Chilblains/Raynauds...and painful!

Kitty777

I have suffered from Raynauds condition for many years now, but usually once the imediette symptoms are dealt with I am fine.

However, this year I have suddenly got Chilblains all over my toes (a place my raynauds hits the hardest). I haven't been to a doctor, but I have been looking online and it mentions that there isn't really anything you can do, to help it..

They are incredibly painful and can get very very itchy. They are either on the side of my toes, underneath and get worse as the day goes on. I get to 7/8pm and I can hardly walk...I also have purple/blue spots on a few of my toes which I guess is connected.


Does anyone have any advice on how I can help them? I have read how to prevent them, but also noticed that they last for weeks so I am defiantly paying the price for being desperate to get warm/warm up quickly.

Does anyone have any experience on how to speed up the recovery/stop them from being so damn painful?

Thanks!

theoretica

My mum gets these, she finds chilblain ointment from the chemist helps - not miraculously, but enough to be worth using. Also decently thick soles or insoles and ankle (and wrist) warmers as the blood is close to the skin there and usually not covered in much clothing.

Crabapple

I second getting some cream - the itching is very annoying to say the least and the creams minimise that.

For the future you probably have already seen that trying to keep your feet at a regular temperature with no sudden changes really helps with prevention. I realise that's really hard because when I go outside in this weather it's not long before I can't feel my feet (also raynauds) but I keep thick socks on all the time and let them warm up naturally once I'm inside.

ripplyuk

Have you spoken to your G.P. about it Kitty? I get the same problem, feet in agony with chilblains, itching all night and burning. My doctor gave me a drug called nifedipine. Cured it within days. (Not medical advice, just my personal experience).

I'd tried pretty much every cream I could find for chilblains and none of them were of much use.

Hope you get it sorted out xx

Ivana_Tinkle

I've found Sudocrem - the stuff usually used for nappy rash - is the only thing that soothes my chilblains. I tried it in desperation but chilblains are actually listed on the label as one of the conditions it's good for, so it's not as random as it sounds. For the first time, this year I developed chilblains but they actually healed after a couple of weeks - usually once they develop they're there until the weather gets warmer again. I've never found the chilblain creams to help at all, and when I googled the active ingredients apparently there's no evidence at all that they do work.

As you've obviously realised, prevention is far, far better than cure. I recommend thermal socks/gloves and really warm sheepskin slippers - even those booties grannies wear! And don't ever let your hands or feet touch cold water.