Are chilblains and frostbite the same thing?

What do you put on chilblains?

Suggestions for treating chilblains at home include:

Resist the urge to scratch, as this will further damage the skin.

Use calamine lotion or witch hazel to soothe the itching.

Lanolin or similar, rubbed into the feet, will help retain body heat.

Wear woollen or cotton socks.

Keep your whole body warm.

Chilblains are small, itchy swellings on the skin that occur as a reaction to cold temperatures. They most often affect the body’s extremities, such as the toes, fingers, heels, ears and nose. Chilblains can be uncomfortable, but rarely cause any permanent damage.

Chilblains (CHILL-blayns) are the painful inflammation of small blood vessels in your skin that occur in response to repeated exposure to cold but not freezing air. Also known as pernio, chilblains can cause itching, red patches, swelling and blistering on your hands and feet.

Suggestions for treating chilblains at home include:

Resist the urge to scratch, as this will further damage the skin.

Use calamine lotion or witch hazel to soothe the itching.

Lanolin or similar, rubbed into the feet, will help retain body heat.

Wear woollen or cotton socks.

Keep your whole body warm.

Chilblain lupus is a cutaneous form of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; 152700) characterized by the appearance of painful bluish-red papular or nodular lesions of the skin in acral locations (including the dorsal aspects of fingers and toes, heels, nose, cheeks, ears, and, in some cases, knees) precipitated by cold

Frostnip is a superficial nonfreezing cold injury due to vasoconstriction. The skin will be pale and may have paresthesias or numbness. It is common on exposed skin including the cheeks, ears, and nose. The skin is still pliable. This is a major difference between frostnip and frostbite.

Chilblains. Chilblains — also known as pernio, chill burnsand perniosis — is a medical condition that occurs when a predisposed individual is exposed to cold and humidity, causing tissue damage. It is often confused with frostbite and trench foot.

Signs and symptoms of frostbite include:

The areas of the body affected by frostbite feel cold and firm.

Burning, tingling, stinging, or numbing sensations.

Clumsiness can result from impaired motor control.

Swelling, redness, loss of sensation, and white plaques on the skin.

Blisters filled with blood.

Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin. Exposed skin in cold, windy weather is most vulnerable to frostbite. But frostbite can occur on skin covered by gloves or other clothing. Frostnip, the first stage of frostbite, doesn’t cause permanent skin damage.

Immersion foot (trench foot) is a cold injury that develops when a foot is kept in wet, cold socks and shoes or boots for several days. The foot is pale, clammy, swollen, numb, and cold. After warming, the foot becomes red and painful to the touch. Sometimes blisters develop, which may open and become infected.

When possible, air-dry and elevate your feet, and exchange wet shoes and socks for dry ones to help prevent the development of trench foot. Treatment for trench foot is similar to the treatment for frostbite. Take the following steps: Thoroughly clean and dry your feet.

Trench foot can be prevented by keeping the feet clean, warm, and dry. It was also discovered in World War I that a key preventive measure was regular foot inspections; soldiers would be paired and each made responsible for the feet of the other, and they would generally apply whale oil to prevent trench foot.

Trench foot. Trench Foot was a serious disorder during World War 1, especially during the winter of 1914-1915, when over 20,000 Allied men were affected. Whale oil played a vital role in minimizing the condition but even so some 74,000 Allied troops had been afflicted by the end of the war.

Body lice. Infesting their clothes and bodies, lice made soldiers itchy and extremely uncomfortable. They were very difficult to get rid of because the men could not wash properly in the trenches. Lots of infections were caused by the dirty conditions, especially when soldiers already had cuts and wounds.

By 1918 doctors identified lice as the cause of trench fever, which plagued the troops with headaches, fevers and muscle pain. They would also get into clothes and cause the men to itch constantly.

Trench Rats. Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell. If a trench subsided, or new trenches or dugouts were needed, large numbers of decomposing bodies would be found just below the surface. These corpses, as well as the food scraps that littered the trenches, attracted rats.

Fleas, lice and rodents were rife and would plague the men with disease. Lice caused Trench Fever, a nasty and painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever. Although not usually life threatening, Trench Fever was debilitating, requiring a recovery period of two-three months.

Fresh meat was getting harder to come by and the ration was reduced to just 6 ounces of ‘bully beef’ (which we call corned beef today). Soldiers on the actual front line got even less meat and vegetables than this. ‘Maconchie’s meat stew’ and hard biscuits was a meal that many soldiers ate.

Soldiers played soccer and target-shooting. Soldiers fighting at the front line played cards, draughts and chess because they had to grab their rifles and fight at a moments notice. Food for soldiers in the trenches during WW1 was often repetitive, boring and at times considered a luxury.

Soldiers in the Western Front were very critical of the quantity and the quality of food they received. The bulk of their diet in the trenches was bully beef (caned corned beef), bread and biscuits. By the winter of 1916 flour was in such short supply that bread was being made with dried ground turnips.