My husband complains of feet cold to the bone. What does it mean?
OUR resident specialist and NHS GP, Dr Zoe Williams, shares her expert advice.
Today, Dr Zoe helps a reader who has several concerning symptoms.
Q) MY husband has been complaining for a while about extremely cold feet.
He says they’re bone-cold from the inside, not just on the outside.
He also wakes up in the middle of the night, in extremely hot sweats.
Plus, he has asthma and eczema which are now a little worse than normal, has slight liver issues, is possibly on the cusp of diabetes and gets ocular migraines.
Could these symptoms be one problem, which we can go to the GP with?
A) The cold feet could be caused by a circulation issue or nerve damage to the feet, or it could be a symptom of a systemic or autoimmune condition.
But it sounds like there is a lot going on and your GP is best placed to commence a line of investigation to try and figure out what is causing these symptoms.
As GPs, we often ask our patients to only present one problem to us per consultation, as we only have ten minutes and need to give that whole appointment to one issue in order to deal with it properly.
But the exception is when you think several symptoms and issues might be linked.
Make a list of the symptoms you think may be connected, and present this to the GP.
They can arrange some blood tests and other investigations if required, then see you again for a follow-up.
TIP: The best sleeping position is on your back because it keeps the spine straight.
But some people with back pain find that sleeping on their side is best, with a pillow between the knees.
This may also help snorers and those who suffer with acid reflux.