Chilblains

What are chilblains? And what's the best way to treat it?

Chilblains, also referred to as Perniones, which is an abnormal reaction of the skin to cold. With this painful disorder, after being exposed to cold you will get a red and blue swelling in the skin. This can occur both on the hands, the feet and toes, but in the more severe cases it can also occur on the calfs, upper legs, buttocks, nose and ears. Chilblains often occur during the colder months of winter, and besides cold it can also appear because of damp (this causes extra cold). Although these complaints can cause much annoyance, it is an innocent disorder which has a lot of different ways to treat it.

What can cause chilblains?

The blood vessels in your skin normally adjust to the ambient temperature and warmth or cold. They narrow in cold circumstances, to maintain the body's core temperature. They then widen again (depending on the temperature), to keep the blood flow going and to ensure that the skin does not become dangerously low of temperature and therefore go into shock. When suffering from chilblains, that process is drastically disrupted. The larger blood vessels located deeper in the skin narrow, while the smaller blood vessels expand. This creates the red and blue color of the skin and body. It is not exactly clear as to why one person suffers from chilblains and the other does not. Heredity probably plays a role. Women are more likely to suffer from this condition than men. People who have to deal with cold and humid air and cold circumstances for their profession, such as farmers and construction workers are more likely to get these complaints. Therefore, we can definitely recommend to use compression socks to promote blood circulation and thereby warmth.

Symptoms of chilblains

A symptom by which you can recognize these disorders include blue and red swellings on the feet and toes. The swollen spots are blue and red in color and also cause a painful burning sensation and itching, Externally, someone may notice or feel that you have cold hands, cold fingers and cold feet and toes, while you yourself feel that the skin on those places become hot. The symptoms appear rather suddenly but also disappear automatically, usually within 1 week or 2 weeks. The complaints of this condition can easily come back in colder conditions. Compression socks, insoles, metatarsal pads and toe separators can certainly help you to counter these annoying complaints, so experience the difference with the best treatment and products in our assortment for chilblains.