Sensitivity to cold increases when sick

[SlavaOn]

I have always became intolerable to cold when I was getting sick. Besides feeling down, sore throat, headaches and running nose I always associated the increased sensitivity to cold as a sign of being sick. Even eating an ice-cream would send my body into muscle spasms and cramps. I will have to put any worm clothes I could grab, roll into a blanket and try to relax and get warm.

Over the last several years I took hundreds of cold showers and I thought that I built a tolerance to cold. Nope, my current bout of flu let me know that I am still sensitive to cold...

What mechanism is involved? Could it be a "good"/benefitial reaction that is protecting our bodies from the effects of a virus?

SlavaOn

 

[Solie123]

Well, usually a strong immune response leads to a change it the body's normal metabolism and homeostatic balance. Think of it like a thermostat; your body usually sets an ideal temperature (i.e 36.6c), but when your sick, your body raises it's hypothalamic heat set point (via Cytokine release) to say 39c. You feel the difference because it takes your body a lot more energy to stay within the 'ideal' temperature, as well as according to your brain, anything below 39c means our hypothermic, and you feel cold.