What is Cold Intolerance?

Abstract

There are four types of symptoms on exposure to cold in the condition known as cold intolerance: pain/discomfort, stiffness, altered sensibility and colour change. They may occur in isolation or in any combination. Symptoms were present in at least 64% of 200 patients 24 months after hand injury. Pain was found to be the most troublesome symptom. Colour change in the digits was regarded by patients as the least troublesome symptom. Symptoms may begin immediately after injury, but are more likely to develop with the first onset of cold weather if there is a lag period between injury and onset. Pre-existing cold related symptoms are uniformly made worse by hand injury. A definition of the condition has been proposed and it has been suggested that this collection of symptoms be known as “Trauma Induced Cold Associated Symptoms”.