A management plan may include recommendations on the use of topical creams or dressings to prevent secondary infection, advice on winter socks and footwear, prescription of foot exercises and how to avoid instigating temperature changes. How Can a Podiatrist Help?Ī podiatrist will assess your feet and check your circulation with a handheld doppler ultrasound machine.

If you have limited mobility sitting in a chair performing foot exercises or massage will also warm the feet and improve blood flow. Increasing blood flow to the feet with exercise will help to prevent chilblains. Injinji make a great merino wool seamless toe sock.Īvoid ill-fitting or tight footwear, if a chilblain is forming the skin will have poor integrity and abnormal pressure from footwear (or sock seams) can lead to blisters or breaks in the skin creating an entry-point for possible infection. Another favourite for keeping the toes warm during winter are toe socks (which have come a long way since the 70’s) having each toe individually wrapped provides added warmth. For example, merino wool is a fine fiber making it itch-free, insulating and absorbent. If trying to keep your feet warm be selective about what your socks are made of. Things to avoid are putting your feet right in front of a heater or a hot water bottle directly on the feet. On that note, you also want to avoid direct heat as this can cause an extreme temperature change. A common scenario for mistake is going from a warm bed onto cold bathroom tiles barefoot. But again the evidence that such drugs work is poor.Keep your feet warm and avoid extreme temperature changes when possible. If you have severe chilblains a doctor may suggest that you try a medicine such as nifedipine, which dilates blood vessels. Over-the-counter remedies containing menthol, camphor or capsicum that produce local skin warming by dilating small blood vessels do not help. However, there isn't much evidence that anything heals chilblains any faster than nature.

If you have them repeatedly out of chilblain season you should be checked for underlying connective tissue disorders. If you have diabetes and get chilblains you should also see your doctor as they are more likely to get infected. If you think that you have this condition you should see your doctor.

During these colour changes they may be very painful. The fingers and toes can look deathly white then blue and red. Chilblains can be due to conditions such as Raynaud's syndrome, which causes the circulation to the fingers and toes to be interrupted, often by the cold. If your chilblain seems infected (warm, red and sore), then you should get it looked at. Most people never see the doctor for chilblains, as they tend to go on their own if you don't scratch or apply direct heat to them. If these preventative measures don't work and your chilblains are painful, purple and itchy beyond belief, should you go to your doctor or treat them yourself? The solution Don't rest your feet on a hot water bottle in bed but wear socks instead.

When outside keep your limbs and face warm with thermals, layers of loose clothing and a hat. To prevent them you should warm your skin gently after being out in the cold: don't wrap yourself around the radiator when you get home. When the skin warms up again they become leaky and fluid gets into the surrounding tissue, causing inflammation. The tiny blood vessels under the skin narrow in low temperatures. However, a well-behaved one should go on its own within three weeks.Ĭhilblains are caused by poor circulation in response to the cold. They can cause swelling, may form ulcers and sometimes get infected. An article in the British Medical Journal last year suggested that women are more affected than men. One in 10 people suffer from them when these parts of the body are suddenly warmed up after being exposed to the cold (winter is peak season for chilblains). Chilblains are painful, burning or itchy red and blue patches that appear on extremities such as the fingers, feet, ears or nose.

Do chilblains itch