Anyone else have chilblains, and how do you cope?

[veggieburger]

I get chilblains in the winter. At first I thought I had trenchfoot, but turns out it's the former.

Basically, as my feet heat up and cool down, tiny blood vessels in my toes burst, making the end of my toes black and very sore. It's further exacerbated if my feet sweat. One the weather is back above zero they go away pretty quickly, but it forces me to wear larger shoes for the first weeks of the season. Getting old sucks.

Anyone else deal with this? Aside from keeping the feet dry and at a constant temp, have you found anything that prevents/treats?

[marciero]

I get chilblains in the winter. At first I thought I had trenchfoot, but turns out it's the former.

Basically, as my feet heat up and cool down, tiny blood vessels in my toes burst, making the end of my toes black and very sore. It's further exacerbated if my feet sweat. One the weather is back above zero they go away pretty quickly, but it forces me to wear larger shoes for the first weeks of the season. Getting old sucks.

Anyone else deal with this? Aside from keeping the feet dry and at a constant temp, have you found anything that prevents/treats?

When you mentioned this in the "shoes" thread I thought I may have it. But the symptoms sound more severe than what I experience. Mine is really just prematurely cold feet, mostly the left foot around the toes in anything less than 45 degrees no matter what shoes I am wearing.

Chilblains sounds very unpleasant. Good luck treating this. Especially now-as I look out the window it looks like I may need the studded tires today.

[Black Dog]

Hey Veg, have you tried toe warmers in your shoes? If your shoes are not too tight these actually work.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81vhEwlLP5L._SL1500_.jpg

You can also try these, they are very warm, reusable but don't last as long as the activated charcoal type but also do not need any oxygen to work. You can get them from lee valley. They are bulky but would fit between a shoe and booty. This might help keep your feet warm enough until you are generating enough body heat to prevent the cooling/heating cycle that is bursting your capillaries.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=52295&cat=2,40725,45454

http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/gift/45k4212s3.jpg

[thwart]

You know it's a d*mn cold April when this sort of topic is still in play... :help:

From your description, it seems mild or moderate frostbite is still possible as the diagnosis. making the end of my toes black and very soreI've never seen blackened skin areas with chilblains.

My best solution for cold feet issues is exactly what you're doing, with larger shoes and layered merino wool socks. Toe/foot warmers as outlined above can work well. Talcum powder or similar may help if your feet sweat significantly. Mine do, and that's why layered wool (which allows some air flow, and still insulates when damp) seems to work well for me.

[veggieburger]

The toe warmers work (I used them hunting when it's super cold), but I also need to prevent huge swings in temps. Sweating is as bad as really cold.

The blackening of the toes is extreme, but I have had umpteen tests to show that it's not frostbite or anything else. The talcum powder is a good idea, I should give that a whirl.