The thyroid is a gland located in the front of the neck. People who have had pernio may heal completely or have cold fingers later on. ![]() One of the most common causes for cold hands is previous cold injury. Many people who have had cold injury suffer from chronic cold hands. Neuropathy can be caused by exposure to toxins or to injury. There are other causes of neuropathy that are not diabetes. So if things do not add up “neuropathy” may not be the right cause of the cold hands. Even though peripheral artery disease is more common in the legs than in the arms, it can happen. Another cause for nerve damage in the hands is diabetes. Thoracic outlet syndrome can actually compress the nerves in the shoulder. There are more “medical” neurological causes for cold hands. Being nervous causes cold hands because the extra activity from the nerves also causes arteries to constricts. When someone is nervous the hands become cold and sweaty. You all probably know the most common neurological cause for cold hand. This means the nerves are feeling the cold even when it is only mild or not there at all. The cold sensation can actually be just that – a sensation. Problems with nerve endings are among the most common causes for cold hands. That is why one of the causes for cold hands is actually a vein… Neurological causes for cold hands If the artery is constricted the hand will be cold. This swelling can compress the adjacent artery. The thrombosis can occlude the veins in the arm or shoulder and the hand and arm may swell. Venous thoracic outlet can result in an upper extremity DVT. This is called venous thoracic outlet syndrome. The vein can also be compressed in the shoulder. This may result in cold hands from lack of blood flow. A thrombus can form in this dilatation and can dislodge toward the hand. An aneurysm is a dilated portion of the artery. ![]() Arterial thoracic outlet syndrome can result in aneurysm formation. The artery, vein and/or nerves could be involved. Thoracic outlet syndrome is kinking at the level of the shoulder. Do this by consuming warm beverages, wearing warm cloths and wearing a hat.Ĭold hands caused by mild acrocyanosis Thoracic outlet syndrome Just keep your hands warm with properly fitting gloves. Treating cold hands that arise from acrocyanosis is easy. This is where the blue fingers come from. Blood that isn’t flowing releases oxygen and turns blue. When their hands are exposed to cold, the arteries constrict and the blood in them cannot move. Some patients have over reactive arteries. AcrocyanosisĪcrocyanosis is just a fancy way of saying “ blue fingers“. Sources of emboli could be atherosclerosis, thrombus in an aneurysm, infection in the heart or tumor. This could be just a part of a finger or the whole hand. The area of the hand that is cold depends on the area that has been affected by the emboli. The ischemia obviously results in cold hands. Emboli as a cause of cold handsĮmboli can clog blood vessels. On the other hand this passes on its own within several days. The blue color usually does not affect the tip of the finger. Basically a finger develops a blue discoloration. But it is so common that I thought I should write about it here. True, technically this is not really one of the causes for cold hands. Benign blue fingerīenign blue finger is a common cause for a blue, cold finger. Usually it affects only part of the fingers and not the whole hand. The fingers turn white, then blue and finally red. In typical Raynaud’s there are also skin color changes. When this happens the skin does not receive enough blood and there is a cold feeling. This can be without an obvious cause or as an over-reaction to cold. The arteries of patients who have Raynaud’s overreact by constricting too much. But when looking for causes for cold hands, Raynaud’s always comes up. Maybe 5% of people had it in their lifetime. ![]() It is always surprising to me but may people have heard about Raynaud’s phenomenon. As a vascular medicine doctor I will always think of the following reasons when a patient asks me about cold hands: Raynaud’s phenomenon Many reasons for cold hands are linked to the circulation. This article is all about the causes for cold hands. This is because there are many causes for cold hands and making sense of them requires expertise. Even for doctors this complaint can be confusing. In others the hands become cold in response to various stimuli. Once colder days roll in this is more pronounced. Many people feel that their hands are cold. Cold hands are a common complaint in the vascular clinic.
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