Feeling physically cold, temp is good

July 10, 2010 4:31 AM

I have a friend who is cold all the time. He is 86 years old and has been cold for the past 5 years. His core body temperature is fine and he has gone to specialists (MD) to have this condition checked out and they have found nothing. My feeling is that it is psychological and not physical but don't want to discount that. He in not averse to going to an alternative medicine person and would just like to get past this.

What are some questions that you would ask him to get to the core of the problem? What are some tests, both physical and emotional that he can go through to help. Has anyone experienced this or know of anyone who has. It is a mystery that haunts him, other than this he is a relatively happy man, clear headed and his life is good but this problem nags at him and I'd like to help.

posted by aisleofview to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

I've had something similar to this happen to me for extended periods of time, for up to two months, in relatively temperate climates.
When I first started staying in my partners mostly unheated apartment in Melbourne (just localized space heaters) when it was about 60 degrees outside, I would feel cold the entire 6 weeks I was there.
It's just that a chill would get into my bones and I wouldn't be able to shake it until I spent a substantial amount of time (at least a day or so) in to me what was a properly heated environment.
When we moved to a new place with proper heat, it stopped happening.

I'm one of those people who is particularly sensitive to cold, though.
posted by newpotato at 4:50 AM on July 10, 2010

Thyroid tests. (A full panel.)
posted by availablelight at 4:53 AM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I am always cold. I had my thyroid taken out about 5 years ago and i am pretty much the same temp all the time. I get cold easily but i ignore it.

MY normal body temp when i take it is like 96 or 97.
posted by majortom1981 at 4:53 AM on July 10, 2010

It's not at all uncommon for older people to feel colder. My understanding is that it's a combination of loss of muscle mass as we age, loss of body fat, and less physical activity. There's a short article about this on the Science Daily web site here.
posted by rhartong at 5:07 AM on July 10, 2010

Seconding the weight thing - I notice that I feel winters WAY more when I'm a little underweight.
posted by Chrysalis at 7:37 AM on July 10, 2010

Everyone I know who takes statins for cholesterol control feels really cold. Is your friend on statins or other cholesterol control drugs?
posted by infinitewindow at 8:04 AM on July 10, 2010

Blood thinners can also make one feel cold, as can the normal reduced circulation that comes with aging. Any kind of heart failure, reduced circulation to extremities can have that effect and in someone who is 86 there may not be an instantly obvious or treatable cause. I've watched a lot of elderly relatives go through being chilly all the time with not good answer besides wear a sweater. My 92 year old mother-in-law was wearing a turtleneck and warm pants last week when everyone else was in tank tops and shorts. She was comfy and we were all melting. This is not to say there's no cause for your friend's being cold but it may not be treatable.
posted by leslies at 8:15 AM on July 10, 2010

This isn't exactly the same but... I used to have chronically cold hands. Freezing at all times no matter the temperature outside. To improve my hands' warming ability, I started soaking them in ice water occasionally, and this helped a lot. So maybe he could try spending lots of time in over-air conditioned places? Depends on his level of health. Please take this suggestion with a healthy grain on salt.
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 8:18 AM on July 10, 2010

The best way to warm up hands and feet is to keep your core and brain warm. When the heart, kidneys, lungs, etc. are cold, blood moves from extremities to the core to protect the organs from cold. Hands and feet get cold instead. Buy your friend a couple thermal undershirts as well as a down or sheepskin vest and sweater vest and woolie hat to keep the major organs warm. That will redirect blood back out to extremities.
posted by Elsie at 8:29 AM on July 10, 2010

Response by poster: one of the interesting things about his being cold is that his temperature when taken is normal. He just feels cold, so it's not physical cold, it's the feeling of being cold.
posted by aisleofview at 8:31 AM on July 10, 2010

I was anemic for a long time, and when I finally got some iron infusions I was shocked to find I no longer needed to wear gloves in the summer! My iron was borderline low, not super low but it was enough to make me cold in my hands and feet all the time. Maybe he should try iron supplements?
posted by gilsonal at 9:34 AM on July 10, 2010

He is 86 years old and has been cold for the past 5 years.

I have three living grandparents, all in their late 90's. They're cold ALL THE TIME. They all keep the heat cranked up unbelievably high. They wear sweaters on the hottest days. They're also all quite thin. They've all been like this for the last ten or fifteen years. They all live in retirement homes where everyone walks around as if it's Minnesota in January instead of Los Angeles in July. And you know what all of their friends always talk about at lunch?

"It's cold today, isn't it?"

It's 80. 80 isn't cold. (I say that now. I wonder what I'll say when I'm 97?)

Interesting about statins making users feel cold. I'll bet statin use is through the roof among that age group.

Perhaps a gerontologist would be better qualified to make this next statement, but I'm a rulebreaker: he's cold because he's old. Get him a sweater. And gloves.

Also: your core temp has nothing to do with feeling cold. When you have a fever, are you warm? When I have a fever, I shiver. I get a chill. It isn't psychological, or "all in his head" -- it's physiological.
posted by incessant at 11:19 AM on July 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

It could be anxiety. I used to be freezing all the time when I had severe anxiety, it was like I was trapping energy inside my body rather than letting it flow, therefore creating a feeling of being freezing.

If you are interested in alternative medicine, I would suggest having him see a homeopath. I have had amazing results with homeopathy. Homeopathy often deals with illness that western medicine does not recognize, because imbalance can occur on many levels- emotionally, energetically, physically, etc. It can't hurt, and its worth trying because I can attest to the fact that being cold all the time is very unpleasant!
posted by tessalations999 at 2:06 PM on July 10, 2010

In traditional Chinese medicine theory, a common thing that leads to feeling cold all the time is "weak kidney energy" (not literally kidneys, this refers to a big complex of systems, including adrenal glands, sex hormones, etc.) which get weaker as people get older. This usually goes along with - feeling tired, urinating a lot (especially waking up to go in the middle of the night), small illnesses like colds hit hard and take long to recover from, etc. Dark circles around the eyes also usually go with it.

If you think that this might apply, you might want to have him go see an herbalist. Herbs work best, but he'll also want to: avoid caffeine, drink warm liquids, avoid cold foods (ice cream, salad, etc.), get to sleep by 10 or 11 pm at the latest, etc.
posted by yeloson at 2:33 PM on July 10, 2010

If physiologically and metabolically he's alright, than my question would be does he have low bodyfat? Or has he lost weight which may include a decrease in bodyfat? If he just feels this way, or "feels cold" but not actually cold, than his feelings might not be adjusting to his body as he ages.
posted by P.o.B. at 2:41 PM on July 10, 2010

I'm always anemic, and I've been very anemic in the past (failed kidneys). When I get too anemic, I start to feel cold much more easily. I'm sure if they've done tests they would have checked his hemoglobin and iron levels, but it's something to consider.

I also find that activity keeps me warm, and not just from physically warming up my body. If I sit around all day in the winter, I'll feel a bit cold most of the day. If I get up, go outside, and do something, I'll be cold for a bit, then I'll start to feel warmer than if I hadn't left the actually warmer house.
posted by WasabiFlux at 4:47 PM on July 10, 2010

Seconding thyroid tests but, please make sure he goes to an endocrinologist.
I'm always cold and have had thyroid problems, anemia and low blood pressure. But even with doctors' care, I still run cold. Wool sweaters and hot beverages help me more than anything else.
Best of luck.
posted by bookshelves at 4:53 PM on July 10, 2010

Could it be a circulation problem? Is he cold all over, or just in his hands and feet, for instance? It could explain why his temperature taken is fine, but he still feels cold.
posted by jsmith77 at 11:04 AM on July 11, 2010