yes!" (like the OP, people are shocked whenever they touch my hands)...so i asked what the significance of that could be, and she said that people who are often really cold when they shouldn't are probably suffering from Thyriod issues! who knew?!

 ....keep in mind that they already knew that i had lost a significant amount of weight (90 lbs), so the whole "lack-of-insulation" theory didn't seem to affect the endocrinologist's assumptions of thyriod problems.  Long story short and without scientific details, she performed a blood test to check my hormone levels and see if my thyriod really is out-of-whack.  So, we'll see if my cold fingers will finally reach a warm salvation!! 

Maybe this could be the culprit? a sleepy thyriod?  Thoughts?

i have really cold hands too, and my fingernails are blueish because i'm partially anemic. maybe the reason your hands are cold is that you're anemic? i'm not sure if this would cause really cold hands but it's worth going to the doctor for at any rate.

could it be possible that you are actually not eating enough for your body to function properly and heat itself?

-your heart needs energy/calories to keep circulation regular

-a very large portion of energy/calories consumed are burnt off as heat

I had a health professional tell me that cold feet/hands sometimes means slow or sluggish metabolism.

I also have cold hands/feet almost all the time even in the very hotttttt summers here in Vegas.

I was told once , also I had a slow metabolism, so maybe thats it?

It doesnt matter what weight i have been at (even at my high weight almost 190) I have always had the coldness issue.

Wow.. never knew so many other people have the same "issue." Most of the time my hands in particular (feet not so much) are pretty cold.  Always been that way and can't figure out why.. all well.

It could be just poor blood circulation. Try asking your doctor.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!  Hasn't anybody ever heard of Raynaud's syndrome?  Look it up.

In most cases, you can learn to warm your own hands by performing relaxation exercises.  Cold extremeties indicate vasoconstriction.  That is, the smooth muscles around your smaller blood vessels are tense.  When you learn to relax, really, really relax, that is, not just THINK you are relaxing, then those muscles relax and blood flows into the vessels, warming your hands, feet, nose, and ears.

That's the first I've ever heard of Raynaud's syndrome.

I tend to get cold hands and feet at the drop of a hat...getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom leaves my hands and feet cold.  In general since I've been getting a lot of exercise I don't have cold hands or feet during the day, but the 3 minute bathroom run at night turns me into an iceberg. 

I actually am always cold too, because of low bodyfat i assume, and because I have had a long history of being underweight (check my profile!) but even now I am a relatively normal weight (around 125 and 5'8) and i am ALWAYS cold. Sometimes though, only my hands, nose and feet will be cold but I wont feel necessarily cold. Often, when I go outside or something I will get cold and CANT be warmed with blankets. Only by a hot shower or working out. I have actually been too doctors and had blood tests and there is NOTHING wrong with me. It is just low body fat I guess because my blood circ. and iron counts are fine.

Pain in the fingers is usually associated with Raynauds. Doyou guys have painfu fingers?

Original Post by spurlinb:

Can anyone shed some light on a personal issue I have.  People freak out at how cold my hands and fingers are when they touch them.  I recently took a health assesment and even the nurse commented on how cold to the touch my hands were.  They generally are always like this even when I am inside?   I have had people tell me poor circulation or iron defeciency.  My vitals heart rate, blood pressue and LDH levels all tested very well.

 Appreciate anyone who might have insight.

I have the same type of hands and feet...I think that it's honestly just a genetic thing or something, because my whole family is actually this way...but yeah, I really don't think you have anything to worry about ... :)