Mr. Wu, 64, has suffered from vasculitis (thromboangiitis obliterans) for many years. Whenever the weather turns cold, he feels a painful bloating in his calves and numbness in both feet. His feet also feel icy cold. He followed an old folk remedy and soaked his feet in some Chinese herbs. A week later, his feet turned purple and black, and the pain was so severe that he could not walk. Subsequently, he was carried by his family to the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Surgery at the City Hospital. The doctor unwrapped the herbal bundle around his feet and found them severely rotten with a foul smell. The doctor immediately started treatment and said that if Mr. Wu had come any later, he might have needed toe amputation.
Many elderly patients with vasculitis also suffer from hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Their symptoms worsen during winter. Many patients use inappropriate care methods such as soaking their feet in hot or warm water, or wrapping their feet in bundles of herbal medicine, which can cause frostbite on the affected limbs (external application of herbal medicine).