Patient's question:
The male baby is nine months old, and his hands are often cold, sometimes even icy. He's dressed warmly, and the house isn't cold, but I don't know what's going on. At night, he always likes to keep his hands outside (he wears two layers of clothes to sleep, one of which is a thin warm garment). Even in the middle of the night, his hands are always ice-cold when I touch them. I've heard that cold hands in babies don't necessarily mean they're dressed too little; it just means they're uncomfortable.Is that true? But we're already dressed him warmly. At night, he'll take his hands outside in less than an hour. The sleeping bag makes it hard for him to roll over, so we only cover him with a blanket and a comforter. When I check on him in the middle of the night, he doesn't seem too hot either.
Doctor's answer:
Sometimes it's just because they wear too much. When the baby's palms sweat and dry out in the wind, their hands become cold. If the back of the baby's ears feel warm and there's no sweat, that's fine. Many parents worry about their children catching a cold, so they dress them in many layers and bundle them up tightly when they go out. In reality, this can have the opposite effect. Children are very active and have a fast metabolism. Wearing too much can cause them to sweat easily during activities, often wetting their inner clothes. If they aren't changed promptly, they can easily catch a cold when exposed to cool breezes or cold air.