Frigophobia

Frigophobia is a culture-bound syndrome characterized by patients reporting primarily a morbid fear of their extremities becoming cold, leading to illness and even death. The term frigophobia is derived from the words cold (Latin, frigus) and fear (Greek, phobos). It was previously described in the literature only among Chinese populations, specifically in relation to traditional Chinese beliefs about yin and yang. An extensive survey of the literature yielded only six case reports and the belief that frigophobia is a rare condition even among the Chinese. Five of these patients were described in Chinese with an abstract in English.

In contrast to the aforementioned held views, a study performed by Dhara Perera, Sarath Panduwawela, and Mahendra H. Perera described cases of individuals who suffered from frigophobia. Panduwawela, ...