Cold hands and feet with diarrhoea

Repeated loose stools remove water and salts from the body. As dehydration develops, you may feel thirsty, tired, light-headed, or dry-mouthed, and your hands and feet may feel cool. This combination does not identify a single diagnosis.

If the coldness started before the diarrhoea, continues after your bowel symptoms settle, or comes with longstanding fatigue, consider other explanations such as [Anaemia](/conditions/anaemia/), [Hypothyroidism](/conditions/hypothyroidism/), or [Peripheral Arterial Disease](/conditions/peripheral-arterial-disease/).

Take frequent small sips of water or an oral rehydration drink. Continue light foods if tolerated, and avoid alcohol. Track how often you pass urine and whether it becomes unusually dark. Wash hands carefully to reduce spread if an infection is possible. Do not use anti-diarrhoeal medicine if you have blood in the stool or a high fever without medical advice. Persistent fatigue may warrant assessment for [Iron Deficiency Anaemia](/conditions/iron-deficiency-anaemia/).

Get urgent medical help for fainting, confusion, severe weakness, inability to keep fluids down, very little urine, blood or black stool, severe abdominal pain, or cold clammy skin. Contact a clinician if diarrhoea continues, follows recent antibiotics or travel, or affects a young child, older adult, or person with a long-term condition.

Ask what rehydration fluid is suitable, whether stool testing or blood tests are needed, which medicines to pause, and which changes in urine or alertness should trigger urgent care.