Why is your nose freezing cold all year long?
When it’s winter, we usually accept the fact that our hands, feet and face might get cold. Even when we’re inside. And if we want to, we can wear some extra socks, a scarf or put on some gloves to warm up our cold body parts. But why does our nose get cold even in the middle of summer?
The most common reason for your nose to get cold, is because you actually are cold. But if you feel perfectly warm then one of the following causes could be responsible for your cold snout.
Thyroid
We don’t want to immediately scare you, but a cold nose could be an indication of a thyroid problem. When your thyroid doesn’t work as it should, your body has the tendency to assume it is cold. Even when you don’t feel cold at all. Because your body is going to work hard to warm you back up, it will slow down other functions like your metabolism. This saves energy and heat, but it also causes your nose to get cold. If you feel like your symptoms might match a thyroid disfunction, then you might want to check with a medical professional. Just to be sure!
Brain
Your brain needs blood to function. And because you only have a limited amount of blood in your body, your brain will use the blood of other body parts to work. Especially when you have to think about something really, really hard. If you use more of your brain capacity, your brain will need more blood to function. And it might get this blood from your nose, causing your nose to then get cold.
In an experiment by researchers of the University in Nottingham, it was found that people who are stressed or who work really hard on a certain task, get a cold nose. How did the researchers know that their research subjects got cold noses? They used a camera that detects heat; a thermal camera.
So the next time your nose feels cold, it might just mean that you’re putting your brain to work!
Also read: This is what you can do to prevent chilblains this winter
Source: Margriet, Livestrong | Image: Unsplash, Vadim Fomenok