Hands and Feet
Medical Author:
Ken Zafren, MD
Medical Editor:
Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
Steven L Bernstein, MD
Cold Hands & Feet OverviewWhen your hands or feet (and sometimes other parts of the body, especially your ears and nose) get too cold, they can be injured or react in different ways.
Viewer Comments & ReviewsCold Hands and Feet - CausesThe eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:What was the cause of your cold hands and feet? |
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Cold Hands and Feet
Hypothermia Overview
Hypothermia is defined as a core, or internal, body temperature of less than 95°F (35°C). The tragic tales of people falling into icy lakes are poignant examples of hypothermia. Anyone exposed to cold temperatures, whether for work or recreation, may be at risk of becoming too cold.
Hypothermia has been a military problem ever since Hannibal lost nearly half of his troops while crossing the Pyrenees Alps in 218 B.C. and has continued to plague military campaigns through both world wars and the Korean War.
Today, with the popularity of an expanding number of winter sports and increasing at-risk populations, hypothermia has slowly become a civilian, urban problem.
Hypothermia Causes
Normal body temperature is the reflection of a delicate balance between heat production and heat loss. Many of the chemical reactions necessary for human survival can occur only in specific temperature ranges. The human brain has a...
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Cold Injuries »
Exposure to cold can produce various injuries that occur as a result of the human inability to adapt to cold.
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