Definition

By Mayo Clinic Staff

It's common to have cold hands even when you're not in a cold environment. Usually, having cold hands is just one of the ways the body tries to control its temperature. It may not be a cause for concern.

However, always having cold hands could be a warning sign of a health problem, especially if the skin changes color. For example, having cold hands and skin color changes in extremely cold weather could be a warning sign of frostbite.

Symptoms to watch for when you have cold hands include:

  • Cold feet or toes.
  • Changes to the color of the skin on the hands.
  • Numbness or tingling.
  • Open sores or blisters.
  • Tightened or hardened skin.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

July 23, 2024

See also

  1. Anemia
  2. HLHS: A child's perspective
  3. New Clinical Trial for Single Right Ventricle Patients
  4. Cardiogenic shock
  5. Craving and chewing ice: A sign of anemia?
  6. Fibromuscular dysplasia
  7. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
  8. Iron deficiency anemia
  9. Newborn Heart
  10. Raynaud's disease
  11. Mayo Clinic Using Regenerative Medicine to Find Answers for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
  12. Pioneering Treatment for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome