Feeling cold all the time

Category: General & Whole-Body Symptoms · All general symptoms

What it can feel like

Feeling cold all the time means you reach for extra layers when others are comfortable, with cold hands and feet and sometimes a general chilliness that a warm room does not fix. A clear change in how you tolerate cold is the pattern clinicians listen for.

Possible causes

A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.

Common causes

Cold sensitivity can be associated with being slim or having lost weight, with anaemia, with poor sleep and tiredness, and with simply ageing circulation in the hands and feet.

Other possible causes

New cold intolerance can be associated with an underactive thyroid — often together with weight gain, dry skin, constipation and tiredness — and less commonly with circulation problems or hormone conditions.

Red flags — when to seek help promptly

Feeling cold with chest pain, or limbs that become painful, white or blue
Feeling cold with severe fatigue, weight gain and a slow pulse
A finger or toe that stays white, blue or red and painful after cold exposure
Cold intolerance in a child whose growth has slowed

What a clinician may do

A clinician will ask when it began and what comes with it, examine your circulation and thyroid, and usually arrange blood tests including thyroid function and a blood count. Treatment follows the cause found.

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Frequently asked questions

Is it my thyroid?

An underactive thyroid is one of the classic causes, especially when cold intolerance arrives with tiredness, weight gain, dry skin and constipation — but anaemia and low body weight are also common, and a simple blood test usually sorts it out.

Why are my hands and feet worst?

Hands and feet are the body's radiators — blood vessels narrow there first to conserve heat. When that response is exaggerated, as in Raynaud's pattern, fingers can turn white, then blue, then red with tingling as they warm up.

Related symptoms — General & Whole-Body Symptoms

Chills Excessive sweating Excessive thirst Fatigue Feeling generally unwell (malaise)Fever

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Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.