Cold feet are normal when experienced due to cold temperatures, such as at night or when in an air-conditioned room. However, you should be wary if cold feet are experienced continuously, because it can signal symptoms of a fairly serious disease.
Cold feet that occur only occasionally and while are nothing to worry about, are actually the body's natural response to regulating body temperature. Usually to overcome this, you only need to warm your feet, for example by wearing socks.
However, if cold feet are experienced continuously without a clear trigger, it could be a symptom of a more serious illness.
Various Causes of Cold Feet
Basically, experiencing cold feet continuously indicates that the body has poor blood circulation. This condition is usually caused by a sedentary lifestyle, such as sitting in a chair all day at work or sleeping too much.
Not only that, adopting an unhealthy lifestyle, such as smoking, can also cause impaired blood circulation. As a result, blood flow to the legs also becomes blocked and the feet feel colder than the rest of the body.
There are also several other causes that can trigger cold feet, including:
1. Anemia
Anemia is a condition when the body lacks red blood cells. Anemia is generally caused by iron deficiency. Anemia very often causes complaints of cold feet, especially if the degree of anemia is already severe.
2. Diabetes
In diabetes, blood sugar levels become high. This situation can increase the risk of narrowing of blood vessels by the accumulation of fat or also known as atherosclerosis. When this happens in the blood vessels leading to the feet, blood flow to them becomes blocked and causes cold feet
High and uncontrolled blood sugar levels can also cause complications of diabetes in the form of nerve damage (neuropathy). When the nerves are disturbed, sufferers can feel cold feet because the nerves that detect temperature in the feet are not functioning properly.
3. Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism occurs when the body lacks thyroid hormones that regulate the body's metabolism. Since the body's metabolism determines heart rate and body temperature, a lack of thyroid hormone in the body can slow circulation and cause cold feet.
4. Raynaud's disease
Raynaud's disease occurs when blood flow becomes severely reduced due to narrowed blood vessels. If this happens, the patient will feel the hands, feet, ears, or nose become very cold and pale.
This disease usually recurs when the sufferer is in certain conditions, for example exposed to cold temperatures or experiencing severe stress.
There are several other things that can also cause cold hands and feet, for example due to age. Older people tend to lose the ability to regulate their body temperature properly. In addition, family hereditary factors and certain medications also trigger cold feet.
If cold feet occur all the time, both in cold and hot temperatures, or are accompanied by symptoms such as pain and changes in skin color to become very pale, check with your doctor to determine the cause.