Chilblains

I've been wearing wool socks since December. Working outside + losing weight has made my hands and feet cold all the time.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that my toes hurt and were swollen. I mean they looked like swollen grapes. Mr. Sign got tired of hearing me whine about it until I showed him. Then he was all, "Holy Shit! WTF is wrong with your toes?"

I thought the swelling was a result of a late found allergy to wool socks so I stopped wearing them and started wearing cotton ones. It didn't help and in fact, my toes started to itch (at night) as well as being painful. I couldn't really see anything except that they were red. The swelling went down.

A few days later, I noticed red blister looking things on my toes. WTF?

I finally called the doctor's office to make an appointment only to find out that our doctor does not take our current insurance (Mr. Sign got a new job a few weeks ago as a result of his newly acquired Master's Degree).

So I decide to tough it out a little longer. I finally get the brilliant idea to check the internet with my symptoms. (I'm a quick one, I tell ya!) I found out that I have a classic case of Chilblains. I've highlighted in red, all of the symptoms I suffer from.

A chilblain is a small, red swelling on the skin which can be very itchy and gradually becomes very painful. Chilblains usually occur on the smaller toes but can occur on the finger, face and the nose. They occur due to an abnormal reaction of the body to cold. A chilblain may also occur on a pressure bearing area such as a bunion.

APPEARANCE

• A chilblain will usually appear as a red, swollen lesion.
• They can dry out leaving cracks in the skin, which expose the skin to infection.

SYMPTOMS

• The lesion becomes increasingly painful.
• The lesion becomes very itchy.
• Patients may suffer from a burning sensation on their feet.
• In extreme cases the surface of the skin may break and an infection may develop.

CAUSES

• A chilblain is an abnormal reaction to cold.
• Elderly people with a poor circulation are at a greater risk.
• Young adults who work outdoors or in cold conditions, such as butchers, are also at risk.
• If the skin is chilled and then followed by too rapid warming such as a gas fire, a chilblain may develop.
• Damp living conditions can also be a contributing factor.
• The sudden onset of very cold water on the skin can also lead to a chilblain.
• Other contributing factors include dietary, hormonal imbalance and people who suffer from anemia.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Keep legs and body warm, especially if you have poor circulation.
• Leg warmers and thick woolen socks may be of benefit.

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Don’t scratch them
• Place your feet close to fires or electric radiators/heaters.
• Rest your feet on hot water bottles.
• Sleep with your electric blanket on high temperature settings.
  

To sum this up, I have some strange affliction that is caused by poor circulation (I haven't told you guys, but I have horrible problems with numbness and tingling in my toes and fingers daily. A side effect of weight loss surgery), working in the cold, reheating cold feet too quickly, and I'm not supposed to use my electric blanket (the blanket has been my reason for living lately). *sigh*

Yes, these are my ugly toes. This was the best I could do.
Have you ever tried taking a picture of the bottom of your foot?

I told my mom what I thought it was and she told me that people don't get that anymore. Um, yeah Mom, people obviously do.

I'm just happy to know that I'm not going to get Gangrene and die from this stuff. The worse part is that not much makes it better until warmer weather. Oh, UV light will help. Anyone got any extra sunlight they can spare?