My mum always felt the cold. She wore a vest even in the hottest weather. Her hands were always cold.
Somehow she survived a childhood of unheated bedrooms and her teens in WREN quarters consisting of a large brick hut with concrete floor, Crittal windows and a single coke stove for heating.
Ever resourceful, she cut the gusset out of a pair of navy issue woollen bloomers and wore it under her uniform as a thermal vest.
Strangely, when she went on Warfarin 4 years ago her body temperature rose, her hands became warm, and she wears clothes that are normal for a sedentary person in their 90's. No longer does she require a knee rug and constant supply of hot water bottles. Her GPs say there is no link to Warfarin, but I speak as I find. Something has reset her thermostat. If only I knew what it was then I could offer useful advice.
What I really don't understand is how some PWD can be wrapped up in a stifling airless room and fail to overheat. You would think that, even if the person doesn't feel hot, their body would get hot anyway and they would get flushed and sweaty. However, I suppose that if their temperature regulation mechanism doesn't work then perhaps those automatic cooling reactions don't work either. I wonder though if they actually do overheat, as measured with a thermometer? If so, then it could be dangerous. If not, then it's just uncomfortable for their cohabitees.
Somehow she survived a childhood of unheated bedrooms and her teens in WREN quarters consisting of a large brick hut with concrete floor, Crittal windows and a single coke stove for heating.
Ever resourceful, she cut the gusset out of a pair of navy issue woollen bloomers and wore it under her uniform as a thermal vest. Strangely, when she went on Warfarin 4 years ago her body temperature rose, her hands became warm, and she wears clothes that are normal for a sedentary person in their 90's. No longer does she require a knee rug and constant supply of hot water bottles. Her GPs say there is no link to Warfarin, but I speak as I find. Something has reset her thermostat. If only I knew what it was then I could offer useful advice.
What I really don't understand is how some PWD can be wrapped up in a stifling airless room and fail to overheat.
You would think that, even if the person doesn't feel hot, their body would get hot anyway and they would get flushed and sweaty. However, I suppose that if their temperature regulation mechanism doesn't work then perhaps those automatic cooling reactions don't work either. I wonder though if they actually do overheat, as measured with a thermometer? If so, then it could be dangerous. If not, then it's just uncomfortable for their cohabitees.
Last edited:
