I am what is called a 'chilly mortal' , as are many of my family. When others are outside in T shirst , we still have extra sweaters on and I have got innured to being described as a 'wuss' or a 'wimp' because I am always well wrapped.
Well, yesterday was Liberation Day. We made a family visit to the Science Centre at Winchester, a science and discovery centre for children, and here a digression and advert, it is expensive but absolutely fantastic and DGS, nearly 13, loved it, despite finding bits a bit young for him.
Anyway among the features was a thermograph that measured the heat being given off by your body, like those multi-oloured pictures you get of houses to show heat loss. DS, DGS and I stood in front of it and while the hands of both of them showed orange to red, my hands came up navy blue to black showing them as being very cold, yet to me, feeling generally quite warm, my hands felt fine. They were warm(ish) to the touch, blood was flowing freely and they were a healthy pinkish colour and I felt no need for gloves. Yet they were showing up as blue/black.
What they would have looked like on a cold day and/or a day when my Raynauds Sindrome is waxing strong I hate to think.
I would add we had been in the warm Science Centre for an hour, and I was wearing my quilted coat, still fully zipped over a thick sweater while DS and DGS were in T shirts with light unzipped jackets over.
I am sure that if we had each stood in front off the thermograph in our underwear, my whole body would have shown up as much colder than their bodies overall. I do know that when my temperature is taken it is very much bumping on the low edge of normal.
So for all those who quail in their woolies under the onslaught of people in T shirts, take courage, you are not a wuss or wimp, your body is actually, just colder than other people's and that is why you need those extra layers.
