Be mindful of certain medications and actions like smoking that cause blood vessels to constrict.Keep your feet moisturised to keep the skin soft and supple, helping to prevent dryness and cracking if chilblains do develop.Keep your feet warm when you’re at home.Warm cold feet up gradually, instead of going from freezing straight into a hot shower.Keep an extra dry pair of socks with you to change into in case your socks get wet.Make sure your shoes are the right fit and don’t restrict your circulation more than they need to.Wear a good, warm pair of socks in your shoes, e.g.Prevention is key, so make sure you follow these steps whether you’re on the slopes or not: Whatever you do, avoid scratching skin affected by chilblains. You can try using medications to relieve the itching or swelling, but unfortunately, but if you continue to move and stay physically active through the pain, you’ll also leave yourself vulnerable to further damaging the skin so the chilblains will take longer to heal. If you develop chilblains, you can’t ‘reverse’ the effects as the damage will already have been done with the blood having leaked into the tissues. There is some evidence that there is a genetic predisposition to developing chilblains, and lower body weight, hormone changes, being female, connective tissue diseases and bone marrow disorders may also increase your risk. Outside of snowsports, chilblains can affect anyone – and children, the elderly and those with poor circulation in the extremities (hands and feet) are most often affected. Let’s not forget that purposefully tight-fitting ski and snowboard boots that can further restrict circulation and help the blood come rushing back when they’re removed. They may occur when you remove your boots and replace them, or if you get snow in your boots which cools your foot down and then quickly warms up after the ice melts. Those hitting the slopes are at risk of chilblains because of their predisposition to alternate very cool temperatures on the slopes with warm temperatures in warming huts or when coming home after finishing their runs. Why are skiers and snowboarders at risk of chilblains? Once the swelling goes down, the skin can become dry, cracked and may become infected. Red/purple and inflamed (especially around the toes).This is chilblains and they often occur at points of friction, like at the toes or bumps in the feet like bunions. When this happens rapidly, like when we jump into a hot shower to warm up quickly after feeling freezing, damage to the blood vessels can occur, leaking blood into the surrounding tissues and causing inflammation of the vessels. When we expose ourselves to heat, our blood vessels will do the opposite – they dilate (widen). This helps our body to minimise the heat lost as the blood passes through these cooler areas. When our body is exposed to cold temperatures, the natural response of our blood vessels is to constrict (narrow). Today we’re sharing all about chilblains, why they develop, and how to protect yourself against them this winter.įirst thing’s first, what are chilblains? What we CAN still do is prevent chilblains – which don’t just occur on the slopes, but can develop anytime your feet are exposed to the cold (which, here in Melbourne, is often!).Įven when we’re going for a morning walk (especially if our feet get wet from the rain), the red or purple itchy patches on the feet known as chilblains have the potential to *painfully* stop us in our tracks and cause much discomfort for the days to come. With our re-introduced restrictions, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to make it up this winter. So we thought we’d give you some great info on preventing chilblains on the slopes and why our skiers and snowboarders are particularly vulnerable. We’re going to be honest – when we wrote this for you, we were seeing a lot of patients that, after the first wave of COVID had ended, were getting excited to hit the slopes this winter. Image credit to SAPP 2019 and Medical News Today
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