Mãos e Pés GELADOS? Alerta! 9 Causas, Doenças e Soluções Vasculares

Hello, I'm Dr. Alexandre Amato, a vascular surgeon at the Amato Institute, and today I'm going to talk about something that's very common: very cold hands and feet. So, do you have cold hands and feet? Or does your partner have very cold hands and feet? Does anyone in your family have cold hands and feet? Then this information may be useful to you, it may be useful to someone close to you, so you can pass it on. Get the link above and send it to anyone who might be interested, because here I'm going to give you tips on how to deal with this situation, which is very common for everyone. So, first of all, do you just feel that your hands and feet are cold? Or are they really colder than the rest of your body, or colder than the environment? Is there really a difference? So, it's often difficult for the person themselves to notice, especially when the temperature difference is small, because we're going to use our touch, our own hands, to feel our body temperature , and then it gets a little more difficult. Sometimes another person evaluating can perceive this difference better, but sometimes the difference is so great that it is easy to notice. Now, it is important to differentiate this sensation of cold from numbness, tingling, or a change in sensitivity, which can happen and can be caused by other diseases as well. So, this sensation of cold, both in the hands and feet, is very common, especially in winter, especially in cold places. So, where do you live? Is it very cold? Very hot? Is this problem very common where you are? I want to know which state, because, obviously, those who live in the north of Brazil, the northeast, will have a different experience than those who live in the south or southeast. This is greatly impacted by the local temperature, and it is a much more common problem in women. So, it occurs in colder regions, more frequently in women, and this is a reaction of the body itself trying to preserve heat. So, how come the hand gets cold and we are preserving the heat? Yes! So, our vessels undergo vasoconstriction, our distal vessels, at the extremities, such as the tips of our fingers, feet, and hands, trying to preserve body heat, central heat. So, when the vessels close, the blood does not reach the periphery, and so this central heat is not lost. It is a way for our body to protect itself from the cold. Now, when you are experiencing cold hands and feet, much more frequently than expected, or even on hot or relatively hot days, then it may be a problem and may be something that needs to be investigated. And the vascular surgeon is the specialist who evaluates your circulation. So, any blockage of this circulation, any blockage of blood reaching the periphery, will cause a decrease in this temperature. So, that is why he is the recommended specialist. Now, the interesting thing is that there is a genetic relationship. We have already talked a lot about the Renault phenomenon, I will mention it again later, but the sensation of cold hands and feet is related to genetics. So, if there is someone in your family who has this, you can pass it on. This is very common. And it could be a mild manifestation of the Renault phenomenon, which I already mentioned. So, we already have videos about it. The Renault phenomenon is a situation in which, due to a trigger, which could be stress or cold, vasoconstriction also occurs and the color of the hands changes. So, they can become cyanotic, purple, pale, and so on. So, this problem, cold hands, could be a reaction, a milder Renault phenomenon. It doesn't actually change color. Now, this sensation of cold is directly related to BMI. BMI is the body mass index. So, weight is related to height. The higher the BMI, the greater the weight, the more obese the hands, the warmer the hands. The lower the BMI, the colder the hands will be. And all of this, this vasoconstriction, this regulation of body temperature, is done by the secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline in the body. So, it's our escape reaction, our protection reaction. The subject is super interesting, but no matter how much I research, I see a lot of Korean work, little Brazilian work. Now, why is that? Could it be because of the temperature here in Brazil, that this problem doesn't exist? Is it that common? But, gosh, I get a lot of patients here at my office complaining about this change in the temperature of their hands and feet. I don't believe that's all it is. So, I'm going to talk about some causes, nine common causes of this drop in temperature. The first one is the ambient temperature. If the ambient temperature drops, as I said, our body will protect itself by creating this vasoconstriction and preventing blood from reaching the periphery. This protection is normal, it's physiological, that is, it's a completely normal reaction of our body to the environmental change. And the protection for this situation is local protection. So, you're going to wear gloves, socks and protection with... This is very interesting. I'm going to show you this thing that arrived recently. It's a hot hand, right? It's a little bag that ends up heating up. So, you can hold this here and it will maintain the temperature for 6 to 8 hours. This is a really cool way to maintain the temperature of your hands. But, as I said, gloves, coats, wearing several layers of clothing, all of this will reduce this temperature fluctuation. So, you go into a hot place and then go out into a cold place . This impact of the temperature can be much more aggressive or a stronger trigger for lowering the temperature of your hands. Or putting your hands in the freezer. So, this protection will end up avoiding the environmental impact. The second very common cause is stress, it is adrenaline, pure adrenaline. So, we can have stress for several reasons. It could be anxiety, it could be environmental stress, it could be family stress or work. So, how can we reduce this? First of all, exercise is the most important of all, right? If we have a rhythm in our exercise, keep our body active, do physical activity regularly, we will reduce our body's response to this stress, to this adrenaline, and there will be less vasoconstriction. Now, it is very important to control anxiety too. How can we do this? I already have videos about anxiety, but everything we do to help our minds and emotions, whether it's yoga, meditation, or a walk where you can clear your head. All of this can help lower our adrenaline levels and our body's reactions, and consequently, reduce vasoconstriction and get more blood to the periphery. The third cause is smoking. It can lower the temperature of your hands for two reasons: an acute form and a chronic form. Nicotine itself can cause this vasoconstriction right after smoking. So, when nicotine enters the bloodstream, it triggers this immediate vasoconstriction, which can lower the temperature of your hands and feet. Now, there's also a chronic form, which is that smoking leads to atherosclerosis, and atherosclerosis, which is damage to the arterial wall, can block the flow of blood to the periphery. I'll talk more about this later. Now, any substance that causes vasoconstriction can lead to this. So, there are medications, for example, ergol derivatives, which are powerful vasoconstrictors used in migraines, for example, and even illicit drugs that cause vasoconstriction can also lead to this sensation. And the solution, folks, is very simple, is to stop smoking, not smoke, not use these illicit or licit drugs and if they are illicit for some disease treatment, see if there is not a substitute that can reduce this problem. Now, the fourth cause is poor circulation. Poor circulation can occur both acutely and chronically. In acute form, it is a sudden, abrupt blockage of the blood for whatever reason. It can be an embolus, a piece of clot that goes there and obstructs the vessel, it can also be trauma. So, there is trauma, a ring, for example, this is very common, trauma to the ring, it can cause vasoconstriction in the artery of the finger and end up causing a drop in temperature. Or in a chronic form, as I mentioned before, which is atherosclerosis. So, it ends up forming those calcified plaques and over time, this is slow, it's not so fast, but over time, this plaque will obstruct this artery and blood will not reach the periphery. So, poor circulation can lower the temperature of the hands and feet, either quickly, due to an acute event, or slowly and progressively. And in these cases, in a slow and progressive way, the solution is to drink plenty of water, stay well hydrated, and do the physical exercise I mentioned earlier. There is another cause, which would be heart failure. In heart failure, the heart will not pump blood at the speed and intensity necessary for the blood to reach the periphery, which can also lead to a decrease in temperature. Anemia is also a cause. So, anemia can occur due to a deficiency in iron intake. If you are eating foods that do not have the power to maintain iron at adequate levels, you may need to supplement. And iron, it is part of our hemoglobin. Iron is essential for oxygen to stick to the blood, there in the hemoglobin, and for it to be transported. So, if we do not have enough iron, the blood will not transport enough oxygen and this can also decrease the body temperature. Obviously, the solution is very simple. Either eat properly or take iron supplements, but always with a medical evaluation to identify whether this is really the problem. Hypothyroidism is another very common cause. Hypothyroidism, then, is a thyroid disease, where the thyroid gland stops producing the necessary hormones and then the body begins to enter a state of lethargy. Then, the body begins to slow down, the heart begins to beat slower. All of this also ends up leading to a drop in temperature. Hypothyroidism is also very often associated with lipedema. So, in lipedema we also see this drop in temperature in the legs, mainly in the feet. But who is going to treat hypothyroidism? Hypothyroidism is treated by an endocrinologist. Lipedema is a little more complicated. It will be the vascular surgeon who has to make the diagnosis for you. The other cause is the Renault phenomenon, which I already mentioned, but there is also Renault disease. So, the Renault phenomenon is when there is a decrease in temperature and a change in the color of the fingers, but it is not associated with any underlying disease, cause, or origin. Now, when there is a disease, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, dermatomyositis, or some rheumatological disease that triggers all of this, then it is no longer the Renault phenomenon. And another very common cause is diabetes. Diabetes causes changes in the nerves. So, as there is damage to the microarterioles that supply these nerves, these nerves end up dying early and end up deregulating the local temperature. So, people with diabetes may have changes in the temperature of their extremities. Now, who treats diabetes? Diabetes is a multidisciplinary disease, because the endocrinologist will help with glycemic control, but the vascular surgeon is essential in controlling the health of the feet and hands, especially to avoid a very critical situation, which is diabetic foot and, more rarely, diabetic hand. So, knowing all this, you must have already realized that it may seem like a simple problem, but it can be caused by some much more complicated situations. So, the big question is, when do I have to worry? When do I have to see a doctor? Well, if this excessive coldness in the hands and feet is occurring normally on cold days and not in an exaggerated way, it is usually not a problem that needs to be evaluated by a doctor; just warming the area is enough. Now, if there are other associated symptoms, such as pain, so you are cold but it hurts, or you are cold and there is swelling, you are cold and there is some other problem there, there is tingling, there is a change in color, you will most likely need a medical evaluation, especially when this becomes very frequent. If the intensity or frequency increases, if there is a change in these characteristics, it is important to talk to the doctor, because it may be the lack of blood supply to the area, and this lack of blood supply can even lead, in much more serious cases, to amputation. So here we go, what are the general tips for How to avoid a problem with cold hands and feet? First of all, as I already mentioned, warming your hands with gloves, socks, appropriate clothing, maybe using a heating pad, this also helps . I've seen that there are some electronic ones too, which is very interesting. In some more extreme cases, it is possible to warm your hands with warm water, but be very careful with hot water, because when you lower the temperature of your fingers too much, you lose sensitivity, so if you put water that is too hot, you can end up burning your skin without realizing it. So, warm your hands with warm water and dry them right away, don't leave them damp, otherwise this can also become another problem. Avoid sudden changes in temperature, especially if you are going to touch the freezer, for example, it is warm and you put your hand in the freezer, this is a sudden change in temperature that can trigger the Renault phenomenon. Now, also remember that if you are in a warm house and go out in the cold, very cold, this change can also trigger this vasoconstriction. If you are well protected, this may not happen. Now, in general, what I always talk about and that is really important in this regard is physical exercise. Physical exercise is super important to maintain our basal level and our body's correct response to adrenaline. Diet. Diet is very important, so if you're eating the wrong foods, our body will also have an erratic metabolism, so we have to eat right. And hydration. Drink plenty of water, keep your body hydrated, without water our metabolism doesn't work. But I'll explain it a little better. Imagine that we need water to dilute the blood. Blood is liquid. If it doesn't have water, it will become more viscous, thicker. It has greater difficulty moving, moving through our arteries and veins. So we have to have plenty of fluids. Now I'm going to tell you a secret, so you can make good use of this information. Alcohol, in small quantities, has a vasodilatory effect. So a glass of wine can end up causing this vasodilation and helping to warm the periphery. But alcohol also has its harmful effects. I have a whole video talking about alcohol here, I'm going to put it up for you to watch. So, be aware of this information and use this tip I'm giving you very sparingly. Did you like our video? Subscribe to our channel, click the bell to receive notifications. Wait a little while and I'll put up the best next video for you to watch. And until next time!