What Are Chilblains?

Chilblains are a painful reaction that usually occur on the toes in response to a change from cold temperature to warm temperature. They do not occur in warmer climates. While they are more common on the toes, they can occur anywhere. When a part gets cold the small microcirculation blood vessels close up to conserve heat. Normally on warming, the circulation should open up to release heat and move the waste products that accumulate in the skin. What happens in a chilblain is that the circulation does not open up as quickly as it should and the waste products accumulate in the skin. Eventually the blood vessels do open, but not before an inflammatory reaction starts in the skin.

Poor circulation is not the cause of the chilblains as young people with good circulation often can get chilblains. The initial inflammatory reaction causes a red painful and itchy patch on the skin. After that it changes into a black/blue discolouration and the skin may even break down on the toe from shoe pressure on the chilblain. They can heal up reasonable quickly, but more often than not, the chilblain recurs on the next cold exposure and becomes a chronic problem.

The best way to deal with chilblains is to prevent them by not letting the foot get cold by the use of warm socks and footwear. If the foot does get cold, then the best approach is to make sure that it only warms up slowly. This means not putting the foot in from of a direct source of heat like a heater. If a chilblain does occur, gentle rubbing of it with a chilblain cream is often a good way to stimulate the circulation. In severe cases, there are prescribed drugs that can be used to keep the circulation open and prevent the chilblain from developing.

By: Craig Payne

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Podiatry Arena has all the latest research on chilblains. ePodiatry has a good self-help guide on chilblains and you can ask a question at the Foot health Forum on chilblains.