chill blains

[Swanfull]

Hi has anyone experienced chill blains? seem to be getting them every winter now. Very painful not sure if they are a symptom of RA. Any help would be appreciated?

[14bubbles]

Not sure I can help you but I can sympathise... yes I do very definitely get chillblains. I've not always had them, they only started a few years ago but now get them every winter, multiple times. Last couple of years I've had them on my toes as well as my fingers making wearing shoes really painful. Not sure if they are a symptom or linked to RA in any way, rheumy didn't seem very interested so 🤷 I do have Raynaud's too which is linked to chillblains. GP gave me some pills to take but I had to stop due to side effects, they also prescribed some cream to help when they flare up and some cream to help prevent them getting infected so may be worth speaking to GP if they are causing you a lot of grief. I hope you can get some help and relief as I know they are not pleasant!

[Swanfull in reply to 14bubbles]

thank you for quick reply. 🤗

[Monkeysmum]

Hi Swanfull. I struggle with chilblains as well, although I have Raynauds too which I had prior to RA arriving, but RA definitely seemed to worsen my Raynauds symptoms - unless it was a coincidence and it was just me getting older! Doctors not all that interested about it at first, but after I developed an ulcer on tip of my little toe several winters ago (a nightmare in shoes!) my Rheumy prescribed nifedipine. Worked well in terms of the Raynauds symptoms but made me feel dizzy and flushed so then switched to amlodopine which I have been on for the last few winters. I just take them from mid Oct to about April normally, judge it by when the weather is starting to warm up. Other tips I have learned are that two pairs of thin socks is more insulating than one pair of thick socks, and for the worst flare ups a little bit of hydrocortisone cream for a few days really takes the sting out of them.

[14bubbles in reply to Monkeysmum]

Nifedipinw is what I was prescribed...I also got dizzy and light headed on them so had to stop taking them, Dr didn't suggest an alternative though...unfortunately I didn't manage to take them for long enough to decide if they made a difference to the chillblains

[Monkeysmum in reply to 14bubbles]

I believe Amlodopine is actually a blood pressure medicine, I am on the lowest dose of 5mg and it definitely seems to be helping and no side effects that I’ve noticed. Rheumy said if this one didn’t work next on the list of things to try would be Slidenafil (Viagra!)

[patsymay13]

Hi Swanfull, the past couple of winters I suffered with chill blains on my toes , I found sudacrem helped loads , and also try to keep your feet warm , the worst thing to do is warm cold feet in front of the fire or getting into a hot bath , I now wear pure wool socks to try keep my feet nice and warm , try not to itch them as that is when you can cause infection , cheers

Jayne….

[Emye343]

hi Swanfull,

I have just developed them this winter too, along with Raynauds, both on my fingers and my toes. My gp said it often goes along with RA, but didn’t prescribe anything to ease them! My rheumatologist suggested investing in a pair of silk skier’s gloves as they are very fine but provide an insulating layer which you can wear under other gloves. I got a pair on Amazon and they do help to some extent.

I do empathise : chillblains are horrid. Roll on the Spring!

[Joanneforbes]

funny enough (not funny 😁) but last week

My big toes and another had chilblains on out the blue bright red blistered blue very painful! I also have Raynards

Just so happens I was due to see my RA Consultant she immediately put me on Nifidapine ! And I have to say within a couple of days it has taken the pain away and they are definitely are not so angry looking. !

Hope you find something that works for you x

[OldTed60]

Raynaud’s is main cause of chilblains and comes under heading of rheumatology - can be either primary or secondary - or start as primary and then become secondary if we develop a rheumatic autoimmune disease.

Apparently if mostly in toes then it’s more likely to related to peripheral vascular disease so worth getting doppler done to check your arteries to your peripheries too.

The resulting chilblains, if it’s secondary, are then more likely to lead to infections and ulcerations.

My Raynaud’s only developed visibly in my hands after RA and Erythromelalgia had begun. It turned out that I didn’t have RA - I had systemic scleroderma with Sjögren’s and neuropathy. But less commonly Raynaud’s can be secondary to RA as well as Lupus, Vasculitis & Sjogren’s - although it’s considered a hallmark of scleroderma and tends to be more severe. I get 3 days of 7 hour infusions for mine every 3 months.

Rheumatologists who focus only on RA can be a bit remedial about secondary Raynaud’s so I found- but fortunately my GP was on the ball.

[cathie]

I thought chilblains we’re connected to poor circulation. Had them as a child when we didn’t have central heating

[Bookworm55 in reply to cathie]

Same here!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to cathie]

That’s what I thought too. I had them as a child. We had no central heating back then and winters were cold and damp. I would say I’ve grown out of them because I don’t get them now but I think it’s more that I don’t get cold and generally have better quality footwear and winter clothes so I don’t let myself get as cold. I discovered M&S thermal socks this year and believe it or not they are absolutely amazing. My feet haven’t been cold since I started wearing them. They are weird when you wash them - I find them difficult to dry - they come out of the tumble drier still damp and I have to hang them in the airing cupboard. Very odd.

Raynauds is a completely different ball game though. I worked with someone who got medical discharge from work because she was so badly affected by Raynauds.

[Dodo1943 in reply to cathie]

Similar!

Didn’t-know-until-access-to-records-that-mother-suspected-rheumatism-in-the-1950’s!

[pusillanimous in reply to cathie]

Yes I had them as a child from paddling through icy puddled and letting freezing water go over my wellies!

[Swanfull]

thank you for all the comments there appreciated 🙂

.

[cyberbarn]

I got really bad chilblains at age 22 when I moved from Canada to the UK (in the mid 1980s). We had proper central heating in Canada and I had never heard of them!

I struggled for years with them until I found one of those old Home Doctor books in a charity shop. No date, but seemed to be from the very beginning of the NHS, or possible just before.

Unlike modern books which only have a paragraph on chilblains this had a whole page! Finally, i could not only fully understand why they were happening, but also what o do about them. Prevention is better than cure and their recommendation was to wear woollen socks and boots all year round. Once I started wearing lined winter boots all year unless the temperature outside was above 20C, I stopped having them. I just never let my feet get cold.

Much later in life I found out that people with connective tissue disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos often get them. It is because their blood vessels are sort of stretchy and have a fragility to them that allows the components of the blood to leak out into the surrounding tissue when blood is pumped to the extremities to try to warm them.

Hence one of the most painful episodes I ever had was when I was converting a barn and living in a freezing mobile home. So feet got cold over night and in the morning walking in my work boots on cold floors, then I went out doing hard physical work after walking the dogs, and ended up with the most painful chilblains ever from the blood circulation getting going. It was a couple of years after that that I found the old book that changed my life!

[Leics]

Hi yeah my feet are full of them this year too. It’s the first time since I was a child. My sister also has them and she doesn’t have RA. I know they’re painful and drive me to distraction too but I don’t think they are to do with autoimmune disorders. It just seems to be this year. As long as you don’t warm your feet too quickly and keep them dry they should go away. I’ve heard that witch hazel can help but haven’t used it myself. I don’t know why they’ve suddenly appeared this year but try to keep my feet warm without getting them too hot because if your feet sweat it makes them 10 times worse. Definitely something to watch if you have diabetes though which luckily I don’t.

[Swanfull]

thank you.

[tazman3]

Hello, I too have RA/ Raynauds and ALWAYS have cold feet. The only time my feet look normal is when I get up. Sometimes my toes are dark blue, almost dead looking. Poor circulation runs in my mother's family (mostly females) and winter means blue toes and white painful fingers. I've had Raynauds/Chilblains most of my adult life and find fingers in warm water wiggled around is the best treatment.

For poor circulation, I find ankle warmers around the house as well as good socks and slippers are helpful for cold feet. But, toeblains as I call them are really soothed by hemorrhoid cream! I think it's the antiseptic and mild anaesthetic in it. Hope that helps.

[Swanfull in reply to tazman3]

thank you for your help is the hemorroid cream the same as Sudafed cream I have one on the toe painful, the skin is broken?

[tazman3 in reply to Swanfull]

I have used Sudacrem on my toes and it does help, but personally I find Germoloids ointment better. I'm not a doctor but the ointment is designed to deal with possible broken skin, just in a different place! It's worth a try and it certainly won't make the problem worse. I've read of certain celebrities using the ointment around the eyes to tighten the skin! Don't do that 😜

[Swanfull in reply to tazman3]

😂 enough problems without that!! Thanks for help will give it a go 😊