^{Image source: Pixabay. CCO.}

Imagine this scenario: It's a warm and cloudy afternoon, and as the junior high's P.E instructor, you take the kids out to the park to play. Suddenly, a child nearby complains of feeling rather cold despite the warm weather. Upon close observation and possibly examination, you discover that child really was saying it as it is; He/She was feeling cold, and it hasn't even rained for weeks. It's possible that such a child has cold intolerance.

Cold intolerance isn't your regular dose of chill you get on a really snowy day. Rather, it depicts the feeling when a person is immensely sensitive to cold temperatures. When someone develops cold intolerance, they feel uncomfortable even in a normal room temperature, and the symptoms are sometimes much more severe than the normal feeling of chills one gets when staying outdoors on a cold rainy evening.

Actually, quite a good number of people are naturally prone to the feeling cold, especially those who have one chronic health problem or the other, or thin people with too little body fat. In cases where one has cold intolerance, he/she is most likely to complain of cold even when every other person in the same room feel normal, and frankly, it seems to throw on extra layers of clothing simply won't do the trick, nor would it serve as a relief for the cold.

Unlike the chill people feel on every exposed part of their bodies when the weather is really cold, people with cold intolerance feel cold in some cold-sensitive areas of the skin alone, like the hands and feet. And while feeling a tad chilly is nothing to worry about for a lot of us, it is still advisable to check in with your doctor for proper evaluation and diagnosis if it tends to persist or reoccur over time. For all we know, it could be a sign of a serious health problem and treatment is solely dependent on diagnosis.

Causes of cold intolerance.

^{Hypothalamus temperature regulation. Public domain, via Wikicommons.}

The temperature of the human body is regulated by a number of different systems. The Hypothalamus, the Thyroid gland, the blood vessels, the skin and the likes, work together and adapts to various changes so as to keep the temperature of the body in check.

The Hypothalamus, for example, is a part of the brain that acts as a thermostat to regulate the temperature of the body, by sending signals or messages which control heat production. The hypothalamus controls the thyroid gland as well, so it tells it when to decrease or increase one's body metabolism, and the thyroid plays a very crucial function in this whole regulation. Thus, there is need to keep it functioning optimally to ensure it aids in burning calories in the body to produce the required heat and fuel. A disregulation or imbalance in this mechanism for example, could most likely lead to cold intolerance.

The most common symptoms of Cold intolerance include Headache, Fever, and Nausea. And its major causes are grouped into three main categories. They could be either:

• Central causes — Which is as a result of an imbalance in the brain process that controls the body temperature, which is the Hypothalamus, in this case.

• Metabolic causes: — Which are as a result of some metabolic processes in the body such as hormonal or fat syntheses. The thyroid is a gland that secretes hormones, and if this is altered, it could lead to changes that would result in cold intolerance. Also, body fat is important in keeping the heat in, and a very thin person could suffer cold intolerance. Examples include Anorexia, an eating disorder due to overeating or 'undereating', or the unnecessary concern and attention on how one looks like. Anorexia leads to the fear of eating and could result in excessive loss of body fat, thus exposing one to the cold. Also, there's Hypothyroidism, a condition that stems from the failure of the thyroid to produce the required amount of hormones.

• Haematologic causes — Haem, Which of course, is related to blood flow in the blood vessels. Vascular disorders that impede the flow of blood to various parts of the body, or conditions that reduce the production of red blood cells could lead to cold intolerance. Example of these conditions is Anaemia, which is as a result of the lack of healthy red blood cells in the body, and the Raynaud’s phenomenon, a condition that prevents blood from flowing into ones extremities.

Also, it is note worthy one's to establish the fact that a part of the skin that had been injured previously might remain sensitive to the cold for a long time after the injury must have healed. Sleeplessness can also leave one feeing fatigued and cold.

Coping/Dealing with cold intolerance.

For people with cold intolerance, it's not uneventful to see them wearing clothings that would be ideal for winter on a warm day. By throwing on warm layers of clothes to keep sensitive and cold-prone areas all wrapped up to, they prevent their skin from being exposed and minimize the effect of cold on them. On exceedingly cold days, it's best to stay indoors as much as possible.

However, If you feel you might be suffering from cold intolerance, the first thing to do is to see your doctor for diagnosis. Also, you could consider the following points:

• Supplements — There's every tendency that if you're anaemic, you're deficient of some body essentials such as Iron and vitamin B12, which are important for the production of healthier red blood cells. Vitamins, as we know them, cannot be produced in the body, rather, they are ingested or taken in minute quantities in foods. Based on the doctor's prescription, a supplement might just be what you needed after all.

• Rehabilitation program — For people whose cold intolerance came as a result of the fear of eating or overeating, AKA, Anorexia, a rehabilitation program on the right approach to eating could be suggested to help one stay in shape and gain the right weight.

• Hormone replacement — Hormones are important factors in the regulation of our body temperature. Thus, If your cold intolerance is as a result of hormonal imbalance, your doctor could prescribe the appropriate hormone(s) such as oral synthetic hormones and thyroid replacement to get your body back on track.

In conclusion;

Cold intolerance doesn't just pop up on its own. Rather, it could be an indication of a number of factors you might be totally oblivious to. Hence, You might want to cut down on your daily tasks and get more sleep time regularly. Eat more healthy foods and take your fruits and vegetables more seriously for your daily doses of vitamins. You should also quit smoking if you feel that way, since smoking keeps you feeling warm for just a short while, as well as damaging your lungs in the process.

Again, since cold intolerance isn't exactly considered an illness, it's treatment is solely dependent on the result of the diagnosis by a doctor. Hence, if ever one feels a bit too cold than is necessary, don't be quick to write it off as cold intolerance unless a doctor says so.

Thank you for reading.

@annieben

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References:

Symptoms of cold intolerance

Curejoy article - Why am i always cold?

Thyroid and cold imbalance**