Why is my left leg cold: signs and causes of the disease, preventive actions and treatment
If your feet get cold in winter, this is a normal, common occurrence. However, if this problem occurs in warm weather or is permanent, then it is important to undergo a proper examination, this indicates the development of pathology. Sometimes this is explained by the individuality of the human body, but this is only in extreme cases. Diagnostics will help determine the exact cause of the disease, based on which the doctor will decide on the prescription and treatment.
Causes of pathology
Our feet and palms are endowed with muscle fibers that are specially designed to generate heat, but there is practically no fatty tissue on the feet. Therefore, the circulatory system is responsible for providing heat.
The first reason when the left leg freezes is a failure of blood circulation in the lower limb. Blood does not flow to the fingers and it seems that the whole leg is freezing.
In addition, the cause of this condition may be the development of certain diseases:
- Instability of blood pressure. If the pressure rises, the vessels spasm, the capillaries become clogged and do not allow blood to flow into the leg, a weak inflow causes frost and coldness of the foot.
However, not all of these diseases can necessarily cause the left leg to freeze; these are general rules.
Symptoms of the disease
In addition to the fact that the foot begins to freeze, additional symptoms may appear:
- swelling of the leg or both feet
- varicose veins
- constant fatigue in the legs, even with minor loads, the legs quickly tire, become heavy and sticky
- cramps in the feet and legs, this condition occurs even when resting
- numbness of the lower extremities, itching
- dark blue legs, sagging
If these signs occur, it is important to immediately seek advice from a specialist.
What methods will help fix the problem?
If the cause of the problem turns out to be some pathology, then self-treatment will not help. Treatment must be prescribed by the attending physician. Sometimes folk methods that can be performed at home are effective. Here are some recommendations:
- It is important to walk barefoot as often as possible, especially on surfaces with small pebbles or thorns (a massage mat will do). In summer, a walk in the dew would be ideal.
- Lead an active lifestyle, sit as little as possible: rollerblading, skiing, skating and cycling.
- A contrast shower improves blood circulation not only in the legs, but throughout the body. If you can’t shower every day, then you can do cool foot baths; at night, a bath with the addition of sea salt and pine needles is good.
- Every morning, massage your left leg, massaging each toe separately; you can use special massage tools.
Preventive actions
You can perform some preventive procedures to achieve good blood circulation in the vessels:
Compress on the left leg
- Alcohol compress. To prepare the tincture, you will need triple cologne or ethyl alcohol; vodka or homemade moonshine will also work. Next, you need to pour slightly warm water into a bowl and put your foot in it. The foot should be completely immersed in water. Hold your leg for five minutes. In parallel with this procedure, you should soak the sock in alcohol or vodka; the socks should be made of natural fabric and warm. After the specified time has passed, the leg is pulled out and immediately put on an alcohol sock, which must be thoroughly wrung out beforehand. It is important to wrap the top of the foot with a warm blanket or wear a woolen sock. The main goal is to keep the foot as warm as possible.
- Foot gymnastics. Special exercises can be performed not only in the morning, but throughout the day. The most common exercise is leg shaking. To perform this, you need to raise your legs up so that they create an angle of 90 degrees in relation to the body, after which you begin to shake your legs as much as possible, vibration of the blood vessels occurs. Exercise helps relieve swelling of the lower extremities and strengthens the muscles. Sometimes just shaking is enough to eliminate the problem of freezing your left foot for a long time.
So, if your left leg is cold, this may indicate the development of many pathologies, which only a specialist can determine. If it turns out that the problem is poor blood circulation, then you can apply the advice of traditional therapy and carry out a number of preventive exercises.