Cold intolerance is an abnormal sensitivity to a cold environment or cold temperatures.

Sensitivity to the cold; Intolerance to cold

Cold intolerance can be a symptom of a problem with metabolism.

Some people (often thin older women) do not tolerate cold temperatures because they have very little body fat to help keep them warm.

Some causes of cold intolerance are:

• Anemia
• Anorexia nervosa
• Blood vessel problems, such as Raynaud phenomenon
• Chronic severe illness
• General poor health
• Problem with the hypothalamus, (a part of the brain that controls body temperature)
• Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)

Follow the recommended therapy for treating the cause of the problem.

Contact your health care provider if you have long-term or extreme intolerance to cold.

Your provider will take a medical history and perform a physical examination.

Your provider's questions may include the following topics.

Time pattern:

• Have you always been intolerant of cold?
• Has this developed recently?
• Has it been getting worse?
• Do you often feel cold when other people do not complain of being cold?

Medical history:

• What is your diet like?
• How is your general health?
• What are your height and weight?
• What other symptoms do you have?

Tests that may be performed include:

• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Serum TSH
• Thyroid hormone levels (T3, T4)

If your provider diagnoses cold intolerance, you may want to include the diagnosis in your personal medical record.

Akamizu T, Jonklass J. Hypothyroidism and thyroiditis. In: Medmed S, Auchus RJ, Goldfine AB, Rosen, CJ, Kopp PA, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 15th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier: 2025:chap 11.

Pearce EN, Hollenberg AN. Thyroid. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 207.

Sawka MN, O'Connor FG. Disorders due to heat and cold. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 95.