What Causes Warm or Cold Extremities?

What Causes Warm Or Cold Extremities?

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.

Diagnose your symptoms now!

let The Analyst™ find what's wrong
see your health summarized and in detail
have a doctor review your case (optional)

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:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "warm or cold extremities" as a symptom. Here are eight possibilities:

Raynaud's Phenomenon
Hypothyroidism
Low Progesterone
Mercury Toxicity
Poor Circulation
Chronic Fatigue-Fibromyalgia
Stress
Adrenal Fatigue

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

incoherent speech

frequent 'chills'

being an unsocial person

occasionally feeling unusually cold

hot flashes between period

sugar/sweet craving

poor mental clarity

physical abuse during childhood

mildly elevated TSH

hypothyroidism in family members

brittle fingernails

history of adult allergies

... and more than 210 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of warm or cold extremities:

Cause	Probability	Status
Poor Circulation	92%	Confirm
Raynaud's Phenomenon	29%	Unlikely
Adrenal Fatigue	15%	Unlikely
Mercury Toxicity	4%	Ruled out
Hypothyroidism	4%	Ruled out
Chronic Fatigue-Fibromyalgia	2%	Ruled out
Low Progesterone	2%	Ruled out
Stress	2%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

In the Metabolic Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about warm/cold hands and feet:

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

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either cold hands and/or feet or warm hands and/or feet, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Chronic Fatigue / Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Raynaud's phenomenon (severe cold hands and feet) affects about 16% of fibromyalgia sufferers.

Hypothyroidism

Low Adrenal Function / Adrenal Insufficiency

Mercury Toxicity (Amalgam Illness)

Poor Circulation

In cases of peripheral vascular disease, the arteries narrow and there is a marked reduction of blood flow especially to the fingers and toes.

Progesterone Low or Estrogen Dominance

Cold hands and feet, often caused by low thyroid function, may be a symptom of estrogen excess or low progesterone influencing thyroid function.

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Stress

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™