Chilblains Treatment

Lemon juice is very rich in useful nutrients that help in improving the health of your skin. – Undiluted lemon juice, taken internally and applied to the skin, is an old folk remedy. You have to apply fresh lemon juice on the affected areas to treat the symptoms of itching and inflammation. This remedy also works against fungal chilblains. Not only this, it is also advised to consume lemon juice every day to help the blood vessels to recover effectively.

Lemon for Chilblains - BANISH THOSE CHILBLAINS - Chronicle (Adelaide SA 1895 - 1954) - 15 May 1930 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90055490

I have found that mixing lemon juice with Aloe vera gel “fresh” or Glycerin 1:1 ratio applied 2x daily for a week works great (see article below). Or, You can apply lemon juice “undiluted” directly to the affected part of skin few times in a day.

Lemon and Glycerin for Chilblains - HOW TO CURE CHILBLAINS. - The Lilydale Express and Yarra Glen Wandin Yallock Upper Yarra Healesville and Ringwood Chronicle (Vic. 1898 - 1914) - 21 Jun 1912

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/258396902

Also, look up “palmar erythema”.

And yes, be concerned about it. It's a sign of an underlying health condition.

Last year when we had prolonged cold weather one of my hands started getting red and itchy. After a bit of research on Google it seemed like chilblains was the reason.

However, more recently, in cold weather, that hand is still turning red but sometimes purple. Once my hand warms up the colour disappears. Is this something I should be worried about?

How to Cure Chilblains

“A simple and homely remedy, which immediately relieves the irritation and pain caused by chilblains, is salt and fresh apple juice.

The affected parts are rubbed gently with a slice of apple dipped in common salt. A good juicy apple should be used.”

From the Book: Table Talk, Volume 29, Issue 1, page 43,1914

For Chilblains, apply oil of eucalyptus frequently applied with a camel's hair brush relieves pain and soon cures. From the book: The Medical Summary, March 1898 to February 1899 Vol 20 page 224.

Note: A camel-hair brush is a type of paintbrush with soft bristles made from natural hairs, usually squirrel. Actual camel hair is not a suitable material.

Thank you for confirming the urine/chilblains method.

My Grandfather told me about this 55 years ago.
I'm now living in freezing Scotland.. I love this country; but I need to negotiate my chilblain problem. Xxxx.

Hydrogen Peroxide Napkin Plaster for Toe Chilblains:

Give this a try. It worked for me. This remedy also works on toe nail fungus. Hydrogen peroxide can be used to eliminate fungi causing chilblains and add O² to the blood stream in the toes.

Fold down a paper towel or napkin just enuff to cover your toenails completely, top, sides and bottom. Then place napkin in a bowl and saturate the napkin with 3% H2O2 brown bottle. Wrap the napkin over your toes, top and bottom. Tuck and fold the sides of the napkin and put a recycled bread bag over your foot (I tried using plastic-wrap but it leaked everywhere and soaked the socks). Then put on an old sock to keep everything in place. This way you can move around the house freely.

You will need to do this for a few hours or over-nite, everyday for 10-14 days.

Don't forget to change and clean all your socks, sandals & shoes or at least pour ACV in your shoes every time if you suspect fungal infection.

Source of idea: https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/fungus8.html#h2o2_190829

My journey with chilblains started over 10 years ago. It felt like my toe was stuck in a small hole in a nylon stocking. Like it was being strangled. Drove me bonkers. Then it always hurt more at nightime. The intense itching and pain kept me awake. Some nights I just wanted to grab scissors and just snip them off because the itch was intense along with the pain.

My first trip was to foot doctor. They did every test. Circulation checked. Nope. Finally years later internist sent me to vascular surgeon after he couldnt figure it out.

Vascular surgeon did catheterization and concluded it was vasculitis. Explained what it was, said it was an inflammation on the lining outside of the artery wall, gave remedy to help with it. After 2 more years of it not clearing I called him up and went in. I told him my vasculitis was not clearing. He sent me to a rheumatoid doctor thinking it was auto immune.

That doctor ordered so many blood tests I thought I was ready for embalming! Seventeen vials later, nothing showed up in all the tests. I ended up researching on my own. Chilblains popped up and I found pictures of it and it matched what my toes looked like. Further research led me to check here.

I too went on a gluten free diet and found relief. Had gluten 2 days in a row and guess what is keeping me awake tonight? Maddening itch and painful toes! This is 2nd time the itch came back. Both times I had gluten. I have yet to go dairy free, but will chart my response on that.

I've found that using zinc oxide has helped me tremendously. I started having this problem with my toes 3 years ago - red bumps, rash and swelling. I could hardly walk and wearing shoes was almost unbearable! No prescription medicines nor anything else I tried seemed to help. Then, as mysteriously as the symptoms appeared, they cleared up as winter ended! The red bumps always start on my 2nd toe, then a rash would appear on all my toes. The 2nd winter, it had spread to two toes when I started using over-the-counter extra strength diaper rash paste with zinc oxide. In the morning after showering, I dry my feet thoroughly, then apply a thin layer of the paste. I apply once per day during the winter months. I also change my socks and/or shoes twice a day and try to avoid extreme temperature changes. This is now my 3rd year dealing with chilblains (which my doctor diagnosed as a fungus) and diaper rash paste works for me!

This is an easy one. I had chilblains. I didn't know what they were at first. I mentioned it to my Dad and he told me to use rubbing alcohol. So, I put some on a cotton ball and rubbed my toes with it. Didn't take to many days and it was gone. So to keep it from coming back, I put the rubbing alcohol on my toes before I went outside to keep it from coming back. I have no need for it anymore.

Cutting gluten and sugar worked for me too. I had chilblains every year for over 10 years - to the point I could never remove my ring for 3 months each winter - and the only year I didn't get them was after severely reducing gluten and fructose.

I looked on this site for help with chilblains on my toes. They were so painful I could barely walk. I decided to soak my feet in warm water with Epsom salts and then massage with coconut oil. I went to bed noticing my toes felt quite hot but comfortable. Felt a bit better in the morning and took 2 anti flams. By mid day there was hardly any discomfort. I am not sure what worked but am repeating it again hoping to be rid of them by tomorrow. I am excited to say the least. Thanks everyone who posted their helpful hints.

I tried massaging / rubbing my big toe as soon as I noticed the chilblain. That made it much worse! Right now I'm elevating my leg. That seems to help a little.

Only one way out of this. Please apply any cream that heats up like red heat, Vicks vaporub, tiger balm and wear socks, it will go away within 1 week, I assure you.

This is the third year I've gotten Chilblains. It's truly miserable. The first year, I didn't know what the heck it was. Last year was horrible and this year, well, doesn't look any better. I'm going to try the tea tree oil and coconut oil. I have those at home. Calamine and cortisone did not help at all. I bought diabetic socks which help slightly. I'm always cold. My doc advised last year not to warm my feet up too fast or with too hot of water. My feet were so ugly after this. I have an episode every two weeks until March or April. I wouldn't get a pedicure until all the blood blisters healed. Ibuprofin helps me with the pain and stops some of the itching. Good luck to anyone who gets this.

Every winter I would get annoying chilblain....until by luck I found out that if I stop consuming dairy and gluten products I would not get the chilblains during that winter....no matter how cold it was;) Don't ask me why it works....I just know that it does for me! Maybe give it a shot and have a chilblain-free winter!!!!

Chilblains Treatment: My husband has suffered with red, raw toes for years. This occurs only in the winter time. While researching this site there was no doubt he has Chilblains. We started trying different suggestions. Peppermint oil, helped. Went to health food store they suggested neem oil. We mixed the two oils together, applied twice each day. Unbelievably, redness is gone and so is the pain. He will keep applying till cold weather is over.

Thanks for sharing this after you got well. I have the same exact symptoms and I was deeply worried about infections, gout, etc which are difficult to treat. Perhaps if I had gone to a doc they would have prescribed some antibiotics thinking it some infection. We people with internet can be better in diagnosis. Once again, thanks for sharing

I have got to share this nugget of wisdom I have found for relieving chilblains...

Selica Gel. The packets you get when you buy new items, to keep them dry. Put some in your socks and wear them. This has gotten me through a working day on my feet without aggravating the soreness, and I believe it helps clear up the condition from keeping the feet from getting too humid/wet.

Amb - Wow... You have tried a lot of things. I am curious if you think the vitamin K helped at all? I hope that you found something that worked for you.

Thanks for sharing Lanna. I'm going to get some vitamin K tomorrow! I had a red bump on the top of my 2nd toe... Started about 3 weeks ago. I thought I got bit by a spider in the night. Then after a few days it was the same red and swollen blister like on my little toe and the 2nd toe on the other foot. They really got itchy and burned. I refused to scratch it. Drove me crazy! My toes have been really cold lately too! I tried some antifungral cream cause I thought it was athletes foot. Although it was on the tops of my toes.... Didn't look like athletes foot. The creame sorta helped the itch for a little while. After about 2 weeks I decided enough was enough and go to the doctor. She agreed and said athletes foot and gave me an oral antifungral. After a week from that, still nothing. The only relief I have gotten is by soaking my feet in water I boiled ginger root in. I am convinced it's chilblains and not athletes foot. I just started taking ginger root, cayenne and hawthorn berry supplements. As they improve circulation. I am also using a topical cayenne and ginger ointment and tea tree oil. Getting relief from that also. I thing massaging it in helps. I am going to add the vitamin K to the mix. Guess if anything, I should have better circulation to work out!

My 12 year old son has been suffering from chilblains on his toes. He has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal, so is unable to really tell us what is wrong. We first noticed that he was having difficulty walking. It wasn't until his toes swelled up and turned red/bluish that we could narrow it down to chilblains. His feet were very cold to the touch also. The pain was the most difficult as it got so bad that he refused to walk at all.

As I was searching for ideas to help him I came across somebody who mentioned that years ago they were given vitamin K tablets by their doctor and it had cleared it up. I googled "chilblains and vitamin K" and came across an article from 1947 on the NIH website that claimed success with vitamin K. At this point I figured I had nothing to lose - my son's toes were looking quite bad and he was miserable - and there wasn't much the doctor could do.

I happened to have a store brand of Advanced K2 Complex capsules on hand. I gave the first dose before bedtime that night and then did two doses a day after that. By that afternoon he was up and walking. Still a little tender, but the swelling had gone down and obviously the pain was much improved. We are now on day three and he is almost back to normal. I was so happy to see these results that I had to share.

Do you apply the propolis to the affected area or drink it? I have propolis (the kind you drink, 1 tsp a day).

I made a homemade hand cream from coconut oil, aloe vera and emulsifying wax (bees wax). One Tbsp of each, stirred together in a bowl over a pot of hot water. Each night and morning I would put one drop each of lavender and tea tree essential oil in the palm of my hand - and half a tsp of my coconut hand cream. I would massage it slowly and firmly and gently onto both hands. The massage would take about 5 minutes. I paid particular attention to my nail beds, and finger tips. The chilblains were terrible, but after a week of this my fingers were warmer, healthier and without pain. I wore cotton gloves to bed, at night, to allow the cream to better absorb.

I am so happy with the result. I'd tried all sorts of other things prior to this - with no result at all.

I remember when we were children and suffered with nasty chilblains our mum would get us to soak our feet in urine. I do not remeber how long we did it for. It was a long time ago, but it did work. The old folk knew a thing or two in those days. Good luck