Why do premature babies have cold hands and feet?

It is common for premature babies to have cold hands and feet. This is because the baby's body temperature center is not fully developed and the subcutaneous fat is relatively small, which makes it less effective in storing heat. Therefore, the heat is often dissipated quickly. Therefore, we must pay attention to keeping warm in daily life and gradually improve the baby's immunity level to avoid greater harm to health.

Why do premature babies have cold hands and feet?

The body temperature center of premature babies is immature, they have less subcutaneous fat, a large body surface area, less muscle activity, and less heat production, making them more likely to dissipate heat. Therefore, hypothermia or even scleredema is often caused by the cold surrounding environment.

Parenting experts point out that children’s cold hands and feet are mostly caused by poor blood circulation. Poor blood circulation in the human body will lead to insufficient blood supply to the extremities, resulting in cold hands and feet. According to TCM theory, children with frequently cold hands and feet have a yang deficiency, which is caused by insufficient qi, blood, yin and yang.

Children with cold hands and feet always make people worry, as people feel that they have weak constitutions and insufficient yang energy, and they will get sick if they catch a cold accidentally. Although a baby's cold hands and feet is not a serious matter, parents should still pay more attention to it.

Children with cold hands and feet due to Yang Qi deficiency have weak resistance and are prone to repeated illnesses. Especially in winter, cold evil may enter the body, causing children to suffer from upper respiratory tract infections, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, and they may also suffer from infectious and immune diseases.

In addition, if the baby's hands are frozen in winter, he may develop frostbite and other skin problems.

What should I do if my baby's hands and feet are cold? Should I dress them more and cover them more tightly? When I'm at home, should I turn on the electric blanket or air conditioner to prevent my baby from catching a cold?

In fact, if parents cover their children too tightly, it can easily cause illness. Experts say that the most suitable room temperature for children is around 20℃. If the temperature is too high, children will sweat frequently and it is easy to cause illness. There is also a saying, "Children's illness caused by cold is easy to cure, but illness caused by heat is difficult to cure."

What to do if your hands and feet are cold

To treat the phenomenon of cold hands and feet in winter, you should first determine whether it is caused by a disease. For cold hands and feet not caused by disease, you can treat it from the following aspects.

1. Exercise properly

We should insist on exercising even in the cold winter, especially a little exercise after getting up in the morning can speed up blood circulation and metabolism, so that we will be full of energy throughout the day and will not easily feel cold.

2. Diet adjustment

Winter is the best time to take tonic food. People with cold hands and feet should seize this opportunity to eat some warm tonic food, such as mutton. You can supplement more vitamin E, eat more foods containing niacin and B vitamins, eat more nuts, carrots and other warm foods, and eat spicy foods such as chili, pepper, mustard, etc. to promote blood circulation.

3. Keep warm

In winter, you must keep warm. Don't reduce the amount of clothes you wear for the sake of beauty. Don't wear clothes that are too tight, otherwise it will hinder blood circulation. For people with cold hands and feet, wearing pure cotton socks can help keep their feet dry and comfortable. Special attention should be paid to keeping the legs and feet warm. If the lower limbs are well kept, the whole body will feel warm.

4. Supplement calories appropriately

You can prepare some biscuits, bread, or ginseng tea to supplement calories appropriately; you should also eat on time. You should know that letting the body store some appropriate amount of fat can help maintain body temperature.

5. Soak your feet or take a bath

People who have cold hands and feet and cannot sleep warmly can soak their feet or take a bath before going to bed. This can promote blood circulation and warm up the body. The effect will be better if you rub your feet while soaking them.