UKH

I got back from skiing over the weekend and have now developed a skin coloured blister about 1cms diameter on the tip of my big toe. I'm not sure what it is or what to do, if anything.
It was very cold and my toes were a cold/bit numb, but I never got the hotaches, and I often get a bruised ( but not blistered) toe from my boots anyway. So I'm not sure what caused the blister.
My inclination is to ignore it (bit numb/sore but not a problem). If it were caused by frostbite should I see a doctor? Will they actually do anything?

In reply to Postmanpat:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Frostbite/Pages/Introduction.aspx

A chilblain? Though they tend to be red, shiny and rather itchy, and not filled with fluid...

If it's actually a blister (i.e. a fluid-filled sac of skin), then it may simply be a normal friction blister; with cold toes, you may not have noticed the rubbing causing the blister*.

I've never seen a frostnip or frostbite blister other than in photos, but all the pictures I can recall have been black, admittedly, usually some time after the freezing has occurred, and the skin has died. NHS link above suggests superficial frostbite might give a red, itchy blister (in contrast to a friction blister which isn't generally itchy or red (except around the margins), IME).

I think I'd treat it like any other normal blister. If it doesn't start to subside normally in a day or two, or starts to go black, or become infected (hot and red), go and get it seen to...

* I have Raynaud's, so my feet regularly get very cold when skiing (white, waxy and cold; I tested them with a pulse oximeter once: no pulse, 0% blood O2 saturation...). Chilblains are rather common, but, so far, I've had nothing worse than that. I have had black toenails from the toes hitting the ends of my boots...

Hot aches for me are associated with being cold, and warming up quickly, causing cold digits to warm very quickly. If I warm up gradually, I don't get hot aches. But that could be due to the Raynaud's... So your lack of hot aches may not rule out your toe having been very cold.

IANAM...

In reply to captain paranoia:
Thanks for your response. I don't think that it is a chilblain. It is skin coloured like a normal blister and not shiny. Goes from being painless to being quite sore.
I agree that I might as well leave it unless it looks like it's getting infected.

In reply to Postmanpat:
did the skin go red and tender around the area when it warmed up. I've had a frost nip blister before and the area around the blister that got cold was red and tender for a while after in a different way to that of a friction blister.

In my case the blister it's self was very small and skin coloured and not that watery and large like a friction blister. It was also very round and regular unlike most friction blisters, however looking online I suspect that is just because it was quite minor frost nip. I suspect I was very mild category 2 bordering on cat 1.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Not noticeably red. I wasn't aware that it had frozen, although it had got cold and possibly numb. It was quite tender but it often is because it gets bruised! Edge of blister is now slightly red/purple but don't think it's infection.

Did you do anything about your frostnip blister?

In reply to Postmanpat:
I don't think I did anything but the blister was tiny (a few mm or less) and no discolouration (purple black etc). It was definitely minor frostbite though.

The information on line does say you should get it looked at and 1cm is quite big - personally I doubt they will do anything (if its not discoloured at all) and possibly they won't know for sure the cause. If it is frost bite (I think the definition of this over frostnip is blistering), you probably shouldn't be getting it cold again for a good while.

One thing I noticed different to a normal blister is it seemed to take longer for the blister to go and the area of skin to go back to the normal colour. Mine didn't scab at all, once the blister went the skin was normal but still redder than it was for an area about the size of a 2p for a couple of months.

In reply to Postmanpat:

https://www.drugs.com/health-guide/frostbite.html

if the blisters are clear and no skin discolouration towards purple / blue / black it seems pretty unlikely they are going to do anything about it, but its your toe and your call and you would know how bad it is better than anyone else. Any real doubt then see the doc.

In reply to Postmanpat:

I have had experience of a similar (definitely cold) injury on a finger tip which eventually turned black and fell off but with no apparent tissue loss, just a shiny new finger tip beneath. I 'self medicated' being a bloke with a blokish tendency to avoid health services; an easy decision as the affected area was small and after initial pain around the time of cooling was comfortable to live with. I was however mindful of the danger of infection and of tissue damage through knocks so washed it daily with spray antiseptic and dressed it. I was also prepared to get it seen by a doctor if the affected area enlarged, discoloured further or became tender. In my defence I was still in a cold environment for a few weeks after the injury without access to health care. I hope the skiing was good? Heal well.
V

In reply to Vronski:

Thanks. I'll put some antibiotic cream on it just in case.

In reply to Postmanpat:

Just a thought - if you often get a bruised toe from your boots anyway, you should get a new pair. Buy them in resort from a good bootfitter, so that you can take them back if they prove uncomfortable.

In reply to John2:


Long story! They are fitted boots and i thought they'd been adjusted to get them right, which is partly why I suspect frostbite.

In reply to Postmanpat:

You should know quite quickly whether the injury is friction or cold. If it is cold then something to prepare for in the future is possible recurring sensitivity (to cold) of once damaged tissue.
V

In reply to Postmanpat:

Update: the blister has now virtually gone but the tip if the toe is purple. The pharmacist I showed it to said it could be a mixture of cold and bruising but as long as the blister doesn't burst it should be OK. My ex-marine arctic warfare mate said it looked like a cold problem and I'd better be very careful in future and maybe see a GP.
He,ho...

In reply to Postmanpat:

You should quickly hack at your toe, or better still you foot with a blunt axe, this will "let the poison out *" and you might survive.






* I read on another thread you had a lot of poison in you, not sure if it was a doctor who made this diagnosis though.

In reply to krikoman:


Have been believing those alternative facts again? Was it the same thread that said Jezzer would be the next PM?