Cold Intolerance

From: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003095.htm

Cold intolerance is an abnormal sensitivity to a cold environment or cold temperatures.

Considerations
Cold intolerance can be a symptom of a metabolic problem.

Some people (often very thin women) do not tolerate cold environments because they have very little body fat and are unable to keep warm.

Causes
Anemia
Anorexia nervosa
Blood vessel (vascular) problems, such as Raynaud's phenomenon
Chronic severe illness
General poor health
Hypothyroidism
Problem with the hypothalamus
Home Care
Follow the recommended therapy for treating the cause of the problem.

When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if you have long-term or extreme intolerance to cold.

What to Expect at Your Office Visit
Your health care provider will take a medical history and perform a physical examination.

Medical history questions may include:

Time pattern
Have you always been intolerant of cold?
Has this developed recently?
Has it been getting worse?
Do you often feel cold when other people do not complain of the cold?
Medical history
What is your diet like?
How is your general health?
What are your height and weight?
What other symptoms do you have?
Tests that may be performed include:

Complete blood count (CBC)
Serum TSH
Thyroid hormone levels
If your health care provider diagnosed cold intolerance, you may want to note that diagnosis in your personal medical record.

Blogger Comment:
The hypo-states like low blood sugar, low blood pressure, low hemoglobin, low iron, low thyroid, low cortisol, low magnesuim need to be roled out as cause for feeling cold intolerance.

Anxiety and panic attacks are among the causes of cold intolerance.

CT or MRI brain to image the pituitary and hypothalamus may be needed.

Localized cold is more neurologically related to stroke or nerve damage or vascular related to Raynoud (vasospasm) or poor circulation.

With cold intolerance role out the above causes and think drugs through different mechanisms they can cause cold intolerance.

Some people have cold feet with no apparent cause.

People with mental illness, dementia, infants and the homeless are particularly prone to hypothermia where seriously low temperature can occur.