Warning Signs of Poor Blood Circulation in The Body

9. Blood circulation: Cyanosis or skin discoloring

On the off chance that your skin or lips turn blue, it unmistakably shows low blood oxygen levels due to poor blood circulation. This issue is otherwise called cyanosis or skin discoloring.

When your blood circulation is normal, your skin will look its natural shade and organs will look either pink or red. However, whenever your blood circulation levels drop, your skin and organs will turn a greyish color. Some part of your body will turn blue instead, similar to a bruising color. These parts are fingers, toes, nails, eyes, gums, and lips.

Blue skin is also an early sign of heart disease in babies. It is very important that if you ever get or see someone getting blue or extremely discolored skin, you call a doctor or emergency services. Cyanosis can be the indication of something going extremely wrong with your heart and blood circulation so it needs to be treated as soon as possible.

Family history, current medications, and a list of all the symptoms that you have felt is what the doctor needs to diagnose you and treat you correctly. Make sure to take them with you when you attend your next appointment or the emergency room at your nearest hospital. Congenital heart diseases are a major factor in skin discoloring so it is very important to have the above with you when seeing a doctor. Take a friend or relative with you in case you need to be administered medication that may make you dizzy or hospitalized for the time being. Don’t worry, this can be treated, but it is important to catch it on time. Do not wait for the next time it happens, go as soon as occurs the first time. Better safe than sorry, even more when talking blood circulation!

10. Blood circulation: Heaviness in the chest

Our heart is the main and most important organ in your body. Its function is to pump blood around, thus being the manager of blood circulation as we know it. But in order to pump blood correctly, it also needs to receive blood correctly. If your arteries are not bringing enough blood back to your heart, it will cause heaviness and tightness.

The pain will not be constant, it will come and go. This pain is usually known as andina pectoris or angina. However, pain and heaviness in your chest can also be a symptom of atherosclerosis in your arteries. In addition, this same pain can also represent heartburn, muscle spasms, acidity, stomach ulcers, indigestion, or upper respiratory infections.

Because of its nature, it is important that chest pain is treated as soon as possible. Either one of the reasons above can lead to serious heart damage as well as many other organs. Please make sure to check with your physician as soon as possible.

11. Reduced cognitive function

When you think of blood, you do not always think of the brain. The first thing that generally comes to mind is the heart along with its accompanying veins and arteries. This is correct, and technically blood does not go into the brain. There is even something called the Blood-Brain Barrier which is specifically designed to keep blood out of the brain.

While blood does not enter the brain, the brain does need the things that get carried by the blood. This includes oxygen and nutrients to name but a few. Therefore, the brain, like every other part of the body, requires sufficient blood flow if it is to operate correctly. When this blood flow has been decreased, then there will certainly be problems.

Many symptoms of poor circulation are a lot more intuitive than reduced cognitive function. But, if a person has problems remembering things, or possibly they feel a bit mentally foggy, then they could be suffering from reduced or poor circulation. A diagnosis of this kind can only be made if the person displays other symptoms, but it is completely advisable to take it very seriously if the cognitive function is impaired.

A person cannot survive without their brain and if poor circulation is left untreated, the brain will not only suffer in the short term. If the brain is left without proper blood flow for too long, then the cells will start to die. Unlike other cells in your body, brain cells don’t regenerate properly. Once they have been damaged, the chances of them recovering are incredibly slim. Your mother may have told you that you only get one set of eyes, but you also get one brain.

12. Digestive irregularities

This is another system that one doesn’t usually associate with blood flow. When you think of your digestive system as a whole, you think of food and the waste matter that is created once this food has been broken down. But, consider for a second how this system works. It is a very active system that requires a reliable source of blood, and it needs this blood constantly. No part of the digestive system can be left without blood for any period.

If there is a case where circulation is reduced, then there will be disruptions to digestion. These disruptions can be of many different kinds as the digestive system is quite complex and is made up of many different parts. A noticeable digestive problem that could result from poor circulation is pain in the abdomen. The abdomen houses the digestive system, so clearly this is the area that would hurt if something goes amiss. This pain may be localized, or it could be a pain that spreads through the general area.

The other problem which could arise is related to the stool. You can tell a lot about the health of a person by looking at their stool. In the case of poor circulation, there is a multitude of things that could go wrong with one’s stool. A person could experience very uncomfortable bouts of diarrhea or they could even be very constipated.

The type of issue that one is having with their stool is almost irrelevant. The point is, if there has been a drastic change in a person’s bowel movements, then they could very well be suffering from poor circulation.

13. Systemic cramping and pain

There is not a single person on this planet who has not experienced muscle pain at some point or other. There is muscle pain that results from exercise. Then there is the pain that accompanies an injury. Most people also know what it is like to have stiff joints. Granted, this is generally more felt by the elderly, but on the whole, people are quite aware of the concept. The same can be said for cramping. People sleep in awkward positions and pull their backs out all the time. The one thing that all these types of aches and pains have in common is that the people suffering from them can generally pinpoint the root of the problem.

They know that they may have pushed their workout too far, or possibly they sat in an awkward position for too long. If, however, a person has muscle pain or joint cramping and they have no clue why they are feeling that way, then the problem could be poor circulation.

The concept is quite simple, muscles need blood to function. They need oxygen, and they need nutrients. If they do not get these things, then they will stop working properly. If this wasn’t bad enough, not only will the muscles stop working, they will also start to hurt. This pain will generally result from the stiffness and cramping that will arise when the muscles do not get enough blood.

There will also be pain that will be associated with the reheating of the hands and feet which have become cold due to inadequate blood flow. This pain will be more throbbing than stabbing, but it will be pain none the less.

14. Ulcers on the legs

This condition is not one that is very well known. People may know about ulcers when they think of their mouths as mouth ulcers are relatively common. But, it is possible to get ulcers elsewhere on one’s body. In particular, these ulcers can appear on one’s legs. First, let us have a look at what would happen to the blood in the legs if circulation was decreased.

When blood circulation has been impaired or reduced, what happens is that the blood starts pooling in the veins. This does not necessarily occur in the arteries as the blood here is pumping out the heart and isn’t as affected by gravity. But, the blood in the veins has to try and work against gravity to make its way back up to the heart.

When the circulatory system has been impaired then this blood pool, especially in the legs, then creates a hospitable environment for ulcers. It is more likely for these to develop on one’s legs, but it is possible for them to appear in other parts of the body. Another reason why a person with bad circulation is prone to ulcers is how bad circulation affects a person’s immune system.

If blood is not flowing correctly, then a person’s immune system is compromised. When this happens, then it will take longer for them to heal which is another thing that will contribute to the development of ulcers. This symptom of poor circulation is one of the more visible ones as an ulcer on the legs or feet of a person is incredibly hard to miss. There are also not many other conditions which will result in this kind of skin condition.

15. Inability to perform strenuous tasks

The secret to living a healthy and happy life is no real secret. There is no mystery here, and there is no real debate. There may be people out there who would want to argue the finer points, points like whether it is healthier to be vegetarian or whether humans need meat to survive. These points will be discussed until the end of the earth. But at the core of each argument is that to be healthy a person needs to do a few simple things.

They need to eat healthy food that is not overly processed, and that is not loaded with chemicals. Added to this diet is exercise. A person who is not exercising is a person who is certainly not healthy. Now, this is all well and good, but what about the people who physically cannot exercise.

Put aside fitness levels for a moment and think about what it must be like to not even be able to walk up a flight of stairs without getting severely out of breath. Or trying to lift something heavy and not be able to move it an inch. This is a very real reality for people with poor circulation. They may not even know that this is why they are unable to perform specific physical tasks. They might think that they are unfit and that they need to try harder.

The reason why people with bad circulation are less physically capable is that their muscles are not getting enough blood and are not at the correct speed. Their heart is also taking the strain as it is forced to pump harder to try to get the blood to where it needs to go.

16. Unexplained weight loss

These days everyone is obsessed with their weight. People go to the gyms on mass. They spend thousands on diet products and are always on the lookout for the next best thing that will make them thin without having to put in too much effort. This is the society we live in. The thinner, the better. It is for this reason, that if a person suddenly loses weight, they would not blink an eye.

They would more likely be thanking their lucky stars rather than sitting back and trying to figure out what is happening. But, and there is no argument here if a person loses weight and they can find no explanation for it they should not just brush it under the rug. This person needs to take a moment to try and figure out what has changed in their lifestyle. Are they more stressed than usual or possibly they have changed their diet? Maybe they have started a new medication?

If they can find absolutely no reason for this weight loss and they have a few of the other symptoms on this list, then the culprit could be poor blood circulation. Poor circulation does not necessarily affect one’s weight directly, and it is more of a secondary consequence. When a person’s blood is not getting appropriately circulated, they are more inclined to have a decreased appetite, after an extended enough period, which will lead to weight loss. There is also the case of malabsorption. If the digestive system is not getting the correct blood flow, then it does not operate properly. Food is not broken down and absorbed correctly, also leading to weight loss over time.

17. High blood pressure

Blood pressure is a bit of an odd physiological value. It is not one that is widely understood by those who do not work in the medical field. People know about their heart. They know that it beats and on the whole, they can find their pulse if they need to. Barring this, they can feel their heartbeat if they are paying enough attention. But heart rate is only one part of the equation. There is the speed at which the heart pumps blood around the body, and then there is the actual pressure that is created when the heart pumps this blood.

It is almost counter-intuitive, but when the body is experiencing poor circulation, a person will have increased blood pressure. This is because the heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. If blood is pooling in one’s limbs and muscles then when the heart tries to beat as normal, it is trying to fit more blood into a space that already has blood.

On the surface, a slight increase in blood pressure may not seem that dangerous. This is only somewhat true. The body is designed to handle periods of high blood pressure. The heart and blood vessels will not be immediately affected if blood pressure increases. There are times when it is normal to have elevated blood pressure. The problem here would involve the timeframe.

High blood pressure in the short term will not necessarily cause long-term damage. But, if this high blood pressure persists for too long, then the body will start taking the strain. This damage will not only be limited to the heart and blood vessels, but even organs like the kidneys will begin to falter if blood pressure remains high for too long.

18. A decrease in libido

Sex is very much a part of life. It is arguably one of the most critical aspects of the human experience. There are some who may even argue that it controls the world. If this is, in fact, the case, then it would be because sex is a huge motivator for many people. This number is not one that can be tested, but it is safe to say that a lot of us, maybe even all of us, make a lot of our decisions with sex in mind. Considering how important sex is in our lives, it is odd that we are so reluctant to talk about it.

While we may have made quite a bit of progress in this arena over the last couple of years, we are not almost nearly where we need to be. We need to be able to talk about sex not only for our mental health but our physical health as well. The reason for this is because sex is important as it is quite a reliable indicator of one’s overall health.

When using this as a health indicator, doctors will look at not only the reproductive organs themselves but also at a person’s libido. Libido is made up of a couple of components. There are quite a few hormones involved which are made in the brain and the organs themselves, and then there are the organs which contribute in their way to one’s libido. When it comes to poor circulation, if these organs do not get the correct supply of blood then they will not work in the way that they should.

This applies to both men and women and will manifest itself in a decreased libido. There will also be other dysfunctions in this area including irregular menstrual cycles for women and decreased fertility and functionality in men.

19. Dark rings underneath your eyes

Sleep is incredibly important. A person can go longer without food than they can without sleep. When a person sleeps, their body recharges, and it heals. If a person does not get enough sleep, the effects are incredibly visible. Symptoms of sleep deprivation range from mood disturbances to a decreased immune system. There is also the appearance of little bags and dark rings underneath the eyes.

While these bags and rings may not be attractive, they are temporary. But, if you have dark rings underneath your eyes that won’t go away even though you are getting the correct amount of sleep. Then there may be other factors that should be considered. One of these is bad circulation. There are certain items on this list that are more secondary consequences of poor circulation as opposed to a direct result.

When it comes to dark rings underneath the eyes, these appear because blood is not moving the way it should. Instead, it is pooling in that area and not being circulated by the natural mechanisms in place. As mentioned, there are other causes for these dark rings other than poor circulation. But, there is a very easy way to check whether circulation is the culprit.

The way to do this is to press down on the rings while looking in the mirror. If the rings subtly clear up for a few seconds and then darken up again, then the problem is poor circulation. This little at-home test should tell you whether you are having circulation issues, but it will not tell you the extent of the problem. A doctor can only do this after further testing.

20. Brittle nails

When one thinks of their health, they do not generally look to their nails as indicators. Many people do not even look after their nails, so they wouldn’t even actually know if something is wrong with them. Sure, smokers may look at the discoloration and think that maybe their health is taking a beating, but this isn’t even an internal consequence and is only due to the nicotine in cigarettes.

While nails may not be the gold standard when it comes to testing one’s health, they can be good indicators if you know what to look for. The first thing that needs to be considered is the quality of the nail. Are they strong or are they brittle? Do they chip and break very easily or are they thick and hard to cut? If the nails are brittle, then there could be a circulation problem that exists. The reason for this is that nails, like every other part of the body, need nutrients to grow.

If circulation is weak, then these areas will not be getting enough nutrients and they will, therefore, be weak and will not grow properly. Another way that nails can indicate the quality of circulation is by looking at the nail beds themselves. If you press down on them until they turn white and then release, look at how long it takes for them to go pink again. If this seems like it is taking too long, then there could be a prevailing circulatory problem.

When it comes to poor circulation, there are many symptoms which can be sought out simply because bad circulation will affect the entire body. By looking at one’s nails, you will not be able to make a full diagnosis, but it will give you a pretty good idea of the state of one’s blood circulation.

How to Improve Blood Circulation

• Add physical exercise to your daily routine.

• Stress can be one of the affecting causes of poor blood circulation. Practice meditation, mindfulness, and yoga to control your stress levels.

• Massage your body using warm olive oil and some drops of rosemary essential oil. Use it on your extremities such as hands, fingers, feet, and toes. As well as legs and arms.

• Try contrast hydrotherapy (jumping from hot to icy water and viceversa) to improve your blood circulation.

• Posture is a leading factor to blood circulation, either good or bad. Talk to a professional to make sure that you sit, walk, and stand properly.

• Caffeine is also not good for blood circulation as it causes anxiety. Change it for green tea or herbal teas in general.

• Alcohol intake must be reduced to a minimum.

• Smoking is bad either actively or passively, so we advise to quit smoking and to stay away from secondhand smoke.

• Add nuts, black pepper, cayenne pepper, seeds, onion, garlic, and ginger to your diet to boost your metabolism and blood circulation.

• Proper shoes are key to keep your legs and feet healthy and to help with blood circulation.