Knowledge
Sourced guides on how the body stays warm, how patients and clinicians are kept comfortable, how crews work safely in cold and heat, and how warming gear works. Pick the theme closest to your world.
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Science of Warmth
For anyone who wants to understand how the body makes, keeps and loses heat.
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Healthcare
For clinicians, perioperative teams, hospital leaders, and patients before and after surgery.
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- Patient warming and perioperative hypothermia
- Thermal comfort for clinicians
- For patients: surgery and recovery
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- How to stay warm in the operating room
- What is perioperative hypothermia?
- Forced-air vs conductive warming

Work and Duty
For employers, safety leads, crews, service members and EMS.
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Everyday Life and Health
For people who feel the cold, and for daily life outdoors.
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- Cold sensitivity and Raynaud’s
- Staying warm in everyday life
- Staying warm at home and with family
- Staying warm with a health condition or disability
- Medications and feeling cold
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Heat and Cooling
For hot jobs, heavy protective gear and personal heat sensitivity.
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Technology and Gear
For choosing, using and caring for warming gear.
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Medications that can make you feel cold: a reference list
Several medicine classes can make you feel cold. Beta blockers, ADHD stimulants, triptans and ergot drugs can narrow blood flow to the fingers and toes; oxaliplatin causes nerve symptoms triggered by cold; and antipsychotics can occasionally lower core body temperature. A 2016 review identified 12 drug classes linked to Raynaud's phenomenon. Never stop a medicine on your own; talk to your prescriber first.
Hypothyroidism and feeling cold: a deeper guide
Hypothyroidism makes you feel cold because low thyroid hormone slows the body's metabolism, so it produces less heat at rest and less extra heat when you are chilled. In a Swiss study, restoring normal thyroid levels raised the body's heat response to mild cold by about 102%. Most people warm up with proper treatment, but persistent cold deserves a talk with your clinician.
ADHD stimulants and cold hands
Yes, ADHD stimulants can cause cold hands. US labels for amphetamine (Adderall XR) and methylphenidate (Concerta) warn that these medicines are associated with peripheral vasculopathy, including Raynaud's phenomenon: fingers or toes that feel numb, cool or painful and turn pale, blue, then red. Symptoms are usually mild and intermittent. Tell the prescriber, and do not change the dose on your own.
Beta blockers and cold hands and feet
Yes. Cold hands and feet are a recognized side effect of beta blockers. The NHS lists them among common side effects, and US labels for metoprolol and propranolol list cold extremities or arterial insufficiency of the Raynaud type. Beta blockers lower the heart's output and can block signals that widen small blood vessels. Never stop one suddenly; talk to your prescriber.
Feeling cold on Mounjaro or Zepbound (tirzepatide)
Feeling cold is not a listed side effect of Zepbound or Mounjaro. Neither US prescribing information lists chills, feeling cold or cold intolerance. The likely reasons are indirect: tirzepatide decreases calorie intake, and weight lost is mostly fat, which insulates. Listed effects such as fatigue, dizziness and low blood pressure can also feel like a chill. Persistent cold deserves a talk with your clinician.
Why losing weight makes you feel colder
Losing weight can make you feel colder because you have less body fat to insulate you and because eating less turns down heat production. In a six-month JAMA trial, people on calorie restriction had lower core body temperature and burned about 135 fewer calories a day while sedentary. Cold that is extreme, long-lasting or comes with unplanned weight loss deserves a clinician's check.
Recommended room temperatures by setting
There is no single ideal room temperature; the right target depends on the setting. The World Health Organization proposes at least 18°C (64°F) in homes during cold seasons. OSHA recommends 68 to 76°F (20 to 24°C) for offices, the NHS advises 16 to 20°C for a baby's room, and refrigerators should stay at 40°F (4°C) or below.
Raynaud's statistics: how common is it?
Raynaud's is common. The only systematic review of general population studies (Garner and colleagues, BMJ Open, 2015; 33 studies, 33,733 people) put the pooled prevalence of primary Raynaud's at 4.85%, with 5.74% in women and 4.12% in men. Most cases are primary, while about 95% of people with systemic sclerosis have Raynaud's.
Hypothermia and cold-related deaths: statistics for the US and Canada
In 2023, 1,024 deaths in the United States were attributed to excessive cold or hypothermia, according to CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, with January the peak month. In Canada, Statistics Canada vital statistics record 1,678 deaths from exposure to excessive natural cold from 2011 to 2023, an average of 129 a year. Men and older adults account for most deaths.
What to wear by temperature, wind and activity
Dress in three loose layers: a wicking base layer (wool or synthetic, not cotton), an insulating middle layer, and an outer layer that blocks wind and water. Add a hat and gloves around 40°F (4°C) and switch to mittens near 0°F (-18°C). Add a windproof shell when windy, dress warmer when standing still, and about 20°F lighter when running.
Cold water survival time chart: the 1-10-1 rule and what charts get wrong
Survival time in cold water is usually decided in the first minutes, not hours. Cold shock peaks in water between 10 and 15°C (50 to 59°F) and can cause drowning within seconds, and arms can fail within minutes. Hypothermia takes at least 30 minutes to develop in adults, even in ice-cold water. Wearing a life jacket is the single biggest factor.
Keeping a bedbound person warm
To keep a bedridden person warm, hold in their own body heat rather than adding hot devices. Keep the room at least 68 to 70°F, use several light layers of breathable bedding, cover the head, neck and feet, keep skin and sheets dry, and uncover only one area at a time when repositioning. Use heating devices only to prewarm the bed, never against skin.
Keeping a person with dementia warm and safe in cold weather
A person with dementia may not notice or say they are cold, may forget to dress for the weather, and may wander outdoors. Keep their main rooms at 64 to 70°F or warmer, dress them in thin layers, check warmth at the back of the neck, supervise any heating device closely, plan for winter wandering and learn the signs of hypothermia.
Why an arm or leg feels cold after a stroke
An arm or leg on the side affected by a stroke often feels cold, and may measure colder, because the stroke disrupts the nerve signals that control blood vessel tone in that limb, reducing skin blood flow. Sensation can also change, so the limb may feel cold yet not sense heat. Warm it gently with layers, and never put direct heat on it.
Does cold weather make arthritis and fibromyalgia pain worse?
Partly. Many people with arthritis or fibromyalgia say cold, damp weather makes their pain worse, and some studies find a real but modest link with humidity, wind and low air pressure. Temperature itself shows little consistent effect, and several large studies found no link at all. Your own pattern matters more than the average, and staying warm and active can help comfort.
POTS cold hands and feet: why it happens
Yes, POTS can cause cold hands and cold feet, because the autonomic nervous system that controls blood vessels and body temperature does not adjust normally. Blood pools in the lower body when you stand, so less warm blood reaches the hands and feet, which can look pale or purple. Many people also swing between hot and cold, so gentle, adjustable warmth works best.
Parkinson's and body temperature
Feeling cold is common with Parkinson's because the disease affects the autonomic nervous system, which controls sweating, blood vessel tone and other parts of temperature regulation. Many people notice cold hands, feet or legs, or feel too cold or too hot when others feel fine. Steady layering, a warm home, movement and careful use of heat sources help most.
MS and cold weather
Cold weather can make some MS symptoms temporarily worse, most often muscle stiffness, spasms, fatigue and walking. Cold sensitivity is less common than heat sensitivity in MS, and the change usually fades once you warm up again. The practical goal is to stay steadily warm with layers and a warm home, while protecting skin that may not feel heat properly.
Does Ozempic make you cold? Feeling cold on GLP-1 medications
Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound do not list feeling cold or chills as a side effect in their US prescribing information, yet many people say they feel colder while taking them. Eating less and losing body fat are the most plausible reasons, since both are linked to lower heat production or less insulation. Persistent or extreme cold deserves a check with your clinician.
Cold sensitivity after chemotherapy (oxaliplatin): how long it lasts and what helps
Oxaliplatin cold sensitivity usually starts within hours to 2 days after a dose and fades within 14 days, according to the FDA label, but it often returns with each dose and can last longer as cycles add up. Cold drinks, cold air and cold metal are the usual triggers. Room temperature drinks, gloves and a scarf help, and fever during chemotherapy needs an immediate call.