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wintertime red itchy/sore toe tips

(2 discussions)

I found this forum by searching for “red swollen sore toes winter”. Both my wife and I seem to suffer from one or several of our toe tips occasionally turning red, swelling slightly to a lot (occasionally a blister-like swelling) and sometimes really itching badly. It will rotate from toe to toe and sometimes go away for weeks or months at a time. I used to think it was mostly from frostbite (it gets real cold here) because the toe tips are the first to go, but it seems not to be consistently linked to walking in cold weather. I also thought that it might be from drying and cracking, but in the summer my feet are horribly dry and there is no problem. Because it goes away or switches toes after a few days we have never seen a doctor about it. It seems as though if we rub in vaseline intensive care it helps. (maybe this massage relieves the spasmed capillaries due to Raynaud’s phenomenon) This winter seems unusually bad, though and I am curious about the possible causes of this and other people’s experiences. It seems that if I wear a pair of cotton socks under my wool socks it doesn’t occur at all or at least not as severely.
Thank you for any input,George


2 comments

    Vivian Abrams DPM

    9 10

    It would be helpful to have an examination when you were symptomatic. I would include Raynaud’s phenomenon in my differential diagnosis. Keeping your feet warm would be the most helpful thing you can do in the interim, but I recommend further evaluation.

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    9 10

    Isn’t that chillblains?

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