Freezing feet in the cold season or in the warm season, but under the influence of cold - all this is understandable from a physiological point of view.
The heat produced by organs and muscles is transferred to the surface of the skin by the blood vessels and is retained in the body by adipose tissue. If the fat layer is small, then at low ambient temperatures there is an intense loss of heat, which happens in the limbs (arms and legs) - there is almost no fat layer.
Heat loss also occurs during the movement of blood through the vessels - the distance to the lower extremities is greater than to other organs.
In addition, blood vessels become narrower under the influence of cold, blood flow to the legs decreases, respectively, the amount of heat brought by the blood decreases, and the legs begin to freeze.
But why are legs freezing in a warm room? Is this normal or should it not be? Of course, this indicates some violations. What is the reason, and what to do when such problems arise.
Try to answer these questions.
Feet freeze warm in a healthy person
There are reasons why the legs freeze even when warm, not related to the disease:
- The habit of warming your feet (socks, slippers). The limbs, accustomed to a certain temperature, freeze without the usual "warming" even in the room.
- The habit of squeezing legs under oneself while sitting, crossing, throwing one foot on the other and being in this position for a long time. There is a feeling of numbness, cold due to impaired blood flow and insufficient supply of limbs with blood.
- Wearing uncomfortable, narrow shoes, high-heeled shoes, tights and socks made of synthetics (legs sweat, then freeze).
- Long legs at lower temperatures than the whole body: walking in wet shoes, on cold ground or water.
- Violation of thermoregulation in people with physical characteristics: high growth, thinness.
- Disruption of the hormonal background in women during menopause: after profuse sweating, cooling of the body occurs (feet, hands freeze).
- Pregnancy affects heat transfer in the extremities (maintaining the temperature of the genital organs in certain numbers occurs due to a decrease in blood supply to the capillaries of the legs).
- Excessive emotionality: in a stressful situation, blood vessels spasm, blood circulation is disturbed.
- Elderly age is often the cause of impaired blood supply to the limbs.
- Infant: thermoregulation mechanisms are still imperfect.
All of the above items can be the answer to the question of why your feet are cold and sweating in the heat. Many of these reasons can be easily eliminated: hardening, correct posture when sitting, comfortable shoes and always in the weather, improving the state of the nervous system.
Feet freeze warm - pathological causes
It is not always possible to explain the reasons why even the feet freeze at home in the heat, can be explained by physiological conditions, weather, some kind of temporary situation. A feeling of coldness in the limbs can signal a violation in the functioning of the organs. This condition may be associated with disturbances in the work of the cardiovascular system, nervous system, and metabolic disorders.
- In diabetes mellitus, blood vessels become thinner, blood clots often form, limbs are not supplied with blood enough.
- Intermittent claudication is the result of atherosclerosis disease, when the lumen of the vessels is disturbed due to plaques, the supply of limbs with blood decreases.
- Hypertension, hypotension. Hypertension (pressure above normal) - due to vasospasm, blood supply is disturbed. Hypotension (low pressure) - blood moves through the dilated vessels with insufficient speed. It acts slowly, the temperature drops.
- Varicose veins become a cause of stagnation of blood, which leads to disruption of the movement of blood through the vessels.
- Vegetative-vascular dystonia (VVD): changes in vascular tone and blood circulation in tissues and organs.
- Raynaud's syndrome: there is a disorder of blood circulation in the vessels of the limbs as a result of exposure to cold, emotional arousal.
Vascular problems may be accompanied by:
- swelling of the limbs;
- painful sensations;
- weakness, fatigue, even at light loads;
- cramps.
Neurological problems
The following neurological problems may be the reason why the legs and hands are cold when warm.
- intervertebral hernias of the lumbar spine (infringement of nerve endings, impaired blood supply to the lower extremities);
- cerebrovascular accident (one of the accompanying conditions is cold limbs);
- some diseases of the peripheral nervous system are accompanied by circulatory disorders in the vessels of the legs.
Problems of a different nature
Why are feet warm in men and women of different ages? The reasons can be very diverse:
- Hypothyroidism: An insufficient amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone (thyroid hormone) is produced. Along with other symptoms (dry, pale skin, hair loss and brittleness, weakness, fatigue), the patient's legs almost always freeze, he will chill even in warm clothes.
- Side effect of drugs.
- Fungal diseases of the genitourinary system can provoke a decrease in vascular tone.
- Parasitic infections: toxins secreted by parasites affect vascular tone and may cause spasm.
- Tendency to allergies: during an exacerbation of the disease, blood flow and heat transfer are disturbed.
- Dehydration: there is a change in water balance and, as a result, metabolic disturbances.
- Violations of the cardiovascular system lead to a decrease in blood flow velocity, which affects the heat exchange processes in the limbs.
- Iron deficiency (low hemoglobin): a decrease in its amount leads to an insufficient supply of oxygen to the body (hemoglobin carries oxygen), which leads to metabolic disorders.
- Starvation, strict diets: lack of energy affects heat transfer.
- Rehabilitation period after frostbite: limbs will freeze until blood circulation is fully restored.
- The state of chronic fatigue.
Feet freeze in children warm
Why are the feet very cold even in children? The reason may be the same state of the body as in adults:
- circulatory disorders due to illness;
- physical condition of the body (low weight, thinness);
- psychosomatic problems;
- avitaminosis;
- lack of physical activity;
- violation of posture, leading to a violation of the blood supply to the limbs;
- metabolic disease;
- allergy;
- improperly selected shoes, clothes.
It must be borne in mind that the physiological characteristics of the child's body play a large role in heat transfer processes:
- the thermoregulation of the newborn is not yet perfect, so it can freeze at a temperature comfortable for an adult;
- there is almost no fat in the limbs of the child, muscle mass is small.
The task of the parents is to analyze situations when the child has warm feet much lower than body temperature, try to understand what they are connected with, and if they could not find the answer to this question on their own, consult a pediatrician.
What will help get rid of the symptom of "cold legs"
If cold legs cause discomfort, interfere with the normal functioning of the body, you need to try to get rid of the factors that provoke this condition:
- any types of alcohol (affects vascular tone);
- smoking (vasoconstriction narrows, heat exchange is disturbed);
- low physical activity;
- increased body weight;
- improper and excessive nutrition;
- wearing tight clothes and shoes;
- incorrect postures when walking and sitting.
Traditional medicine to help “cold feet”
Why are my feet freezing warm? What to do? Folk methods contain many recommendations on what to do in such cases, because the problem is not new, a person has been familiar with it for a long time. Consider methods based on exposure to biologically active points of the feet.
- Rubbing the feet with apple cider vinegar (6%), vodka, triple cologne. This method helps the expansion of blood vessels, improves blood flow. First you need to perform a foot massage (before the sensation of warmth), rub your ankles, fingers. Then rub the chosen product well, put on the socks.
- Add mustard (powder) to hot water and warm your legs until the water cools. After wearing woolen socks (villi act on the sole points).
- Pour dry mustard or red pepper into cotton socks, put them on (wipe your feet dry), put on one more socks. The procedure is good to carry out at night.
- Prepare a tincture of 200 ml of vodka and 2 teaspoons of red pepper (let stand 10 days in a dark place), rub in the feet overnight. Always wear socks.
- Use a warming cream to warm your feet: add fir oil to any neutral cream, rub in the feet until absorbed, put on warm socks.
- Warming up the legs over hot boiled potatoes: put a plate on the pan, legs on it, wrap it and sit for half an hour.
- Foot baths. Prepare a decoction of spruce or pine needles, warm your legs for half an hour, then keep them warm.
From 3 or 4 bags of green tea, prepare a hot infusion in 1-2 liters of water (10 minutes), warm your legs until the infusion cools. Wrap up.
Recipes of decoctions and teas
A variety of teas will help improve blood circulation.
Ginger tea: in 250 ml of boiling water, stir half a teaspoon of ground ginger, soak for 15 minutes. Drink hot, adding a slice of lemon, in the morning (on an empty stomach) and in the evening (one hour before bedtime).
Tea with ginger: when brewing black tea, add fresh ginger to the cup (grate) or powder - half a teaspoon. You can add ground nutmeg along with ginger (to taste).
Dandelion drink: fresh or dry dandelion flowers (1 teaspoon), insist in a glass of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drink two glasses a day (morning and afternoon, regardless of food intake).
Drink from hawthorn: a teaspoon of dry (chopped) hawthorn fruit, insist in a glass of boiling water for 5 minutes, add honey and drink like tea.
Exercises to improve circulation in the legs
Why are the feet freezing at home warm, we figured it out. Something must be done with this problem. Among the many exercises to improve blood circulation in the legs, you can always choose the ones that are suitable specifically for yourself and perform them, which is very important, systematically (morning and evening). When performing, focus on the muscles of the legs.
Exercise 1 (to restore blood circulation in the capillaries): lying on your back (on the floor), put a roller under the neck, lift your legs and arms up at a right angle. Perform vibrating movements with arms and legs (shake) without bending them, from one to three minutes.
Exercise 2. Standing to perform rolls from toe to heel with both legs (20-30 times).
Exercise 3. Sitting on a chair, stretch a straight leg forward, move your toes up and down (10-20 times).
Exercise 4. Performs the same as the previous one, only do the movement in the foot.
Exercise 5. Lying on your back (on the floor), arms extend along the torso. Pull the socks of the legs alternately on yourself (10-15 times with each foot).
Exercise 6. Perform half-squats, tensing the muscles of the legs (10-15 times).
Exercise 7. Walking on the outside of the foot (1-2 minutes).
Exercise 8. Walking with a goose step.
Exercise 9. Lying on your stomach (on the floor), put your hands under your head, bend your legs at the knees. Perform swaying movements from side to side (1-2 minutes).
Exercise 10. Lying on your back, raise straight legs and lean them against the wall, buttocks as close as possible to the wall. Be in this position for 5 minutes.
Exercise 11. Sitting on a chair (the back rests against the back of the chair), raise straight legs parallel to the floor, perform the movement of the legs as when swimming.
Exercise 11. Collect small objects lying on the floor with your toes.
Exercise 12. Standing on toes, stretch straight arms up, trying to stretch the spine as much as possible (at the expense of 30 to 60).
The execution order can be selected arbitrarily. With the systematic performance of exercises, a feeling of lightness in the legs will appear, a feeling of coldness in the feet will gradually disappear.
Prevention
In order not to encounter a problem when the legs freeze in the heat, it is necessary to take preventive measures from childhood:
- walk barefoot on the ground, on pebbles, stones, sand, grass;
- at home, often walk without slippers;
- carry out foot massage using a massage mat, a special massager;
- Do not warm your legs without the need (dress according to the weather);
- be physically active in any weather;
- conduct hardening procedures: contrast shower, contrast foot baths;
- maintain the correct position of the body when walking, in a sitting position (legs should have support);
- cycling, swimming, skiing, walking;
- include foods containing fatty acids (fatty fish, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, nuts, seeds) in the diet.
These measures, if implemented in the system, will help both children and adults to feel comfortable in any weather.