When it is deathly cold outside we can often suffer from chilblains. This often the case if we don’t protect our skin from the cold weather or if our skin is sensitive or already dry or damaged. What’s more problems with circulation don’t help. Blood vessels reduced with the cold temperatures which causes lesions to appear. Perhaps at first you feel nothing more than a tingling or swelling sensation combined with redness on our extremities such as our ears, hands, feet and nose. However the results can become progressively very painful. For example, you may have chafing, cracks and really unpleasant blisters. In fact, it is a bit like a burn. So, it is out of the question to leave it untreated! Here are some effective grandmother’s remedies to prevent and treat inflammation caused by chilblains.
1) Some routines to prevent chilblains
- Of course the first piece of advise is to dress warmly with lots of necessary layers. Try and choose natural materials like cotton or wool as this will reduce sweating and moisture which encourages chilblains to appear.
- Avoid at all costs cloths and shoes that prevent good blood circulation. Don’t wear any stiff materials especially shoes!
- Wash your hands with a very soft neutral soap product (with a few additional drops of calendula oil if possible.) Don’t use any harsh or astringent products to protect the calendula lipic barrier of your skin.
- Don’t lick your lips thinking that you are moisturizing and soothing them. In contrast this will only make your lips drier.
- You can apply Vaseline, soft almond oil or shea butter every night to nourish and protect your skin.
- Otherwise make a nourishing mask which protects against or treats chilblains made of egg yolks, two table spoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Finally in the case of chilblains don’t be tempted to run the affected areas under hot water. This just makes the skin even more sensitive. You are better to heat up your hands under your armpits or behind your knees.
2) An oil which protects and prevents
If your hands are suffering from chilblains or if your worried you might get them as you are going do some winter sports in the Alps you can prepare a very soft protective oil. Mix 20 ml of a nourishing vegetable oil with 10 drops of geranium essential oil and 5 drops of lemon essence. You could choose almond of avocado vegetable oil. Then you can cover the areas you’d like to protect with a thin layer of oil when necessary. However some people use baby oil to protect exposed zones. After exposing your hands to low temperatures you can use soft and healing oils like calendula or soft almond oil.
3) Combating circulation difficulties which is the route of the problem
A powerful lotion with a base of essential oils can treat problems with blood circulation which can often be the root of a chilblain. You can use a mixture with cypress, lavender and rosemary essential oil (10 drops of each) onto the affected area which is diluted with 20 ml of macadamia oil. Next softly massage the zone you need to treat. It is also possible to apply to three drops of a fluidifying, draining and decongestant mixture 2 to 3 times per day. To prepare this mixture you need a 100 drops of calophyllum vegetable oil and cypress of Provence and Italian helichrysum essential oil (15 drops of each). Chilblains won’t stand a chance against this mixture.
4) Bathe your affected parts of the body in a soothing bath
Generally, a celery bath is recommended for curing frostbite. You need to grate a celery in it’s entirity including it’s leaves then boil them for 20 minutes in 2 litres of water. Leave the water to cool before soaking the affected zone in the bath for a half hour. You can do this both morning and night until it gets better. Otherwise you can boil two handfuls of crushed blackcurrants in water and use just the infused juice for a foot and hand bath. The iron in the blackcurrants helps to heal the skin, improves blood circulation and prevents infections. You can also boil up 20 grams of walnut leaves in water or dip the affected areas directly into sea buckthorn oil.
5) Beneficial poultice
You can’t do without a classic poultice made of raw grated potato and a little milk as a treatment for chilblains. It is also possible to mix lukewarm hot water with two tablespoons of black mustard flour. You are looking for a well-covering paste! Otherwise, you can look toward something that naturally contains iron which you can apply to the skin such as the blackcurrant recipe we saw earlier. To make ferruginous water, you can dissolve iron-based food supplements in water. Cover with a cloth and leave to stand for up to two days. Then you’ll just need to soak a gauze from this preparation, apply it and let it dry before rinsing.
Finally, it is possible to apply a compress of pure lemon juice several times a day, especially before going to bed. Afterwards, do not rinse or expose yourself to the sun.
6) A cream for soothing the cracks and chaps caused by chilblains
First of all heat up a table spoon of thyme or lavender honey in a bain marie. Next add a teaspoon of virgin olive oil and another teaspoon of glycerin vegetable oil. Take the mixture off the hob and mix carefully while adding 5 drops of lemon essential oil. It’s not necessary but it does help! Next transfer the mixture into a pot and leave to stand for 2 days. Next you can apply you homemade cream any time you think you need to. Otherwise you can add 1 drop of rockrose, 1 drop of officinal lavender and 3 of wheat germ essential oil to a vegetable oil of your choice.
7) Unbeatable essential oil care
You should choose lavender, carrot and gum rockrose essential oil when treating chilblains. However you need to make sure that you dilute a 3 – 5 % with your choice of vegetable oil. For a more creamy texture you can use the pulp of a squished avocado which you can add you chosen essential oil. Massage the mixture into your skin well so that it can soak into your skin. This will play a role in repairing the skin’s hydrolipidic barrier while relieving the chilblain. You can also mix a teaspoon of inophylophyllum oil with three droplets of evergreen cypress essential oil. Finally, you can apply a lotion containing 15 ml of Rosehip vegetable oil, 10 ml of Italian helichrysum HE and 2 ml of lavender HE both morning and evening by lightly massaging the affected area.
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