During our first Tennessee winter my oldest daughters toes swelled up and turned purple. They were crazy itchy and super painful. We had no idea why. After some research we discovered that what she had was called chilblains. Usually it is caused by frostbite. Usually. So, wtf?
Upon further investigation, cold temperatures + high humidity are the culprits. We figured that it was because she had taken years of dancing and Pointe (ballet) lessons beforehand that probably caused poor circulation, which is also a major factor in chilblains. The 3 together: cold, high humidity, and poor circulation are apparently disastrous.
We tried all the things that are suggested in treating it… keeping feet warm. Keeping feet dry. Keeping feet from getting cold. Keeping feet from warming too fast after getting cold… etc. They still flared up and caused issues for the entire season. As soon as the weather warmed up, it completely disappeared. Until the next cold season. Then it started all over again.
Eventually I decided that I needed to take it a step further. I made her a circulation oil blend to rub on her feet as needed. This helped tremendously. In fact, it was the only improvement that we had seen up to that point. After the season of using the oil blend, it never returned.
Fast forward to this year… Cold, and with a record amount of rain in Oregon. My youngest starts complaining about his toes itching and hurting. Good grief. I took a look and sure enough it was chilblains. Again, wtf? Nobody I know had even heard of this…(until just recently). But here we go again.
I did not remember the essential oil blend exactly from the first round, you would think I would write this stuff down, nope. But I remembered enough and went with the healing and warming and circulation oils I had handy this time around.
Chilblains Oil:: Peppermint, black pepper, tea tree, juniper, lavender and ginger in a base of olive oil. Other oils I would consider putting in the blend would be cypress and geranium… and possibly grapefruit. Also, using a base of infused calendula and comfrey infused olive oil would have additional healing benefits, but I was in a hurry and this blend seems to be working just fine regardless, as is. But if you are making your own, it is worth noting.
This blend of chilblains oil is keeping the swelling down and keeping the itching completely at bay. We have been making sure he keeps warm socks on at all times and we massage the oil on his feet 2 or 3 times a day. Success.
I hope to have a few bottles of this up in the Etsy Shop and on the Apothecary page on the website over the next few days for any chilblains sufferers out there. (are there any? I have only heard of one person and just recently when I facebooked about it!!) PM me if you NEED some in the meantime!! I will put a bottle aside for you.
Update: Chilblains Foot Oil can be found in our Grunge Garden Etsy Shop and on our Grunge Garden website.
Deb. G.
Grunge Garden 