What should I do if I'm cold? Why I'm always cold: causes, treatment. What temperature is considered normal for a home?

Winter is a wonderful time of year. However, like everyone else. But we darken it by our inability to use its gifts. It often happens that even when we go for a walk or active recreation in the forest, we feel cold. Not to mention the fact that sometimes, due to circumstances, we have to stand in the cold for a long time without taking any particularly active actions. For example, at a bus stop waiting for transport or for a young man waiting for his delayed girlfriend.

This is due to the fact that under the influence of low temperatures, blood vessels narrow. Because the body is trying to save its heat and provide only the most important systems. As the blood freezes, its circulation through the circulatory system will decrease. And in the end, only the heart and brain will be provided with it.

And in order for us to prevent such a tragic situation, we urgently need to warm ourselves up. The easiest way to do this is to go into a warm room. But for long ski trips or fishing trips, warm places are clearly not enough. Therefore, we must rely on our own strength.

If you are very cold and you have the feeling that you will soon be in a very difficult time, start acting immediately. This will protect you from frostbite and will improve your mood. It is better to avoid severe freezing. Then it will be easier to warm up.

Don’t try or walk wildly... In this way, you can only warm up when it’s not very cold, about 20 degrees Celsius. If the thermometer drops to minus thirty or below, a more radical method is required to warm the body. This is especially important for our Russia, since in winter most of its territory lies in an area of ​​just such cold weather.

Stand up straight and start making sharp amplitude circular swings of your arms. At the same time, they need to be kept closer to the body, trying to ensure that they describe a strictly vertical circle. Make twenty to fifty swings forward and the same amount back. Then forward again. You need to rotate your arms both together and separately.

There is one peculiarity. As the rotating arms pass below, slow down a little, then increase again. What is all this for? Centrifugal force will ensure increased blood flow to the fingertips. As a rule, after several dozen strong swings, the skin of your hands becomes warm, and you want to take off your gloves. Although five minutes ago there was no talk about this.

You can warm your feet in a similar way. Of course, you won’t be able to rotate them, but making up to a hundred (within your strength, of course) swings back and forth is not a difficult task. Just lean your hand on something, otherwise you will fall.

If you are tired but not warmed up, rest for a minute or two and repeat the swings with your arms or legs. Your task is to keep warm while avoiding serious consequences. Therefore, neither false shame, nor sweat, nor fatigue should distract you from the process of self-warming.

It happens that the frost outside is so strong that the swings have reached its limit, but the body has not warmed up. Under no circumstances should you force yourself. In this case, rest for five to ten minutes. Just don't just stand there. Walk or do calf raises.

But it often happens that people are still embarrassed to wave their hands in public places. And neither the cold nor the fear will get frostbite. Often a person simply cannot rotate his arms due to certain objective reasons. It is much more difficult for such people to warm up and they tolerate the cold worse. But nothing is impossible.

If you cannot and are embarrassed to wave your arms, then choose another method of warming up - static (isometric). Even a completely unathletic person has certain muscle groups that are more or less well developed. These are the muscles of the buttocks, pectoral muscles and arm muscles, most often the forearms and biceps. Tighten them all as hard as you can for ten to twenty seconds, then relax for the same amount of time. Repeat this ten times and rest. Then repeat the entire circle again.

The heating methods described above are the most effective. They will warm you up much faster than a warm room, hot tea or a fire. And, besides, this is an excellent and timely physical activity.

During cold weather, the most obvious desire is to wrap yourself in a cozy blanket and not show your nose outside the hearth. However, everyday reality still forces us to go outside into the arms of the frost. It would seem that warm clothes should protect us from the piercing cold, but we still freeze, catch colds and get used to a stuffy nose every day. These tips will help you fight the cold and learn not to freeze outside. These tips will be especially useful for those who, by the will of fate, are forced to spend long hours in the frosty air.

Before going out

1. Weather conditions

Before leaving your home analyze the situation on the street and check the weather forecast. It is worth paying attention not so much to the air temperature, but for precipitation. The fact is that moist air has greater thermal conductivity than dry air, which means that during snowfall or rain you will lose more heat than in clear weather. So if precipitation and strong winds are expected, in order not to get cold outside, you need to prepare more carefully.

Fact . Scientists have proven that in one minute of being outside in dry weather, a person loses 10 times less heat than in a similar situation during a snowfall or blizzard.

2. Food

Man is a warm-blooded creature, and 90% of the energy that comes to us with food goes to heat the body, and in winter we need more energy, which means more food. Therefore, the first thing that must be remembered without fail is Before going outside into the arms of the frost, you need to eat well. Focus on foods high in fat and protein: meat, fish, milk, cereals and bread. Do not deprive yourself of potatoes and celery with spinach - these products are rich in potassium, which accelerates blood circulation, thereby increasing heat transfer in the body and increasing resistance to cold.

3. Water

During the frosty season, the body does not lose much less moisture than on hot days, but Lack of fluid impairs blood circulation, causing the body to freeze faster. Therefore, if you want the warmth to remain in the body longer, in addition to soups and drinks, Before going outside, drink an extra glass of warm water, and even better, green tea with ginger - this root vegetable, in addition to numerous healing properties, also has a warming and tonic effect.

By the way. In winter, it is advisable to minimize the consumption of black tea and coffee and it is better not to drink it at all immediately before going outside in the cold - these drinks dry out the mucous membranes, which reduces the body's protective properties against colds. In addition, caffeine, which is rich in both black tea and coffee, blocks receptors that cause the walls of blood vessels to contract when exposed to cold.

4. Getting used to the cold

A sharp change in ambient temperature is a serious stress for the body, so you should not immediately plunge from the warmth of your apartment into the cold outside. Adapt gradually– before going outside, linger for a minute or two on the landing or in the entrance and only after that go on a frosty journey.

How to dress to stay warm

It would seem that in this regard everything is simple - the colder it is outside, the warmer you need to dress. However, there are some nuances thanks to which you can retain heat more effectively.

1. Clothes

Clothes that are designed to protect you from the cold should be loose and not snug, otherwise it will not warm, but rather freeze the body. It's all about the air layer that forms between the fabric and the body - this air retains the heat generated by the body and prevents it from freezing. Based on this principle, it becomes clear that the more layers of clothing you wear in frosty weather, the warmer you will feel. For example, two jumpers will protect you from the cold better than one thick sweater.

2. Shoes

To keep your feet warm, You should give up narrow and tight shoes: firstly, in such shoes there will be no layer of air, which we talked about above, and secondly, tight shoes will compress the blood vessels, thereby disrupting blood circulation, which, along with everything else, supplies heat to the feet. It is also worth paying attention to the sole– the thicker it is, the less heat the foot will lose from proximity to frosty asphalt.

3. Hands

Since the vessels in the hands are very small, the palms and fingers become numb the fastest. Therefore, make a rule for yourself not to go out in cold weather without gloves. And if the frost is really severe, then better to wear mittens– unlike gloves, the fingers in mittens touch each other, which means that heat is exchanged between them and the hands will warm up better.

What to do on the street so as not to die

1. Breathing

It is believed that a person loses most of their heat through their head and many believe that by wearing a hat they minimize heat loss. However, this is not quite true. Man really Most of the heat produced by the body is lost through the head, however, not through the top of the head, but through the mouth and nose - during breathing. Therefore, in order to minimize heat loss, try to breathe only through your nose– this way you will retain more heat inside and reduce the amount of cold air that enters your lungs.

• If you can’t breathe through your nose (due to a runny nose or shortness of breath), press your tongue to the roof of your mouth– it will serve as a kind of barrier to cold air, warming it on its way to the lungs.

2. Face

Unprotected cheeks and nose freeze very quickly in the cold, since the skin in these places is quite thin. Therefore, you should protect these places with a scarf, pulling it higher. At the same time, breathing through the mouth is doubly prohibited, since the exhaled steam will remain on the scarf and turn into small pieces of ice, which will make you freeze much faster.

3. Movement

If you are forced to wait in the cold for someone or something, do not stand still. Move if you don't want to freeze: Walk back and forth, dance, stretch your arms or do squats without being embarrassed to look stupid - such activity will help circulate blood throughout the body and protect against the cold.

Fact . Alcohol doesn't help keep you warm. The feeling of warmth that appears after a missed drink is a consequence of a sharp expansion of blood vessels, as a result of which heat quickly leaves the body. Thus, alcohol makes the body freeze more, not heating. This is also evidenced by sad statistics: 85% of frostbite occurs while intoxicated.

4. Refuge

If you have to spend a long time outside during frost, keep in mind: every hour you need to go into a warm shelter(shop or cafe) and warm up there for at least 15 minutes. Otherwise you will die.

5. Nerves

Research has shown that the more nervous a person is, the more difficult it is for the body to adapt to the cold, which means it freezes faster. Therefore, when going out into the cold, you should try to get rid of negative thoughts, and on the street, breathing slowly and deeply is calming. Eating chocolate will also not hurt, as it will increase the amount of endorphin in the body - the hormone of joy.

Tricks to help you stay warm in the bitter cold

1. Mustard or pepper

If you are facing a long journey in the cold or standing in one place for a long time, then before going outside sprinkle a little pepper or dry mustard into each sock. These spices will warm your feet and speed up blood circulation. You should also do the same with mittens to warm your hands. This trick will allow you to warm your limbs for up to 12 hours.

2. Paper

Paper is a good thermal insulation material, so it can be used in the fight against cold, and in different ways.

• Wrap your feet in newspaper or other paper over your socks, then wrap your feet in a plastic bag - this is how fishermen save themselves from the cold during winter fishing.
• Paper will also help if you suddenly do not have warm insoles - instead, put several layers of paper inside the shoe.
• The newspaper is also useful for warming the body. If you accidentally find yourself outside unprepared for the frost, buy any printed publication at the nearest stall and “squeeze” each torn page into a small lump. You should end up with 10-15 paper balls, which you need to distribute evenly under your sweater or jacket over the entire area of ​​your body: front, sides and back. This will create an additional layer of air that will warm you up.

3. Monk skills

It is known that some Tibetan monks, with the help of special techniques, are able to remain half-naked in the snow-capped mountains for a long time and not suffer at all from this. Of course, such abilities are acquired through long training, however some techniques can be adopted by us too, ordinary mortals.

• Single nostril breathing. The method is very simple: you need to inhale frosty air through your nose, and exhale only through one nostril, closing the second with your finger. Apparently, this way more heat will be retained in the body.
• Tummo. It is believed that with the help of this technique, Tibetan monks are able to dry a wet towel on a naked body in cold weather. While meditating, they imagine a small light the size of a match head inside their stomach, which they mentally force to grow and increase until the internal fire goes beyond the boundaries of the body. Of course, we have no need to dry wet towels, but we are quite capable of warming ourselves up, I visualize the warmth inside us. At a minimum, such meditation will calm your nerves and distract your thoughts from the cold.

In Chinese medicine, foods are divided into hot, warm, neutral, refreshing and cold. Moreover, their “warmth” has nothing to do with calorie content. For example, sugar is a very high-calorie product, but in the Chinese classification it is classified as a cooling product. Or citrus fruits are a typical example of cold foods, so they are not recommended to be eaten in cold weather.

Hot foods include most spices (pepper, curry, cinnamon, etc.), warm foods include buckwheat, onions, apricots, dill, marjoram, and garlic. Neutral foods are corn, potatoes, carrots, figs. Refreshing - asparagus, rice, celery, apples. Cold foods include kiwi, mango, tomatoes, cucumbers, and watermelons. Of course, these are far from complete lists of products. If you focus on the “thermal conductivity” of foods, you can create a good diet for the cold season.

In winter, you should try to eat cereals, foods rich in iodine and iron (their deficiency can adversely affect the functioning of the thyroid gland, which plays an important role in heat regulation). We must not forget about fats, especially Omega-3 and Omega-6, they can be obtained from fish or chia seeds, which are gaining popularity today.

Let me tell you a little about the cold and chilly autumn days. When you leave the house and at first glance it seems to you that it is warm outside, but the insidious autumn is even more insidious because when you return home in the evening, you can’t get your teeth into it: it’s so cold outside.

Or it may happen that you don’t have any warm clothes on your hike. Then you can get sick.

What to do in such a situation?

I'll tell you this. Our body can tolerate cold without much harm. It is not scary for our body, since our body has many ways to warm itself when it is cold.

Well, for example: you are cold and your body begins to tremble. If you start moving quickly, then your blood will begin to warm up your body. Your muscles will start working and you will immediately feel warmer. It’s not for nothing that when you’re cold, you start waving your arms and jumping: you want to move.

You must remember: MOVEMENT GIVES WARMTH TO THE BODY.

If you harden your body from the cold, then you can walk around in a light blouse in winter and still not freeze. But I’ll warn you right away, you can’t immediately undress and go into the cold in just a blouse or barefoot, under no circumstances should you do this! First you need to harden and prepare the body.

If you want to start strengthening your body, first tell your parents about it. They will help you with this, tell you how to do it correctly.

Well, for starters, you can try it yourself, at least by washing your face with cool water in the morning and gradually switching to cold water.

Severe frost is dangerous for our body. If you stay in the cold for a long time, you can freeze your ears, nose, and fingers. Blood flows to these parts of the body more slowly and, if they are not covered with something warm, frostbite can occur.

If you feel your ears, fingers, nose starting to pinch, turning red and as if you no longer feel the cold, then this is a sign that you are starting to get frostbite. You urgently need to hide indoors or wrap yourself in something warmer. If the room is far from you and there is nothing to wrap yourself with, then you need to rub your ears, cheeks, hands, and you need to continue rubbing until the blood disperses. Frostbite is very dangerous; frostbitten skin may not recover.

This is why people who live in cold countries often go without outerwear, but always wear a hat and mittens.

Remember: severely frozen hands and feet cannot be put into hot water; You should also not grab a hot radiator - you need to gradually return the heat to the body.

I am sure that you have heard more than once, when you went for a walk outside in the winter, how your mother told you, “Be careful not to get your feet wet.” Why do you think she told you that? I’ll tell you why it’s not about wet socks or shoes, but this is what it’s about. Instead of warming you, wet shoes take heat from your body and this is even more dangerous, because you can instantly catch a cold. It's the same with clothes. Your clothes should always be dry.

Remember: the colder it is outside, the drier your clothes should be.

Don’t be lazy, if your clothes are wet somewhere, change them. If you spilled tea or juice on yourself; I forgot to dry my gloves and shoes after my last walk - don’t be lazy to change into dry clothes. It’s better to stay at home and dry your clothes, shoes on a radiator or with a hairdryer, since health is most important.

So what you need to know about the cold:

• The best way to stay warm is to move.
• Clothing in cold weather should always be dry.

• Toughen up!

I am sure that then you will be warm both in the cold autumn and frosty winter.

As a rule, we all live in comfortable apartments, where the temperature is maintained within sanitary standards even in frosty winters.

But despite this, some people constantly feel that they are cold.

They have a desire to wrap themselves in a blanket or dress warmly even when everyone else feels quite comfortable.

With what it can be connected? Why do some people feel cold all the time? A symptom of what diseases can be a constant feeling of cold?

Thyroid disease

One of the most common diseases with a constant feeling of cold is a disease of the thyroid gland, which is responsible for the energy supply of our body.

As a result of various diseases, the body may begin to produce antibodies that inhibit the functioning of the thyroid gland. As a result, the content of the thyroid hormone T3 (T-three), which is involved in the process of thermoregulation, is disrupted.

In this case, it is necessary to undergo an examination and check the level of this hormone. Normally it should be > 0.9.

If, as a result of the examination, a malfunction of the thyroid gland is established, hormone replacement therapy is prescribed in the form of eutirox, a thyroid hormone.

A constant feeling of cold can also cause liver dysfunction. As a rule, in this case liver cirrhosis is diagnosed. Therefore, you should take the examination very seriously.

As is known, liver cirrhosis develops in the following cases:

• alcohol abuse;
• infection with hepatitis B or C virus;
• excessive consumption of fat, leading to body obesity.

Cirrhosis leads to the death of liver cells, which are eventually replaced by connective tissue cells.

To establish liver disease, you should undergo special tests - ALT and AST for the content of the enzymes glutamyl-pyruvate transferase and aspartate aminotransferase in the blood.

It is with the help of these tests that liver disease can be diagnosed and timely treatment prescribed.

Anemia

Another reason for the constant feeling of constant cold can be anemia.

Anemia is a disorder of blood supply caused by poor vascular patency and a decrease in the level of hemoglobin in the blood.

Hemoglobin is necessary for the transport of oxygen by red blood cells, necessary for oxidative processes, without which the functioning of almost no system in our body is impossible.

When hemoglobin levels decrease, the amount of oxygen carried by red blood cells decreases. There is a feeling of weakness, lethargy, and drowsiness. The skin turns pale and becomes cold to the touch.

The cause of a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood can be chronic stress, smoking, and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Normally, hemoglobin in women should be in the range of 120-140 g/l, in men – 130-160 g/l. If these values ​​decrease, treatment is prescribed to increase hemoglobin. As a rule, these are iron supplements and vitamin C.

Anemia can also result from poor vascular patency as a result of the development of atherosclerosis. Most often, atherosclerotic plaques are the result of an unhealthy diet, including large amounts of animal fat, the undigested remains of which are deposited in the form of plaques in our blood vessels.

Atherosclerosis is a deadly disease that leads not only to anemia, but also to increased blood pressure, the risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as blockage of blood vessels leading to tissue necrosis and gangrene with subsequent amputation of limbs.

To reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis, you should, if possible, exclude from your menu all products containing animal fat - butter, fatty cottage cheese, sour cream, fatty cheeses, fatty meat.

You should also include fiber-rich foods in your diet. This allows you to cleanse the intestines, preventing undigested fat from re-entering the body.