# Why are my hands so cold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063 "2004-10-19T17:33:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Indra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indra)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/1 "2004-10-19T17:33:34Z")
Any medical reason for this? I can take the cold really well, but my hands become numb much quicker than everyone elses. They also stay cold for a long period of time. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/2 "2004-10-19T17:41:55Z")
Do you smoke? Smoking tends to limit the blood circulation to the hands and feet, making them feel cold. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/3 "2004-10-19T17:44:17Z")
Do they turn blue and get numb, or just cold? Could be Reynaud’s (sp?) syndrome, which is a problem my wife has when it gets cold. I think it has something to do with the blood vessels in the extremeties constricting, decreasing blood flow and causing numbness. ---
**Author:** ![olpeculiar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@olpeculiar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olpeculiar)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/4 "2004-10-19T17:46:54Z")
I used to wonder the same thing. I can take the cold really well, feeling fine with just a T-shirt. Maybe a light jacket to get to the car during cold New England winters. But if I’m so good at dealing with the cold, why are my hands always freezing? My hands were always cold BECAUSE I could take the cold so well. My hands are always frigid when I’m wearing too little clothing. If I’m wearing a T-shirt in the cold weather, my hands are cold. If I put on a sweater, my hands warm up. Try it - I think you’ll find the same thing. Me? I put up with the cold hands. I hate sweaters. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/5 "2004-10-19T17:52:39Z")
Do a search on Raynaud’s Syndrome My Mother has it. From - [http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/raynaud.html](http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/raynaud.html) > [@](#): > > Raynaud’s phenomenon, sometimes called Raynaud’s syndrome or disease, is a disorder of blood circulation in the fingers. This condition aggravate with cold exposure. Exposure to cold abnormally reduces blood circulation causing the fingers to become pale, waxy-white or purple. The disorder is sometimes called “white finger,” “wax finger” or “dead finger.” > > Raynaud’s phenomenon has many different causes including workplace exposures. **It is most commonly associated with hand-arm vibration syndrome but it is also involved in other occupational diseases.** > It is important to know the signs and symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon and the workplace hazards that cause it. Awareness can help prevent the disorder from occurring or progressing to a serious stage. If not detected in the early stages, the disorder can permanently impair blood circulation in the fingers. My chainsaws manual specifialy stated that the handles where isolated/rubber mounted to try to prevent this problem. Surprised me. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/6 "2004-10-19T18:05:19Z")
Not to say there can’t be some malady making for cold hands but there are mundane causes too. Your body has inbuilt safeguards in response to freezing to death. Among those is restricting blood flow to your extremities thus trying to keep warm blood in your chest and head where the important parts are. Not to mention extremities lose heat more quickly. So, you may feel warm and fine because your body is making it that way while your hands and feet start getting cold. A somewhat odd fix to cold feet/hands is to put a hat on. I thought this was nuts till a woman told me to do that while I was skiing and complaining about cold toes. Put on a hat and sure enough 20 minutes later my toes were warm. Turns out you lose a LOT of body heat through your head. Using something to mitigate heat loss via your head lets your body feel the rpessur is off to keep your head warm and will turn the flow back on to extremities (thus warming them up). In general making your torso and head warmer should translate to warmer fingers and toes. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/7 "2004-10-19T20:15:42Z")
I don’t know, but is it because your head never feels cold that you never see the need to keep it warm? Sure your face and ears will get cold, but it seems like the top part of your head (where the brain is) never gets cold to the bone like the hands do. That would make a lot of sense for keeping you alive. But if it isn’t insulated, I guess a lot of warm blood is used in comparison to if it were insulated. This warmth could be used for other, less important, parts? Is that right? ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/8 "2004-10-19T20:53:40Z")
I was gonna suggest checking for Raynaud’s. My Mom’s got it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/9 "2004-10-19T21:17:36Z")
Along with wearing hats is [this](http://www.turtlefur.com/101234.html). These have kept me warmer then anything I can remember (short of a hat I guess). It’s basically just a fleece (so it’s warm, but air moves through it very easily). That you wear around your neck and up over your mouth and nose. I have to assume it works in that when you exhale your breath heats up that part infront of your mouth and nose, then when you inhale, the air is slightly warmer and more humid. Whatever it does, it really works. The first time I wore one sking, I was able to take my hat and jacket off since it kept me so warm. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/10 "2004-10-19T21:30:07Z")
> [@Joey P](#): > > Along with wearing hats is [this](http://www.turtlefur.com/101234.html). These have kept me warmer then anything I can remember (short of a hat I guess). It’s basically just a fleece (so it’s warm, but air moves through it very easily). That you wear around your neck and up over your mouth and nose. I have to assume it works in that when you exhale your breath heats up that part infront of your mouth and nose, then when you inhale, the air is slightly warmer and more humid. Whatever it does, it really works. The first time I wore one sking, I was able to take my hat and jacket off since it kept me so warm. I have three of those. They are the way to go in cold weather. They can also double as a hat (if your coat has a hood). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-my-hands-so-cold/270063/11 "2004-10-19T22:17:11Z")
> [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > I don’t know, but is it because your head never feels cold that you never see the need to keep it warm? Sure your face and ears will get cold, but it seems like the top part of your head (where the brain is) never gets cold to the bone like the hands do. That would make a lot of sense for keeping you alive. But if it isn’t insulated, I guess a lot of warm blood is used in comparison to if it were insulated. This warmth could be used for other, less important, parts? > > Is that right? Yep…that is right. > [@](#): > > As far as I’ve been able to find (I feel your pain - it´s been pretty to hard to find!), about 30% of one’s body heat can be lost through the head. About 13-16% of the body’s blood volume is in the head at any given time, but it is a very exposed structure, allowing it to lose heat pretty quickly. Incidentally, the neck is also a place of easy heat loss, so keep that scarf on as well! > > Though it is important to prevent general heat loss, the most important reason to keep a hat on (and your body temperature up) is that the brain requires the most blood, and needs that blood to be the right temperature. > > SOURCE: [Re: How much heat is loss thru head?](http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec2000/978077909.Ns.r.html) Your body has innate survival mechanisms to deal with freezing to death as I mentioned before. As you start to cool off the body restricts blood flow to the extremities so it can maintain temperature in the most important parts…heart/lungs and especially the brain. It is this mechanism that has, in part at least, helped people survive severe hypothermia. The downside is those people often have toes/feet/fingers/hands amputated from severe frostbite. But they lived which by your body’s calculation is a better tradeoff.