Warm or cold extremities can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'very minor' to 'very serious'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose warm or cold extremities, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Hypothyroidism | 97% | Confirm |
Low Progesterone | 16% | Unlikely |
Chronic Fatigue-Fibromyalgia | 14% | Unlikely |
Adrenal Fatigue | 1% | Ruled out |
Raynaud's Phenomenon | 1% | Ruled out |
Stress | 0% | Ruled out |
Mercury Toxicity | 0% | Ruled out |
Poor Circulation | 0% | Ruled out |
How warm or cold do your hands and feet tend to be? Consider when you shake hands with other people: do their hands usually feel warm (meaning your hands are colder) or cold (your hands are warmer)?
Possible responses:
→ Usually or always cold→ Colder than average → Average / don't know → Warmer than average → Usually or always warm |
Raynaud's phenomenon (severe cold hands and feet) affects about 16% of fibromyalgia sufferers.
In cases of peripheral vascular disease, the arteries narrow and there is a marked reduction of blood flow especially to the fingers and toes.
Cold hands and feet, often caused by low thyroid function, may be a symptom of estrogen excess or low progesterone influencing thyroid function.