Abstract
In winter, many people have trouble with chilliness in their arms and legs. Many women are especially, sensitive to cold, and the chilliness of their hands and feet is difficult to ease even after entering a warm environment. They even feel pain owing to coldness of the limbs in daily life. This study will attempt to investigate the problem of chilliness of the limbs in females. The subjects were twenty female junior college students dressed in their own winter clothes, who were located in a cold, winter environment (12°C, 40% R. H.) just prior to the commencement of the experiment. They then changed to sportswear and entered a heated environment (25°C, 55% R. H.). The subjects sat on chairs with a minimum of physical movement and thermister sensors were attached to their left arms and left legs for measurement. After five minutes, the first measurement of skin temperature of the limbs commenced. Measurements were taken at 5-minute intervals over a period of 90 minutes. The skin temperature of the limbs was measured in two conditions: with bare feet and with socks on. The measurement clearly revealed the cold condition of the limbs, the reaction of limb temperature to heating, and the influence of socks on skin temperature.
The major results were as follows:
1. The subjects were grouped into three classes by rate of increase in thumb temperature in barefoot condition.
(a) Low skin-temperature group (L. G.): It was very low (22°C) at the beginning and rose to only about 25°C with difficulty at the end.
(b) Middle skin-temperature group (M. G.): It was relatively low at 22-26°C but rose suddenly above 30°C within thirty minutes from the initial measurement.
(c) High skin-temperature group (H. G.): It was measured to be over 30°C from beginning to end.
2. The skin temperature of toes in the L. G. was the same as that of fingers and did not rise above 25°C. With socks on, the skin temperature of the fingers rose more than that of the toes. The subjects in this group were well aware of the chilliness according to a questionnaire.
3. The skin temperature of fingers in the M. G. increased at a greater rate in both barefoot and socks-on conditions. But the skin temperature of toes increased at a very low rate in barefoot condition, and the skin temperatures of half of this group did not increase even with socks on.
4. The skin temperature of toes in the H. G. increased to above 30°C at the beginning; the same as that of fingers. Therefore, the influence of socks was very small.
5. The influence of socks was revealed to affect finger temperature more than toe temperature.
6. The reaction of skin temperature as observed in the L. G. is related to the chilliness called “hiesho” in the Japanese language.
