Do you have cold feet? Well, you are not alone. Having cold feet is very common. It can occur in men, women, and children. Cold feet can be a simple annoyance, or they can be caused by an underlying condition. Therefore, it is very important for an individual who is suffering from cold feet to seek medical attention.
Even though it is important to seek medical attention if you have cold feet, use common sense. For instance, if you are walking around on hardwood floors barefooted in the winter, then yes your feet probably are going to be cold. However, if your feet are always cold, no matter what the temperature is, then it is a reason to be concerned.
There are many different causes of cold feet. Some of the medical conditions that cause cold feet are as followed: Hypothyroidism, Peripheral Neuropathy, and Peripheral Vascular Disease. Cold feet can also be caused by frostbite, which unless you are stranded out in extremely low temperatures, can be prevented.
Hypothyroidism occurs when an individual’s thyroid is not producing enough hormones. Cold feet is not directly caused by hypothyroidism, but the symptoms of hypothyroidism causes the cold feet. For instance, individuals whose thyroid are not producing enough hormones, may have swollen legs. Therefore, the swollen legs do not allow blood to flow to the feet, which causes them to be cold. Furthermore, if hypothyroidism is not treated, it can cause heart failure. When an individual’s heart fails, the blood is not pumped correctly. The first places to suffer from the blood not being pumped correctly are the extremities, such as the feet, which causes them to become cold because they are not getting enough blood.
The second medical condition that can cause cold feet is Peripheral Neuropathy, which is a nerve disorder. This nerve disorder can cause unusual sensations. One such sensation is cold feet.
Another medical condition that can cause an individual to have cold feet is Peripheral Vascular Disease (PAD). PAD occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the internal organs, arms, and legs become blocked or partially blocked. Therefore, the blood cannot flow. This lack of blood flow to the legs is what causes an individual to have cold feet.
In additions to medical conditions, cold feet can be caused by frostbite. However, frostbite is completely preventable. For instance, an individual can avoid places in which he or she may get lost out in the snow of fall into a cold body of water.
There is no direct way to cure cold feet. However, there are several steps that an individual can take to help their cold feet. First, a person who suffers from cold feet should do everything that he or she can to prevent heat from escaping. For instance, wear natural fiber socks and leather shoes at all times because leather has an insulating property. Also, there are infrared socks and heated insoles that can be worn to warm the feet if you are willing to pay the money. Furthermore, take steps to keep your feet dry. Finally, prevent damage to the feet because with the poor circulation that people with cold feet have, healing is significantly impaired.
While there are things that you can do to help your cold feet, there is no cure. Rather than trying to cure cold feet, an individual needs to treat the underlying medical condition that is causing the cold feet. For instance, Hypothyroidism is easily treatable, but it is a lifelong treatment. The treatment is synthetic thyroid hormone.
Just like Hypothyroidism, Peripheral Neuropathy is also treatable. However, it depends on what is causing the neuropathy on what treatment is used. For instance, if the neuropathy is caused from a vitamin deficiency, then it is treated by taking that vitamin and eating foods high in that vitamin. Furthermore, if the neuropathy is caused by diabetes, then the individual needs to control his or her diabetes with diet and insulin shots, but the neuropathy may not be reversible. Finally, if there is no known cause for the neuropathy, then it can be treated with physical therapy.
Cold feet is not all that uncommon. It can happen to anybody. The key thing to remember if it happens to you is to seek medical attention because it may be due to an underlying medical condition.