Why cold hands and feet in an adult, child, baby: reasons. Why a child with a high temperature has a hot head and cold hands and feet: causes, treatment. Why cold hands and feet with high pressure when the head hurts? Cold hands at re

Today we will deal with another phenomenon in newborns, with cold hands and feet. You probably often noticed this with your baby, and your mother or grandmother, noticing this, offered to urgently wrap the baby in everything that is at home.

In principle, the way it used to be, in the absence of the necessary information, our grandmothers wrapped their children because they had cold limbs. It is, in principle, logical. If an adult has cold feet or hands, then they need to be rubbed and warmed. In newborns, things are completely different.

Why is this happening

In babies, limbs get colder, because thermoregulation has not yet been established at all. Cold hands are quite normal for babies. Therefore, if you wrap them up when the room is already so warm, then in this way you will simply interfere with the normal development of thermoregulation, plus the baby will start to sweat and diaper rash may appear (). Speaking in a more scientific language, the autonomic nervous system in babies is not mature, and thermoregulation depends on it.

How to understand that the baby is really cold

Yes, the child could really freeze. But how to check this if cold handles are not an indicator.

You need to undress the baby a little and touch the back of your hand to the chest of your baby. If the temperature of your hand and the baby's breast is the same, then everything is in order, but if the baby is colder, then you will have to warm it up urgently.

To warm the child, you can not only put more clothes on him, but also rub them.

It is also worth remembering that loose clothing is much warmer than tight-fitting clothing. Therefore, if you put on some already small bodysuit on the baby and he gets cold because of this, then I think it's time to buy more clothes for the baby.

It should also be remembered that in the first month of life, babies cannot keep heat normally at all, so you will have to keep the optimum temperature in the room around 25 degrees. Overheating and supercooling a child at this age is highly discouraged.

When to sound the alarm

Cold hands in a child can be one of the symptoms of a cold. In this case, in addition to cold hands and feet, the child also has an increased body temperature.

In addition to temperature, there may also be:

Snot and cough;
Rash on the child's body;
Refusal to eat, vomiting or frequent regurgitation;
The child is naughty and cries for no reason.

In all these cases, it is better for you to contact a pediatrician so that he examines the baby and gives you qualified advice that applies specifically to your case.

It is also worth mentioning here that one of the causes of violations of thermoregulation may be thyroid disease. So keep that in mind as well.

Improving blood circulation in the chest

In order to improve the blood circulation of the child, you need to perform a number of simple actions and your baby will not freeze and his hands and feet will become cold much less often.

Massage, both the whole body and the limbs of the child, plus charging. Both adults and children benefit from massage, it not only strengthens muscles, but also promotes better blood circulation.
Don't put too many clothes on your child. Do not listen to your mothers and grandmothers. From a pile of clothes, the child will only ban. Plus, he, thus, will never harden, and you will wrap him up all his life. However, this does not mean that the baby should be kept undressed (themselves in a sweater - a child in a T-shirt, this should not be).
Comfortable and spacious clothing that should not squeeze anything. The baby's skin should breathe, and the legs and arms should feel free. In the transferred limbs, blood is poorly supplied and they become cold from this.
When you start introducing complementary foods to your child, then make sure that the mixture or liquid is not cold, this should not be done.
Try wiping your baby's limbs with a rough towel after bathing. You still just blot the body with a gentle towel, but you can wipe the limbs with a coarser one so that they turn pink.

That, in principle, is all, dear friends, I hope you understand that there is nothing wrong with the fact that your little child's arms and legs get cold, this is a completely normal process in most cases.

Many people do not pay attention to such a "trifle" as cold feet. For them, it has become a familiar state that does not cause much discomfort. In summer, you can warm your feet in the sun, but problems arise only in winter, when your feet get cold even in a warm room. Most often this is faced by women after forty years. But many people wonder: "Why cold feet?" and diligently looking for ways to solve this problem.

Causes

Before you start treating cold feet syndrome, you need to understand what is the cause of the cold. How often do feet get cold? Does this always happen or only under certain conditions? Perhaps this is due to the peculiarities of their structure. As you know, muscle mass is responsible for the function of saving heat, the amount of which in the feet is insignificant. Adipose tissue is completely absent, therefore, in the cold season, the legs begin to freeze, and this is not a sign of a disease.

Nowadays, many girls dress lightly: short skirts, open shoes that are not suitable for the weather, shoes that are too tight. These are all factors that cause cold feet. The problem can be solved by dressing warmer.

Circulatory disorders, vegetative-vascular dystonia and low blood pressure

Why are my feet constantly cold? The reason is not always the wearing of light clothing not suitable for the weather. Sometimes this condition indicates the presence of various diseases. Circulatory disorders, or vegetovascular dystonia, is another factor that provokes such a phenomenon. But only a specialist can make a diagnosis. Deviations in the structure of blood vessels, varicose veins and many other nuances indicate a violation of blood circulation. Pay attention to whether there are spider veins and edema on the legs. Low blood pressure is often accompanied by a symptom of cold feet, as the vessels are severely constricted, and blood does not enter the capillaries well.

In most cases, such a sign as cold feet is an unkind sign. The reasons that disrupt blood circulation can be different. They cannot be ignored, but, alas, a larger percentage of people consider this a trifle.

Lack of magnesium and iron

If you have cold feet, the reasons may lie in the lack of trace elements and other nutrients. Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the body. About 50% of it is found in bones, and only 1% in human blood. It is not easy for the body to maintain this percentage constantly, but meanwhile magnesium is involved in all biochemical processes.

When there is a lack of iron, anemia occurs, that is, anemia. Do you know about such an illness firsthand? By adjusting your diet and adding more animal foods to it, you can correct such a disadvantage as cold feet. The causes that cause this phenomenon must be eliminated immediately, without wasting time in vain.

Heart problems

If there is weakness, shortness of breath, swelling of the extremities and upper eyelids, cold feet, it is likely that you have heart problems. So, you need to immediately contact a cardiologist.

Diabetes

A symptom such as cold feet is manifested in people with diabetes. This is explained by a violation of capillary circulation. As a result, this leads to insufficient blood supply to the peripheral nerves of the extremities. With the passage of the examination and proper treatment, the problem of cold feet can be dealt with without problems. The specialist will prescribe competent and adequate treatment.

Metabolic failure

With such a serious illness as indigestion, it is quite difficult to cope. If a person has diseases of the endocrine system, this can lead to obesity. Why can there be cold feet? The reasons are that they "carry" the weight of a person, so the blood flow slows down. The consequence of this is cold feet, swelling and varicose veins.

Sweating feet

Cold wet feet (the causes of the pathology, as already mentioned, are varied) are often the result of hyperhidrosis. Previously, they did not want to recognize this problem as a disease, considering it just a cosmetic flaw. Recently, it has become clear that this is still a disease that is directly related to the endocrine system and is inherited.

Other causes of wet feet

Excessive sweating is provoked by the following factors:

infectious diseases;
problems of the cardiovascular system;
thyroid disease;
oncological diseases;
consequences of a stroke;
menopause;
age changes.

To reduce sweaty feet, change socks daily and use foot baths, massage using essential oils. Air out your shoes every day. The material should allow the feet to breathe, so in summer it is recommended to wear sandals with a wicker top. Buy cotton socks. Change the insoles every six months, and even better - every three months, if possible.

If you spend most of your time on your feet, wash your feet thoroughly as soon as you take off your shoes to prevent infection.

Cold feet in children

Parents are often interested in the question of why the child has cold feet. And it's not that he got them wet while walking on the street. According to pediatricians, this is not at all the norm, but a symptom of a specific disease or malfunction of the internal organs.

If a child has a low temperature and wet feet, this indicates a violation of blood circulation. Probably, the baby has low blood pressure, and the blood cannot circulate well in the limbs.

Often there are cases with rickets. The opinion that children practically do not get sick with this disease is erroneous. Often it just flows in a mild form. In such a situation, the pediatrician prescribes the child vitamins and an individual diet.

cold feet syndrome

This syndrome never appears just like that. You should be especially wary if even in summer there are cold feet. The reasons in this case are far from harmless. The condition is determined by the presence of diseases characterized by an implicit course.

When the patient has poor elasticity of the walls of blood vessels, in the cold season the capillaries narrow, which slows down the blood flow even more. In this case, the body temperature may rise.

Why are cold feet an unkind signal that should not be ignored? If you do not treat this syndrome, then in the future, a person can get hypothermia, followed by inflammation of the appendages and the urinary-genital system. Due to obstructed blood flow, venous insufficiency develops, small knots of varicose veins appear, which begin to hurt from time to time.

What can I do to keep my feet warm?

If the feet are cold, the reasons must be eliminated, as well as follow a few rules:

Dress and shoes appropriate for the weather. Shoes should not be tight or, conversely, too big.
Sleeping at night is better in woolen socks.
A contrast shower will help you strengthen your blood vessels and at the same time improve skin condition.
After a walk in cold weather, make special foot baths.
Do a foot massage.
Exercise daily.
Adjust your diet, eat more protein foods.
Give up bad habits.

What is good for blood vessels?

Why can there always be cold feet? The reason may lie in an implicit disease. This is a signal that you need to immediately consult a doctor. With proper and timely treatment, you will have a positive result.

Follow the recommendations: dress warmly, eat right, be active, take foot baths, massage with warming creams or essential oils. This is not only useful, but also very pleasant.

Many young mothers, noticing that the newborn has cold hands or nose, think that the baby is cold, so they begin to actively wrap the baby. In fact, this is the mistake of most parents.

In infants, thermoregulation has not yet been completed, and it can finally form only by the age of 2. The reaction of babies is different from the reaction of an adult to many things. For example, in a room where the temperature is about 18 degrees, an adult will freeze and feel uncomfortable, while a baby plays calmly in one diaper.

Cold hands in a baby is just a temperature indicator of a child's skin. Warm hands and feet indicate good circulation. If the extremities are cold, this means that there is a spasm of blood vessels in the skin. Such a reaction is considered a kind of sign of the body. In this way, the immunity of the newborn is formed for life. Young parents and especially grandmothers are very fond of dressing their child warmer. But it is worth knowing that, growing up, at the slightest draft or hypothermia, the baby will get sick, as his immunity weakens and cannot cope with such minor irritants on his own.

If the baby is active, inquisitive, in a good mood, plays and explores the outside world, but at the same time he has a cold nose or hands, you should not sound the alarm or wrap the baby up.

This behavior suggests that the child is comfortable and parents should not interfere.

Cold hands and feet in infants - signs of illness

If young mothers are still very worried about the health of their baby, then the first thing to do is pay attention to the general condition of the child. Such a sign as cold hands can be a symptom of the disease, but there are a number of other factors that sometimes signal a problem with the health of the baby:

If the baby lost his appetite, he began to eat poorly.
The temperatures are higher than usual.
The baby became moody and often cries.
Rashes appeared on the skin, an allergic reaction.

If the above signs are absent in the crumbs, then there is no point in sounding the alarm. The vegetative system of the newborn has not yet been formed, so babies are not born adapted to external conditions. Adaptation in newborns does not occur immediately, therefore, other processes will improve over time. In the case when the baby has several symptoms at the same time, then you should immediately consult a doctor.

Often, mothers or grandmothers, without realizing it, violate the correct formation of thermoregulation in the crumbs, dressing and wrapping it. Because of this, the child may develop diaper rash or sweating. It is necessary to correctly determine whether the baby is really cold with the back of the hand. It is necessary to touch not the arms or legs, but the chest.

If the child's body temperature is the same as your hand, then there is no cause for concern. In the case when the hand is warmer than the body of the baby, then it is necessary to rub, dress warmer or cover with a blanket. When the baby gets warm, he will be able to sleep calmly, therefore, you will have no reason to worry.

How to improve blood circulation in a newborn

In order to help normalize thermoregulation in a child faster, you can perform some procedures. The main of these procedures is massage. Massage, as a rule, not only the body, but also the arms and legs, rub the feet. Such manipulations have a number of positive qualities:

normalization of body processes;
muscle strengthening;
improvement in well-being.

With a high temperature and a cold, the child may have cold hands and feet. The phenomenon is associated with the peculiarities of thermoregulation in childhood. But it happens that the limbs are colder than other parts of the body on a regular basis. This is the cause of some malfunctions in the body, caused by too rapid growth or other deviations from the norm.

Why does the child have cold hands?

In an infant, cold hands may have a bluish color, this is due to the fact that the circulatory system has just begun to develop, many vessels are in a compressed state, and therefore the body has not yet learned how to maintain temperature in the limbs. Usually the situation normalizes by the age of 3-4 months, in extreme cases the process is delayed up to six months.

If your child has constantly cold hands with normal health, most likely, the nervous system simply does not have time to control all areas of the skin, the vessels of the limbs narrow and the palms feel icy to the touch. When there are no other symptoms, there is no need to worry. But if there are other signs of malaise, you should consult a doctor. Here is a list of the most common associated abnormalities:

restless sleep;
pale face;
fatigue, apathy;
absence ;
abdominal pain, headache;
nausea;
redness of skin areas;
rash;
fast or slow pulse.

During colds, flu, acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections, tonsillitis, the body temperature rises significantly, while the child's hands and feet are cold. In no case should you:

carry out wiping with cold water with vinegar;
bring down the temperature with aspirin;
wrap the baby's limbs in mittens;
cover it with an extra blanket.

Sweat should evaporate freely from the body, and the arms and legs are responsible for thermoregulation. The best thing you can do for the baby in this case is to give him plenty of fluids and call a qualified doctor as soon as possible. The child's temperature and cold hands are rather an indicator that the body is responding to the disease correctly.

Other reasons

Sometimes the limbs of a child have a lower temperature during stress, or beriberi. Also, this symptom may indicate rickets. Try to maintain the immunity of the baby and carefully ensure that his diet is balanced.

If you have had cases in your family, this can also cause cold hands and feet in children, this deviation is caused by involuntary muscle spasms. Usually dystonia goes away by the age of 12-14 years, but sometimes in women it can persist for life.

The appearance of a baby in the family brings many different emotions. Joy and happiness alternate with anxiety and concern for the health and well-being of the new family member. One of the most common questions that young parents ask pediatricians is: “Why does the baby have cold hands and feet?”. But should you be worried about this? Let's figure it out together.

Possible causes of the phenomenon

1. hypothermia. This, of course, is the first thing that comes to mind, especially for our dear grandmothers, who simply love to wrap babies. Indeed, cold extremities may indicate that the child is cold. But if this is the case, mom will easily notice other signs of hypothermia, namely:

hands and feet are not cool, but literally icy;
the face becomes pale, and the lips, instead of a rich pink color, acquire a lilac or bluish tint. Sometimes not the entire surface of the lips “turns blue”, but only their border;
the child suddenly has hiccups;
often, when the baby freezes, snot starts to flow;
at first, the baby actively moves its limbs (instinctively to keep warm), but then it becomes lethargic, it tends to sleep;
if the mother puts her hand behind the collar, she will feel that the skin there is cold (or covered with cold sweat). You can also correctly assess the condition of the child by placing your hand on his chest: if the chest is cool to the touch, then the child is definitely freezing;
the baby has cold not only hands and feet, but also the inner surface of the thighs, calves, forearms;
measure body temperature: in babies up to a year, readings from 36.4 ° C and below indicate hypothermia.

It is often said that the first thing you need to do is to touch the nose of the crumbs: if it is cool, then it is frozen. But this is not entirely true. In fact, if it is winter outside and the nose is cool, then, most likely, the baby is well and comfortable. But if it is very cold - a completely different matter. Doctors also advise assessing the temperature not of the tip of the nose, but of the bridge of the nose.

2. The second reason (also quite common) is the imperfection of the process thermoregulation in the breast. For example, the body of an adult in any conditions tends to balance and maintain the required body temperature. So, if it's hot around, the body cools with sweat, if it's cold, we get goosebumps.

But the art of thermoregulation is honed with age, the baby's body is simply not yet able to quickly adapt to environmental changes. Therefore, it is very dependent on external temperature conditions. Hence the risks associated with hypothermia or overheating.

3. Sometimes cold extremities - a sign that the baby is malnourished(when it comes to the amount of food consumed) or lack of vitamins and minerals in his body(when it comes to food).

4. iron deficiency in the body. The normal level of iron in a child under the age of 12 months is 110 units. Anything below is considered a shortage. Against this background, anemia develops. It also happens in absolutely healthy children born on time, but more often in underweight and premature babies. Main reasons:

errors in nutrition (there are few foods containing iron in the menu);
features of the body and heredity;
internal hemorrhages;
infectious processes in the body, frequent colds;
poor permeability of the intestinal walls (iron is poorly absorbed).

Signs:

pale skin;
poor appetite;
low weight gain;
unstable stools (there may be constipation, diarrhea, irregular stools);
bad sleep;
the baby often sweats.

Diagnosis is based on the result of a blood test.

5. Disruption of the endocrine system. In this case, along with cold hands and feet, there are difficulty in defecation, thickening of the tongue, capriciousness and tearfulness for no apparent reason, weakness and hoarseness of the voice. Here you can not do without consulting an endocrinologist.

6. It happens that the child's body temperature is elevated(usually a thermometer records readings of 38 degrees or more), but the limbs are still cold. This indicates a lack of balance between heat transfer and its production, the vessels do not expand, but, on the contrary, narrow. Therefore, the hands and feet become cold.

Actions of parents

First you need to find out why the baby still has cold limbs. Further actions will depend on this.

1. If you are sure that the matter is hypothermia, it is necessary to warm the baby, and as soon as possible. But do not rush to wrap up and put on him "a thousand clothes." First, increase the number of layers of clothing for one and watch the reaction of the baby's body.

Another effective way to quickly warm the baby is to lay him on his stomach and hug him. The body heat of an adult will help well and quickly. If the air temperature is comfortable at home, then this will be enough. If the house is cool, you can additionally cover yourself and the baby with a blanket.

It’s easier, of course, to prevent the child from freezing:

observe the temperature regime and optimal humidity in the room (18–23 degrees and 50–60%, respectively);
at home and on the street to dress the baby according to the weather;
if the child is already walking, shoes deserve special attention: they should not be tight, in such shoes the legs freeze the fastest.

The entire set of necessary trace elements should be present in the child's diet. With the introduction of complementary foods, give warm meals and drinks regularly. Until this point, make sure the mixture is warm (as is the water if you finish it). But the temperature of milk directly in the mother's breast is ideal and does not need to be corrected.

2. If the child has a bad heat exchange and therefore the limbs are almost always cold, you must always take this moment into account and create comfort for him with the help of available means (dress properly, cover if necessary, monitor the temperature of the air around). In addition, it will help:

regular gymnastics: clapping hands, touching fingers, making a “bicycle”, bending and unbending arms and legs is easy and very useful, including for blood circulation;
massage: recommendations for children under one year old can be obtained from a pediatrician, and exercises should be performed daily, making them part of a daily morning or evening ritual;
walks: it is necessary to breathe fresh air at any age, and children are recommended to walk 2-3 hours a day almost from birth (and more in good weather);
air baths, which are another mandatory component of hardening, 10-15 minutes a day is enough;
dousing with water 1-2 degrees lower than the one in which the child was washed. This is a great end to bathing and another hardening method.

3. It's about nutrition? When breastfeeding, reconsider the diet. Include more foods rich in vitamins and minerals, pay attention to those that contain a lot of iron. Feed your baby on demand, not by the hour. With artificial feeding, regularly check the volume of the mixture and the frequency of feeding with the pediatrician. Regardless of the food your baby is getting, weigh yourself regularly.

4. iron deficiency anemia definitely needs to be treated. Appoint:

a special diet that involves frequent consumption of foods rich in iron (this is buckwheat, red meat, especially veal and beef, liver and other offal, broccoli, etc.);
vitamins (folic acid is especially needed, which helps iron to be absorbed);
iron preparations (one of them is Maltofer).

5. Exclude thyroid pathology consultation with an endocrinologist will help. If necessary, he will prescribe a series of studies to clarify the diagnosis.

6. If the limbs of the crumbs are cold on the background of elevated body temperature, do not immediately try to bring it down with the help of strong antipyretics. First you need to warm the limbs. For this you can:

rub them with your hands;
wear socks and mittens.

Thus, cold hands and feet in a baby rarely indicate any serious problems in the body. But first of all, you need to focus on his well-being. If parents notice that at the same time the child is nervous, does not sleep well, eats and loses weight (or note other alarming symptoms), it is recommended to make an appointment with a pediatrician and ask him all the questions of interest. He will help clarify the situation and tell you what measures need to be taken. After all, when it comes to the health of the child, letting the situation take its course is the very last thing to do.