It’s been a vicious winter so far with very low temperatures, frost and snow! Some of our northern visitors are experiencing a new affliction, which presents itself as raised areas of skin, particularly on fingers and toes. Affected areas will appear white but become red and itchy and swollen at night in a warm bed or flat (yeah, right!), or in the heated lecture theatre. These are chilblains! Nothing too serious.
Chilblains occur when our bodies are exposed to extremes in temperature. The capillaries (small blood vessels) that control blood flow shrink when we are in cold temperatures; this is our body’s way of trying to keep us warm by making our blood flow deeper into the body. When we move back to a warmer temperature, the capillaries enlarge back to their normal size. Sometimes, when the change in temperature happens quickly, the blood rushes through to create a bottleneck, which then leaks into the surrounding tissue. This is what causes the inflammation and itchiness.
Treatment is simple:
- Wear warm gloves and socks
- Make sure shoes and boots don’t get wet and are loose fitting
- Massage the affected areas gently to increase circulation
- Apply preparations such as Welleda Chilblain cream and Deep Heat to the affected areas (to increase blood flow)
- Apply a steroid cream, such as Skincalm (hydrocortisone 1%), to reduce itching and swelling
In severe cases, the skin may become broken. In these instances, antiseptics such as Betadine should be applied to prevent infection. Keep the areas clean, and cover with a dressing such as Tegaderm.
Chilblains usually last about three weeks. Chronic cases can be treated by a prescription from a doctor for a medicine called Nifedipine.
Caffeine in coffee, as well as nicotine in cigarettes, leads to extra constriction of capillaries and should be avoided. This still leaves a few fun activities that will help, especially things that increase circulation like running and other physical activity.