Anyone with F.A. got bruised-looking sore toes? Is it chilblains? Or what?

[grumpygranny]

[wildone]

Er... I'm not sure whether to say yes or no to this. I get purple/blue (sometimes even verging on black) toes quite a lot in the winter. If I touch them they feel freezing but I don't feel it myself (in my head). Most of the time I only notice my feet are cold if they are purple, or if they really start hurting. Once they're warm, they go back to a normal colour. And I've noticed that the rest of me can be quite warm while my feet are freezing.

[bakethat]

Hi, Both my sons have FA, they use their wheelchairs full time and both suffer from cold feet. My eldest sons toes are cold and purple nearly all the time and he gets bruises from accidently banging and knocking his feet. His toenails are damaged and do not always grow very well now. My younger son also has very cold feet that get very painful, and last winter he did get chilblains for a while. They both wear thicker thermal socks now which do help a little, I don't think there's much else you can do.

[grumpygranny]

Thankyou WILDONE AND BAKETHAT FOR YOUR VERY HELPFUL RESPONSES - I APPRECIATE THAT. I WILL TRY TO PERSUADE MY 15 YR OLD TO WEAR UNGLAMOUROUS THERMAL SOCKS!!!

[medea]

I've got F.A.and my toes look awful as you describe and are extremely sensitive. I always thought it was something to do with nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy) but i may be wrong.

[grumpygranny]

Yeah - it's hard to know isn't it? Anyone asked their GP (waste of time?) or at an Ataxia centre?

[HarryB Administrator]

Hi Ann

Discoloration and cold feet in people with FA is caused by poor circulation which is a reflection of reduced muscle activity. Attempts to keep the feet warm are often only partially successful. Despite that a range of suggestions have been made for this. The following link is to a previous discussion-

ataxia-uk.healthunlocked.co...

I hope this helps.

Best Wishes

Harriet

[grumpygranny in reply to HarryB]

Thank you Harriet for that. Will go to link, Helpful just to know it is a known thing.

Ann.