Did you know that if it's cold enough, your phone will freeze?

[conuly]

I did not know that! I sure know that now! Google says you need to warm it up before you can charge it. Blech.

I *did* know that if it gets sufficiently cold I will develop hives once I start to thaw*, but I had forgotten this, which is how I ended up in the bathroom of CVS rubbing benadryl cream all over my thighs. As soon as I'd done I glanced at the box to find out how long until they stopped itching like crazy, no answers but I was informed that I should refrain from putting benadryl over "large areas". Are my thighs a large area? How large does an area have to be and, more importantly, do I care right now?

I do not. I care that I'm no longer about to scratch myself bloody.

* I also get hives in the heat

Comments

[siliconshaman]

Batteries rely on wet chemistry, which tends to freeze solid once it gets cold enough and then the chemistry stops.

[moon_custafer]

Yeah, my tablet’s battery drains a lot faster in winter.

[dark_phoenix54]

If you cover, like, your whole legs, it can make you sleepy. Not knock you on the sofa for 6 hours sleepy (unless you have a weird sensitivity) but older people, who frequently get itchy legs, have reported sleepiness and the doctor or pharmacist figures it out. It's never bothered me, and in the past I used it all over my legs because of eczema. Of course, I was in my 30s then, but still.

[conuly]

Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Benadryl does make people sleepy. I thought that was limited to the oral medication, though now that I say it I'm not sure why I assumed that.

[flamingsword]

Do you maybe have some form of dysautonomia? Because weird body things in heat and cold is one of the signs.

[conuly]

If this is a weird autism thing, then yeah probs.

[conuly]

Although, the list of things that potentially make me have hives is so vast that it's hardly worth keeping a list at all.

[flamingsword]

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome is frequently a trigger for spells where different types of dysautonomia act up. It’s not specifically an autism thing, although there is a fairly high comorbidity rate with some stuff. Are you, or is anyone in your blood relatives, unusually flexible? Do you sometimes stand up and a few seconds later get a “head rush” where you get dizzy, lightheaded, or tunnel vision?

[conuly]

Oh, yeah, that.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure as a family we've got something going on with our connective tissue, though the specifics seem to vary dramatically from person to person.

I don't get the migraines as bad or as often as everybody else, but I also don't get party trick flexibility - swapped that out for wonky joints. It's not a great trade.

[lizziey]

And and and, MCAS tends to come along with her friends EDS and POTS.

I have that lovely trifecta. Some days I drink water in the morning and then need my epipen. Super fun. :)

[malinaldarose]

I actually read that as "face will freeze," which of course mothers have been telling their children for generations.

Ugh, hives. I went through a few years when I was in my thirties of having hives if I so much as looked at myself cross-eyed. (Which is why I now keep my finger nails very, very, very short.) You definitely have my sympathies on that score.

[hudebnik]

I've never called it "hives", but I think the phenomenon of coming in from the cold and having a widespread itch reaction, especially on the legs, is pretty common. It didn't happen to me just now after walking the dogs in single-digits-Fahrenheit weather, but it has in the past.

[sabotabby]

Ooof. I wonder if what I have is hives. I'm going to the dermatologist, after two years of suffering, on Tuesday.

[thewayne]

I accidentally left my iPhone in my car in Phoenix during the summer, years ago. My dad was in the hospital, I think it might have been when he had his one and only seizure, when he was diagnosed with his first (of three) cancers. It was more than a bit of a walk to get from where I parked and up to the room, so I left it. And when I got back to the car, it was inoperable until it cooled down, so I put it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

No damage ensued, that was a relief! Doesn't surprise me that they shut down in extreme cold also.

[oracne]

Yikes. I did not know that about phones.

[highlyeccentric]

My iPhones have always done this! One of the great shocks of moving to Switzerland. They shut down in Swiss winter, but also overheat and shut down in Australian summer. Other phones I have had have been more robust for one or the other, but not both, and not necessarily BETTER overall.

[cellio]

Batteries, yeah -- I've had that happen with other battery-powered items including a tablet in extreme cold. I carry my phone in a pants pocket and haven't had the problem (body heat for the win?), but that does rely on having pants with pockets which shouldn't be hard for women and yet (rant elided).