Why Are Your Hands and Feet Always Cold? Doctors Explain

Some people seem to run cold no matter the season, and their fingers and toes are usually the first to feel it. As it turns out, the body has a very deliberate reason for leaving its extremities out in the cold.

If you find yourself reaching for your fuzziest socks and gloves even when summer is at its peak, you're not alone. Cold hands and feet can be especially challenging during the colder months, and there are several possible reasons behind your little icicles.

In most cases, there's nothing to worry about. "People often think that temperature is a sign of circulation and so that's true to some extent, but having cold hands and feet is almost always benign," says surgeon Nicholas Morrissey, MD.

Chilly hands and feet are often a harmless trait, much like curly hair or dimples.

"That could simply be who you are," says vascular medicine specialist G. Jay Bishop, MD. "Some people are born with a tendency to have cold hands and feet. We can't always find a clear medical explanation."

So why do your hands and feet get so cold? When you're sedentary, your internal organs keep you warm, while your muscles take over as the primary source of heat when you're active.

Stephen Cheung, a professor of kinesiology at Brock University in Ontario, explained that hands and feet contain no organs or major muscles and have very little insulation (or fat) to trap heat, which is why it escapes so easily through these extremities.

Instead, hands and feet rely on a dense web of tiny vessels that circulate warm blood from the heart. In the cold, these vessels narrow as your body tries to limit heat loss and redirect warm blood toward your vital organs.

"Your brain says: 'I can live without my hands and my feet. I can't live without my heart, lungs, liver,'" Cheung said. Some people are also more susceptible to cold hands and feet than others.

According to Mike Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology at the University of Portsmouth in England, women generally feel colder than men because the blood vessels in their hands and feet tend to constrict more quickly in the cold.

Children and people who are underweight also have less muscle mass and fat to generate and hold on to heat, he added. Older adults face a greater risk as well because their nerves and blood vessels tend to deteriorate over time.

Morrissey also noted that cold hands typically occur when someone is exposed to a chilly environment or is handling a cold object. Normally, blood flowing to the hands and feet helps keep those extremities warm.

When the cold sticks around for a while, however, the body works hard to protect its core (heart, brain, and vital organs). To keep its central temperature steady, it limits blood flow to the hands and feet so less heat is lost through the extremities.

For most people, cold hands are a normal reaction that resolves once the exposure ends. IIf your hands are always cold and it’s starting to bother you, consider whether the season or the weather might be to blame.

If that's the case, try to manage your environment as best you can and stay out of the cold. "If you can solve your cold-hands problem by wearing gloves," Morrissey says, "you don't have a problem with cold hands."

However, if your hands and feet stay cold despite your efforts and the chill starts affecting other parts of your body, it may be time to see a doctor.

Cold hands that don't warm up after time in a warm environment can signal an underlying health issue, such as anemia, autoimmune disease, a blood or thyroid disorder, a reaction to medication, or the effects of smoking.

And while you're bundling up this season, you might also be curious about another common winter myth: whether you can really sweat out a cold. Doctors have shared what actually happens when you try.