11 Things Cold Feet and Toes Can Reveal About Your Health
11 Things Cold Feet and Toes Can Reveal About Your Health
Aging
By Power of PositivityPublished on September 15, 2020Last modified September 15, 2020
You may think it is not a big deal that your feet and toes are always cold. But chilly toes and feet aren’t something to ignore. You might chalk the chill up to nothing, but you could be making a mistake. Indeed, you could find that you have the first symptoms of an underlying health problem. Knowing the early signs of trouble can help you manage a previously undetected disease and prevent further consequences. Here is a handy list of eleven common health conditions associated with cold feet and toes.
11 Health Conditions Revealed by Cold Feet and Toes
You might find your cold feet and tingly toes annoying. But the truth is, they could point to a more severe underlying cause. Take a look.
1 – Diabetic neuropathy
Tingling in your hands and feet is a common complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage that can happen if you have diabetes. It usually develops slowly, even over the course of a decade before it’s found. The most frequent first symptom of this condition is the feeling of numbness or a sense of “pins and needles” in your feet. Other symptoms can include those on this list:
Hypersensitivity to touch or loss of touch
Hard time walking
Burning feeling in your feet, mostly at night
Feeling weak in your muscles
Feeling bloated
Stomach problems-nausea, vomiting, or indigestion
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Dizzy when you stand up
Can’t empty your bladder
Vision problems
See your primary care physician if you experience these symptoms. They can help get your blood sugar levels down with mediations. They will also give you recommendations for diet and exercise to control diabetes.
Know the causes and symptoms of neuropathy–and how to care for yourself at home.
2 – Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease that causes hardening or restricting of the arteries. Over time, you might plaque can build up inside the walls. This blockage prevents proper blood flow, so your arteries get blocked. Arteriosclerosis is at the top of the list of causes of death in the United States. Having cold feet or weird nerve sensations could be a sign your circulation is blocked due to a lack of proper blood flow due to arteriosclerosis. You can prevent fatty deposits from accumulating in your arteries by following the healthy tips listed below:
Stop smoking
Eat a healthy diet
Get exercise
Keep a record of your cholesterol levels, blood pressure, BMI, and weight
3 – Raynaud’s disease
Raynaud’s disease or phenomenon impacts your blood vessels, causing them to not send blood to your feet or hands. The phenomenon happens when you’re out in the cold or when you experience stress. Other symptoms include numbness and coldness in fingers and toes. It’s caused by narrowing or restricting in your blood vessels. Primary Raynaud’s phenomenon is most common in women aged 15 to 25 years of age, who live in a cold climate. Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon occurs in people who are 35 to 40 years of age who have connective tissue diseases like the following list:
Some medications have been known to cause Raynaud’s phenomenon, including high-pressure medications, migraine medications, over the counter cold medicine, and narcotics. Specific jobs can put you at risk for Raynaud’s phenomenon, such as working with chemicals, using certain tools all the time like a jackhammer.
4 – Vascular disease
Your vascular system includes your veins, capillaries, and arteries, which circulate blood throughout your body. When you have vascular disease, it affects your circulatory system causing blockages and restricting so your blood flow to all parts of your body. You’re more prone to vascular disease if you have any of these risk factors:
You’re older, the older you get, the more prone you are to vascular diseases
Don’t exercise
Smoke
Sitting a lot
5 – Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism affects about five percent of the adult population in the United States, and it’s more common in women than men. Sometimes called an underactive thyroid, hypothyroidism occurs when your thyroid gland doesn’t make enough thyroid hormones for your body. It can be fatal if left untreated. The thyroid gland impacts nearly every organ in your body, including your heart and metabolism. Because your thyroid gland controls your heart and body temperature, if your thyroid gland is not working correctly, you’ll have circulation problems such as cold feet and toes. Other symptoms of hypothyroidism include the following:
Feeling cold all the time
Tiredness
Puffiness if your face
Joint pain
Extra dry skin
Slow heart rate
Depression
Irritability
If you have some (or even all) of these signs, talk to your doctor. They will give you a simple blood test to check thyroid hormones. If your thyroid isn’t functioning correctly, you can take a thyroid replacement medication.
6 – Poor circulation
Poor circulation is usually due to other health problems. The most common reason for poor circulation is being overweight, heart problems, blood clots, diabetes, or artery disease. Symptoms of circulation problems include these:
If you’re experiencing symptoms of poor circulation, talk with your doctor right away. Your doctor can do tests to find the cause. The typical tests include the following:
Blood pressure checks
Test for Raynaud’s disease
CT scan or ultrasound for blood clots or blockages
Blood sugar test for diabetes
7 – Peripheral neuropathy
This is another condition that can result due to complications related to diabetes. Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage that affects your legs and feet. It’s prevalent. About one half of those who have diabetes get peripheral neuropathy.
Common symptoms include
Tingling in feet or hands
Pain
Weakness in your hands and feet
Lack of feeling your feet
Sharp or burning pains in your feet
Pain to any type of touch
Having peripheral neuropathy puts you at risk for infection and injury since you lose the ability to feel correctly. In the most severe instances, it can lead to amputation.
8 – Frostbite
It’s easy to get frostbite and not realize it. If you’ve been outside in cold temperatures too long, you’re at risk for frostbite. In the right conditions, frostbite can happen in less than 30 minutes. You feel frostbite mostly in your extremities, such as your toes and fingers, but you can also get it in your nose, ears, cheeks, or chin. Your feet may feel numb and tingly. Other symptoms of frostbite include these signs:
Prickly feeling in your toes
Numbness
Gray-colored skin
Stiffness in your hands and feet
Dress appropriately in cold weather. Don’t stay out too long in frigid weather.
9 – Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes you extreme fatigue, musculoskeletal pain. Other symptoms of fibromyalgia include these additional red flags:
Cold feet and hands
Temporomandibular joining dysfunction (TMJ)
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Cystitis
Endometriosis
Mood issues
Memory problems
Brain fog
Insomnia
10 – Vitamin B deficiency
If you’re not getting enough B vitamins, you may experience tingling in your feet. Your deficiency may be due to other health problems or a diet lacking enough B vitamins. Other symptoms of having a vitamin B deficiency include the following:
Feeling extremely tired
Tingling in your hands and feet
Constant headaches
Nausea
Gut problems like IBS
Dizziness
Intermittent shortness of breath
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, talk with your doctor. They can run tests to determine if you have a vitamin B deficiency.
11 – Anxiety
Did you know that stress, panic attacks, and anxiety can cause your feet and toes to feel cold? You may have experienced that odd feeling in your gut or gotten a headache from stress. When you get stressed, it causes your blood flow to get redirected, so it doesn’t go to your extremities, but towards the larger organs in your body. It’s sort of a “fight or flight” system your body goes into when you get stressed. Even if you currently are not in a life-threatening scenario, your body may react to the stress as if it was life-threatening.
Final Thoughts on Recognizing When Cold Feet and Toes Might Point to a More Significant Problem
It’s easy to put off health issues when life is busy, but if you’re experiencing chilly toes and feet, it may be time for a check-up. Many of these conditions develop slowly over time. That is all the more reason to get an early diagnosis so you can control the disease. These are eleven common ailments that affect women more than men. So, if you’re a woman, listen up. Let your cold feet and toes motivate you to explore what’s going on with your body. It could be a disease or condition, or it could be the way your body deals with stress. Whatever the cause, your health is worth it. Plus, you’ll enjoy having warm toes and feet again. Take care of yourself, and be well.
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