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01 March 2011

MeCha poll. Coldness.→[More:]

So I was talking with my mom yesterday, and it seems that she and my sister and I all share the same opinion of being cold: it is physical pain. Not just a sensation, not just ooh that's brisk, but so uncomfortable as to be classified as pain. It is preoccupying to the extreme.

What's cold feel like to you? How cold is cold? Does it hurt?

post by: Specklet at: 23:18 | 25 comments

No. Short of the kind of cold that brings on hypothermia, cold to me is something the be faced and shrugged off with nonchalance. The best way to do this is to NOT cover the cold bits, but to let my skin get used to the cold.

For the record I grew up in Buffalo and was up in Albany in January when it was -14F. No biggie.

My wife, on the other hand, has Raynaud's disease and would fully agree with your experience.

posted by Doohickie 01 March | 23:23

Cold didn't bother me at all until about 4 or 5 years ago; I started feeling discomfort at 70 F that grew worse as the temp dropped. I wrote it off as getting older, but I mentioned to my doctor early last year. She ordered some tests and discovered my thyroid was underproducing. She put me on generic synthroid, and that cleared up a LOT of problems that I had written off as either side effects to my heart medicines or depression. Now I am off xanax and the anti-depressants completely. Plus, the cold doesn't bother me at all anymore. Bare feet and gym shorts in the mid-40s to get the mail? No problem.

posted by Ardiril 01 March | 23:32

I put it right in the camp of physical pain: I have some neuropathy and impaired circulation in my feet that exacerbate that.

posted by pjern 01 March | 23:42

I'm usually okay until my back starts tensing up, which is roughly around 25F or thereabouts. Wind definitely affects my tolerance for it, though. The back tensing doesn't so much hurt (I don't get spasms or anything), but it's definitely uncomfortable.

There was a morning a few weeks back where it was -8F with a steady wind (which is, what, around -22C) when I left for work, and after a couple of minutes outside with my dog it almost hurt to breathe (yay, smoking!). That's certainly the coldest temp I've felt in my adult life, if not ever. I did not enjoy that.

posted by ufez 01 March | 23:46

No, I'm one of those weirdos who wears shorts in the snow. I actually like feeling a little chilly, if it was solely up to me, I'd keep the house at 58 or so. On the other hand, August just kills me, temps over 80 just turn me into a limp puddle.

posted by octothorpe 02 March | 00:31

Lately my hands go numb if I don't put on my mittens/gloves soon enough.

Physical pain? Not really....although the winter of 94 in Iowa was -70f with windchills and I was afraid to go outside.

posted by brujita 02 March | 01:28

In general, no. The only time I feel physical pain from the cold is when I'm stupid about it: I got frost nip on my toes one winter in college in Fairbanks. -30 and wearing sandals, I was outside linger than I had anticipated. And any time I'm taking photos in the winter my hands can start to hurt because I don't have good gloves to wear while using my camera.

posted by rhapsodie 02 March | 01:41

I really don't feel the cold much at all. I just shrug it off, pretty much.

posted by dg 02 March | 01:58

For the most part I prefer to be cooler*, but when I get really cold it is painful. It didn't used to be, but pjern's comment about neuropathy makes me wonder if that's what's made the difference (I have it in both my feet and hands - fuck diabetes).

*For instance - the heat is usually set at 15C/60F. It's only when outside is in the minuses with windchill that it's set to a warmer temperature.

posted by deborah 02 March | 02:07

As long as I've prepared and have proper clothing and a hat on, I don't mind the cold and don't find it intolerable to be out in it. Like ufez, the worst thing for me is tensing my back, so I tend to wear lots of thin layers for insulation including a long t-shirt (preferably thermal) that I can tuck into my underwear.

I'd rather be well-wrapped up on a cold winter's day than be outdoors on a hot summer day. I don't tolerate heat well (I'm a terrible Australian, I realise) but I find it easier to get/stay warm than cool.

posted by Senyar 02 March | 03:30

I have the Raynaud's thing too, so yes, in the cold my fingers and toes HURT, with a pain that cannot be just ignored or shaken off (imagine if someone put clothespins on all your fingers). But even apart from that, cold does cause a sensation something like pain, somewhere deep inside my torso,especially when it's windy. Why the heck do I live in Maine?

posted by JanetLand 02 March | 05:39

I tend to like the surrounding temperature a little on the cool side. Cold doesn't hurt as in pain, but it sure gets numbing when it's TOO cold.

posted by BoringPostcards 02 March | 07:53

I am better equiped to deal with heat than cold. I'd say my experience of extreme cold causes psychic pain - it can make me cry.

posted by rainbaby 02 March | 07:54

Cold causes a couple of distinct sensations for me. If I'm not dressed warmly enough, then I get that over-all cold feeling that says my body temperature is too low. This doesn't hurt, at all, and in general I seem to prefer a fairly cold environment anyway.

The other is the burning cold sensation from very cold air, especially if it's windy, and I'll get that even if I'm bundled up and actually too warm overall. Walking to work when it's -20 C and the wind tunnel effect downtown is in full force will cause this feeling for exposed skin. It definitely hurts.

posted by FishBike 02 March | 08:29

Not really (unless I'm not dressed for it). Then again, I spend a good chunk of my days in the stacks, which are kept at 50F year-round. It's always the joke at our place that you either get used to it or quit.

I did get frostbite on the bottoms of my feet when I ran down the ramp at my dorm in college without my flipflops on. I deserved that though but I was surprised at how quickly it came on, but it was only about a minute of exposure on an iced over concrete surface.

posted by sperose 02 March | 09:58

I have a fur coat so cold doesn't bother me.

posted by Trilby 02 March | 10:09

Physical pain, and psychological pain, sort of like "I will be harmed if I take off my warm blanket right now, therefore I won't do it." Every year, about now, I seriously consider moving to Alabama. I think air-conditioning should be outlawed in most cases, like freezing movie theaters. Sometimes I'll put my cold hands on someone in spring or fall and they'll be bewildered: "how come you're so cold all the time?"

posted by Melismata 02 March | 10:39

Two weekends ago, I spent the weekend in Tucson, and 85 degree weather. Coming back to a (relative for Oregon) cold snap, I was miserable and could NOT warm up however I tried. Got sick, and I had a couple of work things I had to do early in the day, and I deferred them because they would have involved being out in the weather, some, and I felt like I might die if I went through with them.

I am unsure if I could make it through a REAL winter like a lot of you have.

posted by danf 02 March | 10:42

This lifelong New Englander loves the cold, and rages against the heat.

posted by initapplette 02 March | 11:24

I broke a finger and severed a nerve in the finger some years ago. The nerve eventually reconnected, but there's some damage. One of the interesting effects is that when it's cold, that half of the finger goes numb again.

I used to be able to wear a halter top and thin pants in freezing weather, as long as I kept moving; didn't notice the cold. Now that I've got damage to various joints, I really, really feel the cold at times--usually damp cold. It feels much colder to me than dry cold of the same temperature, and it feels like someone's stabbing the various joints with an ice pick.

My heat tolerance is gone too, though. A shame.

posted by galadriel 02 March | 11:55

Pain. Yes. Pain. Especially in my ears and nose (if uncovered). On especially cold days, I get welts from the cold, which hurt and itch.

posted by Elsa 02 March | 12:30

Depends. Really cold does feel, oddly, like being burnt. And as JanetLand says, feeling chilled is like experiencing a deep ache. Less severe sense of cold is just uncomfortable, though.

Raised in New England (mostly) myself, but I much prefer to be warm. I'm most always layered.

posted by bearwife 02 March | 13:22

I have very good internal HVAC so as long as I'm dressed properly, I can deal with a wide range of temperatures.

Not that I have to very much nowadays. CLIMATE BEST BY GOVERNMENT TEST!

posted by tangerine 02 March | 20:27

I don't mind the physical sensation but it's a psychological downer for me (as is rain)

posted by Firas 03 March | 13:23

Oh BOY, last night I had occasion to think about this long and hard during a freezing walk home. Definitely painful! My nose hurt, my ears (under my hat) hurt, and when I got home I discovered that under my trousers, my thighs were bright red with painful cold. Oh, and my throat and sinuses hurt from the cold.

PAIN. Yes. But totally worth it for the pleasure of warming up again!

posted by Elsa 03 March | 14:27

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