Anyone else driven crazy by Chilblains: I seem to... - PMRGCAuk

PMRGCAuk

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Anyone else driven crazy by Chilblains

softekcom profile image
40 Replies

I seem to get these every winter. All my toes. Each one. They drive me nuts. Along with the heel pain, joint and muscle pain... Socks, keeping the heating on, staying in (as much as possible), nothing seems to work. (I haven't seen a Rheumy since Feb this year.)

The chilblains along with some of the other bits (repeated mouth ulcers, and the old neck pain) make me wonder if this could be something else coming to join the party...

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softekcom profile image
softekcom
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40 Replies
PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador

The primary cause of chilblains is poor circulation so it probably does need looking at by a doctor.

Have you tried wearing a bodywarmer to keep your core temperature up? I know it sounds strange - but that is equally as important as keeping your feet warm I also found I had less of a problem with cold feet wearing thick socks and Birkenstock-type sandals than closed shoes which constricted my toes.

piglette profile image
piglette in reply to PMRpro

Do you remember liberty bodices? I remember they kept us all warm at school which was always freezing.

Bluey-1 profile image
Bluey-1 in reply to piglette

I certainly do. In the sixties we were well trussed up for the cold!

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to Bluey-1

Apart from skirts and knee socks ...

piglette profile image
piglette in reply to PMRpro

I remember playing hockey and my thighs turning into a sort of semi frozen mush.

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to piglette

I remember them - not sure if I had one though. During my first 11plus exam we got to stand up every 15mins to warm ourselves at the tortoise stove as the only available heating which I'm sure warmed the ceiling better than us! That was during that wondrous winter of 1962/63 ...

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to PMRpro

Ahh .. yes remember it well!

Bluey-1 profile image
Bluey-1 in reply to PMRpro

Bit younger than you, 11 plus 1966. That ´62/63 winter though. Do you remember making slides on the playground that stayed icy for days? At my grammar school it was horrible bottle green knickers and knee socks. Later thick woolly tights were allowed. I can remember my mother buying her first pair of tights, horrible American tan colour of a thick denier.

PMRpro profile image
PMRproAmbassador in reply to Bluey-1

We had a very small steeply sloping playground - school only had 30 pupils altogether and the loos were at the top of the slope so it was well gritted - or should I say "ashed"! I remember my first pair of tights - very like that!!!!! With a crutch that tended to be half way to my knees!!!

Pr0jection profile image
Pr0jection in reply to PMRpro

I had chilblains every year when I was at school. My maiden aunt in the Isle of Man, where I spent my summers, told me to dip my feet into my warm urine. It may have worked but you can imagine my response at that age!! Although I live in Cyprus now I still suffer from cold feet and wear warm socks in bed during the winter months, and have an electric blanket.

Poshdog profile image
Poshdog in reply to PMRpro

School! We had bottle green knickers with pocket for hanky and the maths teacher had chilblains on her nose! X

piglette profile image
piglette in reply to Poshdog

We had bottle green knickers and a pair of ‘linings’ underneath. I usually just wore the linings which were just normal pants. We did PE in the green knickers and we were always forgetting the big green pants, so we had to borrow them from someone not doing PE at that time! I remember rushing round trying to find someone.

Missus835 profile image
Missus835 in reply to PMRpro

Remember those well and the saggy crotch😂

Posey1 profile image
Posey1 in reply to piglette

Indeed! Especially the little rubber buttons on them. How cosy they were. 😊

prunus profile image
prunus in reply to piglette

I remember wearing them and having suspenders hanging from them. Gosh that is a long time ago.

Dochaz profile image
Dochaz

The last time I had chilblains was during my years at primary school (1962-1970) when we were in short skirts, knee socks and Clarke's leather shoes, warm on top with anoraks and frozen below the knees, walking to and from school in all weathers, ice and snow not excluded. Excruciating at night when the circulation began flowing again under the eiderdown!

I've never exprienced them since my school days. I used to dream of being able to bring warm slippers to school.

softekcom profile image
softekcom in reply to Dochaz

That would have been torture for a child. So sorry you had to suffer that.

Toolie2 profile image
Toolie2

Going back even further, and back to chilblains, I used to have them through school and after I went to college. My remedy was to wait until they were really hot and itchy and then stick both feet in cold, cold water. My reasoning was that, if getting your feet really cold and then toasting them when you got home produced chilblains, doing the reverse might cure them. And in my case, it did. I only remember doing this twice but it was a long time ago!

softekcom profile image
softekcom in reply to Toolie2

Good heavens! A bit drastic!

Toolie2 profile image
Toolie2 in reply to softekcom

It worked though! And it felt pleasant as the water took the heat out of the chilblains. Don't they do cold plunges after saunas? That sounds much worse to me!

softekcom profile image
softekcom in reply to Toolie2

It's weird. I've never had them before last year, before PMR. But I've always had cold hands and feet.

shella profile image
shella

I suffered as a child for years with hands and feet until my parents put in central heating…, it helped to never let my feet get cold for a minute … luckily grew out of them … I feel for you …I remember the itching and pain …. keep warm all the time.,,, good luck !

bussell profile image
bussell

Like others here, I used to suffer miserable winters as a child at boarding school. Hands and feet covered in itching, weeping chilblains, no central heating of course, freezing draughty dorms and classrooms. I still have poor circulation but I'm an old lady now, warmer and wiser! And I have central heating! Making sure my hands and feet never get really cold makes all the difference. Can only suggest bedsocks, wrist warmers, boots, sheepskin mittens (mittens much better than gloves). It has really helped.

Bridge31 profile image
Bridge31

Funnily enough I had my first one since my schooldays last week. I used to come in and toast my toes in front of the electric 3 bar heater and Dad used to march straight over and turn off 2 of the bars.🤣

Raewynne profile image
Raewynne

Chil blains have reared their head with me since being on prednisolone

Sandradsn profile image
Sandradsn

My husband has really bad chilblains ,he's tried everything. Podiatry say warming cream? thermal socks and never let feet get cold and then plunge into hot water!.

Rugger profile image
Rugger in reply to Sandradsn

Try 'Snowfire' ointment. We used it as children. I've just bought some online as our local Pharmacy and his wholesaler are completely out of it!

Sandradsn profile image
Sandradsn in reply to Rugger

Thank you Rugger,will try and get some😊

Bramble2000 profile image
Bramble2000

it’s so not funny but your comment did remind me of my Granny, who made it to the ripe old age of 99, telling me as a child not to sit on the stone step or I’d get chilblains in my bottom! Good job I had no idea what she was talking about! 😆

Louisepenygraig profile image
Louisepenygraig

I used to get really bad ones as a child. We lived in a draughty house where the only heating was a coal fire in the living room and school was a draughty school with inadequate heating. I had medication from the doctor for a while. I took it every morning and it made me feel so strange I used to sit on my dad's lap and have a cuddle until the feeling wore off. It didn't help the chilblains and I didn't take it for very long! It was drummed into me not to put my feet by the fire or on a hot water bottle. I stopped getting them once I started living in warm spaces with minimal draughts but I still couldn't bring myself to put my feet on a hot water bottle until quite recently!

Greenthought profile image
Greenthought

I had awful chilblains as a young teen (1963, freezing boarding school, liberty bodices and all!). Christmas holiday, my old Nana mixed up equal parts eucalyptus and camphorated oils (purchased in little bottles from Boots the Chemists) and told me to rub it on my feet night and morning. Bingo! Pain relief instant, and no chilblains ever since. Worth a try.

hazmatrec profile image
hazmatrec

hiya! i have raynauds, full on problems with the blood vessels in toes, fingers, (sorry) nipples, only once my nose spasming and obstructing blood flow due to a disregulated response to cold. then, when it is warm again, the disreg allows for a rush of warm back in, and the capillaries can't handle it, and the breakage causes chilblains. heh. I'm told. i know damp cold being em on. for me, about any change in temperature at all brings em on. the best sock I've found for maintaining an even temperature are the ones with teddy bear lining within. the brand I've been buying is WYTartist, because they seem to stand up to both washing and wearing. my feet don't sweat in them, even when they are feeling warm. there is space in the fleece for air to circulate, i think. right now, i cannot prevent the raynauds fully, but i haven't had any chilblains on my toes for three years. soooo good. it's been mostly trial and error, finding things that work. I've had things that worked for a while, then stopped. including the medicating i take to lessen the raynauds. I've nearly lost body bits due to chilblains. as it says on here, "never delay seeking advice...". if you are already dealing with lots of things that you are left to manage, make sure you get proper help with the new thing so you aren't just trying to adapt to something unadaptable.

Poshcards profile image
Poshcards

never had chilblains, so what should I look out for please x

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Poshcards

Have a look at this -

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

Or this-

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/chil...

Poshcards profile image
Poshcards in reply to DorsetLady

Thank you xx

NanJean profile image
NanJean

Since playing in a Spring snow with no gloves at 12, once the temperature goes below 50, I have to wear gloves. And playing in snow from then on was excruciatingly painful. Even in the Summer getting frozen food causes painful spasms in my hands. My feet were also affected, but not as much as my hands.

My nurse neighbor called them chilblains. It's like the stage prior to frost bite. But, no one else ever told me that's what it was.

Since I began smoking at 13, was it from smoking? (I stopped smoking at 26.) Was it the autoimmune disease, Raynaud's Disease?

Last year, I asked my Rheumatologist. He said chilblains causes redness and swelling. And that's what happens to me. My fingers swell and get red. So, the gloves come out in Fall and I always wear socks even to sleep unless it's very, very hot.

That day when I was 12, my hands were killing me. I went to my friends house and we warmed them up in HOT water. Apparently, not good. This article explains it somewhat.

iflscience.com/chilblains-v...

DorsetLady profile image
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to NanJean

Certainly sounds like Raynaud’s -

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

softekcom profile image
softekcom in reply to NanJean

I hear hot water is the worst. After exposure to the cold, feet/fingers need to be warmed up slowly.

Gosh, that must have ben awful.

2013mayo profile image
2013mayo

I get chilblains , horrible things, very painful and itchy, don’t know how to get I’d of them but I do try to keep my feet as warm as possible .

Whippetygirl profile image
Whippetygirl

Anti inflammatory gel is very effective when used on unbroken skin , we got them every year whilst at the farm with the horses in freezing conditions.

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