What are the symptoms of cold feet?
If you have cold feet, you might experience symptoms that appear once in a while, or happen consistently when temperatures in your environment drop. Symptoms could include:
- Your feet are at a lower temperature than the rest of your body.
- You have mild, throbbing pain in your feet and toes.
- Your feet take longer to warm up if you’re exposed to cold temperatures.
- Your feet are a different color (pale, red, blue or purple) than the rest of your body.
- You experience cold feet during specific hours of the day, like at night.
Why is my body warm but my feet cold?
When you’re exposed to cold temperatures, you might notice your feet and hands are the first to get cold, but your chest and torso are still warm. Since your feet are furthest away from your heart, it can take longer for your blood to circulate through the limbs of your body. This can cause your hands and feet to take longer to warm up.
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What causes my feet to always be so cold?
There are several causes of cold feet. If you live in a cold climate, you could experience cold feet frequently. In addition, some of the most common causes of cold feet are poor blood flow, a symptom of an underlying condition or a side effect of a medicine.
Poor blood flow
Poor blood flow (circulation) in your legs and feet causes cold feet. Poor blood flow means that it takes longer for the blood to reach your feet.
Your blood travels through pathways (blood vessels) in your circulatory system. These pathways can close, harden and narrow, making it difficult for blood to flow steadily. If your pathways are blocked or narrow, the movement of your blood slows down similar to pouring liquid through a funnel. A lot of liquid can enter the funnel, but the funnel narrows, which slows down how fast the liquid moves. This delay in blood flow causes symptoms of cold feet.
Conditions that cause cold feet as a symptom
Cold feet could be a sign of an underlying condition. Several conditions that affect blood flow include:
- Autoimmune conditions (anemia).
- Heart disease.
- Hormonal changes (hypothyroidism).
- Narrow artery blockages or constricted blood vessels.
- Nerve conditions (fibromyalgia).
- Peripheral artery disease.
- Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Side effects of a medicine
Some medicines could cause cold feet as a side effect based on how the medicine interacts with your blood flow. Medicines that could cause cold feet include:
- Beta-blockers for high blood pressure.
- Ergotamine for headaches.
- Pseudoephedrine in cold medicine.
