"Chilblains"...I think thats how it's spelled.When I was a nipper in the 40s / 50's..my mates and I all my suffered with Chillblains..it's a mild form of frostbite.. Also "Hot Aches" that was nasty also, these ailments were pretty uncomfortable in those days ..Because we couldn't afford central heating, fitted carpets. draught exclusion etc:, we had to put up with the cold winters and do the best we could..I remember getting up on winter mornings and sitting in front of the coal fire with my brother and sister, waiting for it to give off enough heat to warm our cold feet and hands...Nowadays I sit in a warm central heated room, and moan if somone opens a door and I feel a draft.....Am I getting soft ?.

I think we're all getting soft.
Heating upstairs was unthinkable. Ice regularly formed on the inside of windows which were ill-fitting at best. How more people didn't die of the cold amazes me.
Nowadays, it's all double-glazed windows and central heating. It's what we now consider the norm. Schools and workplaces have to be heated to a certain temperature by law, a far cry from the olden days. OK, some people go on about "The good old days", but in this case, new style is definately better.

I have lived in Canada for almost 40 years but I think the coldest I have ever been was in 1947 .
I was out stealing fuel from a building site.
We had burned most of the wooden furniture so we were desperate.
My hands were so cold it brought me to tears.I would have been 8 at the time.
But like plants that need 'Hardening off' I am tougher for it

My grandmother always used to say to me "youll have hot aches", for running about without slippers, but I only ever got them after playing out in the snow and coming in and sitting by the fire.

Fortunately I never had chilblains.

I dont know whether its better footwear or central heating and double glazing, but I dont get cold wet feet any more. I remember when I was a kid coming home from school regularly in the winter with cold wet feet.

I suffered chill blains and frost bite walking to school with wellies and socks in snow and blizzards - why is probably why I have absolutely no interest in skiing here in Australia!!

I got chillblains on my paper round in the 80s a couple of times. They don't half hurt!

I always thought that Chillbalins and Hotaches were a myth. My mum warned me about them but I never suffered.
Maybe it's because I always wore an old pair of socks as gloves when I took my paper round.
Mind you, it was colder back then - and Wagon Wheels were much bigger!

Hot aches - out in the snow till your fingers nearly fell off and then try warming them in front of the fire - used to kill you :)

Kids today don't know they're born ;)

In our house when I was a kid, the central heating had sleeves in it ;)

Chillblains are painful. As a child I used to enjoy sticking my bare feet on the fire to warm them and was warned countless times by my mother that I would get chillblains. But did I listen? Of course not. Sure enough, I got chillblains and it was so painful that I learnt my lesson. Now I wear slippers instead.

Originally posted by Internetowl

In our house when I was a kid, the central heating had sleeves in it ;)

Did you ever try to get your feet down the sleeve of an old duffelcoat so that your toes could fit into the pockets?

Originally posted by Timbuck
I remember getting up on winter mornings and sitting in front of the coal fire with my brother and sister, waiting for it to give off enough heat to warm our cold feet and hands...

Me too :) The living room fire was banked up at night with 'slack' and as the oldest it was my job to stir it into life in the mornings. Delicate job poking holes in the crust in just the right places to get it burning brightly, then whatever the weather I had to take the ashes down the yard to the dustbin, but we all had to traipse down there to the loo anyway :o

My gran stopped us getting chillblains, - she used to make us what she called 'red-indian socks'. These were oversize socks kniitted in thick wool with a leatherette sole sewn on the bottom. In fact we always had woollen mitts, scarves and hats. Gran was a demon knitter :D