How To Treat Chilblains With Home Remedies

Chilblains are inflammations of small blood vessels that irrigate the skin, which are itchy, painful and resemble blisters. They mostly appear on the fingers and toes, ears, and nose.

They occur when blood vessels contract as a result of exposure to cold temperatures and humidity, causing the tissue around them to no longer receive enough oxygen and to become inflamed.

These types of circulatory disorders occur at temperatures close to freezing and affect, for example, people who work outdoors and those who practice winter sports.

Chilblains usually go away after a few weeks. But if the affected body parts are repeatedly exposed to cold without protection, the swelling can become chronic. The most worrying thing is that the chilblains become infected; in this case, treatment with antibiotics is necessary.

Heat and vasodilator medications support the healing process. But there are also home remedies that can help you eliminate them.

9 effective natural remedies against chilblains

It is best to prevent chilblains from appearing by reducing your skin’s exposure to cold, bundling up well in loose, loose clothing, and putting on good shoes, gloves, and a scarf if necessary.

1. Warm the affected area with warm (not hot) water.
2. Take a full bath that starts with lukewarm water and increases the temperature very slowly.
3. Make a paste with therapeutic clay and warm water; apply it on the chilblain and cover it with gauze.
4. Put potato juice on the affected areas, cover and let it act. Repeat several times. To obtain the juice, peel the raw potatoes, mash them and crush them with a canvas.
5. Gently massage the affected area with a 20% tea tree oil solution.
6. Apply lavender oil to the chilblain areas.
7. Cut a lemon into slices and rub the pulp on the sore areas several times a day.
8. Peel an onion, squeeze it, soak cotton balls in the juice and place them in the chilblains for 3 hours.
9. Horseradish also helps against chilblains. Pour half a liter of hot water over two tablespoons of grated horseradish, let it rest for 10 minutes, then pour it into a basin and hold your feet or hands there for a quarter of an hour.

Natural treatment of chilblains with medicinal plants

To treat chilblains, you can do hand or foot baths, rubs, and wraps.

Wraps to treat chilblains

• Rapeseed wrap. A rapeseed root is cleaned and peeled, which is then boiled in a little water. As soon as the root is soft enough, crush it and place the pulp on the chilblains while it is still hot.
• Wrapping with lily. Boil the lily bulb in milk. Then, mash the onion and place the warm porridge over the chilblains.
• Wrap with horse chestnuts. Put about 20 chestnuts in a pot and cover them with water. Chestnuts have to cook for 30 minutes; if necessary add a little water while they cook. After cooking, peel and mash them. Let this puree cool and apply it on the chilblains. Then cover them with a bandage.
• Marigold wrap. Boil a few marigold flowers for 10 minutes. Soak some cloths in the decoction and apply them on the chilblains.

Decoctions with plants

• With carrot: add 100 g of carrot leaves to 1 liter of water for 20 minutes. Wash the chilblains with this decoction twice a day.
• With celery: put a whole celery, well washed and cut into small pieces, together with its roots and leaves, in 2 liters of water. The celery should be cooked for 1 hour, then the decoction is filtered and the liquid, as hot as possible, is used to wash the chilblains twice a day. You can also do foot baths for 15 minutes.
• With oak, cypress or holm oak bark: add 50g of the dried bark to 1 liter of boiling water. The rind should be cooked for 10 minutes and allowed to rest for another 30 minutes before straining. The areas affected by chilblains are bathed in the warm decoction once a day.
• With mullein: put 60 g of freshly collected mullein flowers and leaves in 1 liter of milk. Cook the plant over low heat for 10 minutes. Wash the chilblains with this decoction at night.
• With walnut leaves: add 50 g of dried walnut leaves to 1 liter of water. The leaves should cook for 20 minutes. You should soak your hands or feet in the decoction for 30 to 40 minutes.

Prevent chilblains with food

Cinnamon helps prevent chilblains from within because it promotes circulation and increases body heat. You can take the infusion of a tablespoon of crumbled cinnamon stick per liter of water. Drink a couple of glasses a day.

A diet rich in natural foods that contain many vitamins A and C helps prevent the appearance of chilblains. Both nutrients are found in fresh fruits and vegetables, especially those of orange, red, yellow and green color.