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Leg Is Hot Inside But Cold Outside. Underlying Cause?

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Posted on Tue, 18 Jun 2013
Question: my leg is hot inside but cold outside
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (1 hour later)
Hi,

Thank you for your query.

First, If this happened suddenly and you experience any of these signs you should go to hospital immediately: one leg is colder than another, leg is painful, you have difficulties with toes moving, you have loss of sensation or tingling sensation in legs.

These are signs of acute vessel emboli or thrombosis and should be treated as soon as possible. But this is rare and usually found in people with atrial fibrillation or unregulated diabetes.

If you don't have these symptoms and this wasn't onset then you don't have to be concerned and this can be just sign of reduced blood flow which is usually caused by neural and vasoconstrictive changes. These changes can be benign and temporary,but in many cases this is sign of atherosclerosis or diabetic angiopathy.

So I suggest to check your basic blood tests including blood sugar, d-dimers and prothrombine time. Also, get Doppler ultrasound of both legs to check artery and venous blood flow.

Till that, avoid cold environment, warm up your legs by warm water and rest.
If you notice those signs I have mentioned, go to hospital.

Wish you good health. If you have any questions I ll be glad to help.
Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich

General Surgeon

Practicing since :2008

Answered : 13888 Questions

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Leg Is Hot Inside But Cold Outside. Underlying Cause?

Hi,

Thank you for your query.

First, If this happened suddenly and you experience any of these signs you should go to hospital immediately: one leg is colder than another, leg is painful, you have difficulties with toes moving, you have loss of sensation or tingling sensation in legs.

These are signs of acute vessel emboli or thrombosis and should be treated as soon as possible. But this is rare and usually found in people with atrial fibrillation or unregulated diabetes.

If you don't have these symptoms and this wasn't onset then you don't have to be concerned and this can be just sign of reduced blood flow which is usually caused by neural and vasoconstrictive changes. These changes can be benign and temporary,but in many cases this is sign of atherosclerosis or diabetic angiopathy.

So I suggest to check your basic blood tests including blood sugar, d-dimers and prothrombine time. Also, get Doppler ultrasound of both legs to check artery and venous blood flow.

Till that, avoid cold environment, warm up your legs by warm water and rest.
If you notice those signs I have mentioned, go to hospital.

Wish you good health. If you have any questions I ll be glad to help.
Regards