Chilblains

holeymoley

holeymoley

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These have reared their ugly head now that the temperature has dropped. Every Winter without fail I get chilblains on some of my toes, not all of them, mainly always the little outer ones and sometimes on the 2nd from the outside or the middle one. I have Raynauds in my feet, thankfully not in my hands, however that hasn’t been too bad this year at all. Clearly the problem is my circulation. Does anyone else suffer from these and have any wonderful tips? They are pretty sore at the moment. I’ve been using Sudocrem and Ibuprofen Gel on them just to settle them. I always wear cotton socks. I have hillwalking socks for wearing to the horses and I wear my country boots for yard chores. If I go to the shops I normally wear cotton socks with Ugg’s that have sheepskin lining. Any tips greatly appreciated!
 
The Xmas Furry said:
I've no idea if its around still, but i used to treat mine yrs ago with Snowfire ointment at night and put cotton socks on overnight. Really helped a huge amount.
Chilblains went in my late 30s!
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Interesting! I have Snowfire which I use for hax- you know the horrible deep cuts you can get on your fingers. I’m sure it’s snowfire…
 
I suffer with chilblains on my toes too OP. Sudocrem is probably the best that I have found for helping to settle them down. I put it on before bed and then slightly loose cotton socks over the top.

I really like heat holders socks because they actually do seem to keep my feet warm, although they are very thick. Two pairs of socks (a cotton pair and then a thicker pair on top) will work but you need to be able to move your toes in your shoes because if you restrict your circulation, it will make the problem worse.

The trick is to try to keep your feet at a fairly constant temperature as much as you can. Which is tricky but if you can try to stop your feet getting colder when you leave the house or your car, that really helps.
 
Two layers of socks with plenty of space in shoes. Deep heat before you go out. Too many layers on the rest of your body so your circulation doesn’t go into panic mode and send all your blood elsewhere … and I’ve still got two of the damn things 🙄😂
 
Boughtabay said:
Two layers of socks with plenty of space in shoes. Deep heat before you go out. Too many layers on the rest of your body so your circulation doesn’t go into panic mode and send all your blood elsewhere … and I’ve still got two of the damn things 🙄😂
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Ahh I’m allergic to Deep Heat 🫣 can’t use that at all.

I’ve got the Snowfire, tried that overnight and it was pretty good, no itchiness through the night. Heat holder socks are good but as you say just so thick so I can only wear them in the house otherwise I can’t get my boots on without crushing.
 
holeymoley said:
Ahh I’m allergic to Deep Heat 🫣 can’t use that at all.

I’ve got the Snowfire, tried that overnight and it was pretty good, no itchiness through the night. Heat holder socks are good but as you say just so thick so I can only wear them in the house otherwise I can’t get my boots on without crushing.
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I used to keep a 'too big' pair of boots for winter when things got v cold, 1st was cotton thin socks with 70+ denier tights over, then thick ankle or shin high socks over, then insulated breeches over.
The bigger boots were a blessing x
 
I believe in just one pair of good wool socks - bridgedale, Nordic socks and smartwool are all good. Cotton has almost no insulation. And for long days out, heated insoles (the disposable sort).
 
I used to get them on my toes and it felt like I was walking on glass, the biggest improvement in keeping my feet warm is getting neoprene wellies but the thick soled ones, I’m currently using muck boots but used grubs previously. I can now just wear a normal pair of socks rather than 2 thick pairs
 
holeymoley said:
Ahh I’m allergic to Deep Heat 🫣 can’t use that at all.

I’ve got the Snowfire, tried that overnight and it was pretty good, no itchiness through the night. Heat holder socks are good but as you say just so thick so I can only wear them in the house otherwise I can’t get my boots on without crushing.
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Oh no!! How annoying ☹️
 
Hot Hands foot warmers. I bought some the other day as I’m fed up of my feet going numb at the yard. They’re miraculous! You just take them out of the packet and stick them to your socks and it’s like you’ve got a hot water bottle on your foot. They kept me warm standing around teaching this afternoon and then while I was at the yard.
 
Another vote for snowfire. I haven’t had chilblaines since I bought a heated throw to sleep under and fleece lined hiking boots to wear at the yard. Mine are from Aldi and they’ve been brilliant. I think they have black ones in this year.
 
I've had chilblains for as long as I can remember apart from when my children were small and I spent less time outside in winter so the only cure is to not go out for long in the cold! I've haven't bothered putting anything on them for years because nothing I've ever tried has ever helped. I also had Raynauld's in my fingers which oddly enough stopped after pregnancy and has yet to return (and my youngest is 18 now).
 
Oh God they hurt don't they. I get chilblains cream from the chemist. I wear 2 pairs of socks in my boots. A cotton pair and a silk boot liner. The trick seems to be to keep your feet dry and warm (just not to warm) and warm up slowly when you get back in doors.

I only have them on my smallest toes now, but as a child riding and out in all weather's in the peak district I had them on my thighs, ears and fingers too. Bath time was painful!

Interesting what @Red-1 said. I take a multi vitamin now and the chilblains are much less of an issue this year.
 
I’ve just realised that I haven’t had any this cold spell but I have been wearing my new Aigle Parcours ISO wellies. They keep my feet really toasty even with thin socks on. Yes, they’re expensive but so worth it.
 
Thanks everyone. I think stupidly my problem stems from putting on cold boots at the yard. I keep my country boots at the yard so that they’re not in my car or house. It’s like putting my feet in to ice blocks! The feet warmers sound like the way forward, I have the hand warmers but hadn’t heard of foot warmers. Thinking about it, when I was younger I used to live in my neoprene wellies, they were amazing! I may have to look in to those again. And also the vitamin deficiency, I’ll do a bit of research on B12 and D3.
 
I’ve been known to keep my car running and on full heat to keep riding boots warm until I’m ready for them. Chaps sitting in the heated seats plus a pair of gloves to switch into. Changing into cold boots is torture!
 
Snow fire ointment, I wear 2 pairs of socks, silk and wool over the top then neoprene wellies. Agree with vitamin deficiency being a factor mine improved when I started on prescription high dose Vitamin D and B12 injections. Hope you find something to help they are awful.
 
I’ve had them on my toes for the past week and good lord are they awful!!!!
I put some O’keeffes working hands on last night just as a last ditch attempt for some sort of relief as nothing was helping, and it seems to have helped massively! Nowhere near as painful today.
I have also ordered some multivitamins though as they’re supposed to be linked to deficiencies.
 
i’m experiencing this for the first time in my life, my ariat yard boots have given up on me so i’ve been wearing wellies and i’m paying the price🥲 the itching is driving me mad!!!
 
We live in Canada and my husband gets chillblains from walking around the house without slippers on. Our daughter is outside playing at daycare in temps down to -20. This is our strategy...
We have a plug in boot drier and many many pairs of knee high merino wool socks.
We all live in neoprene wellies for about 8 months of the year and put them on the drier at the end of the day almost every day in winter to make sure there is no residual moisture in them.
I don't wear them in the car as my feet sweat in them while I'm toasty in the car and then get cripplingly cold as the sweat freezes on the socks.
We put on fresh socks and dry boots when getting out of the car to do anything active. Knee high socks make a big difference compared to mid calf length as does wearing warm over trousers. Having warmer legs seems to help my feet.
We also have roomy waterproof mittens (old ski gloves) that go over the top of wool liner gloves for hands. They also get a blast on the drier too each day.
This all seems to keep the cold (and OH's chillblains) at bay.
 
I’ve got them on my fingers and toes this year. First ever time on my fingers (I think it’s since I’ve been putting my hands in the water trough this past week to get out the chunks of ice!) and probably my second year on my toes. I used to get them on my knees and thighs when I used to ride more in the winter but a long coat has been a game changer for that. Following this thread with interest for ways to get rid of the itching!
 
1 week on and they are definitely improving. I used the Snowfire religiously at the start of the week and used 2 pairs of socks to go to the yard. Any other time I go out I've worn my UGGs so that there's no reason for them to get cold. I've also started back again on my Vitamin D. I think the Snowfire is really helping, they certainly aren't raw or itchy anymore. Always remember clean socks too!
 
JuliaH said:
I’ve had them on my toes for the past week and good lord are they awful!!!!
I put some O’keeffes working hands on last night just as a last ditch attempt for some sort of relief as nothing was helping, and it seems to have helped massively! Nowhere near as painful today.
I have also ordered some multivitamins though as they’re supposed to be linked to deficiencies.
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Thanks for that tip - I have that hand cream and it’s literally next to me! I tried this last night and it got rid of the itching!
 
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