My uncle Jack is 93. His toes and feet are deep purple. What can cause that?

Question

I just started caring for my uncle Jack. He was being mistreated at a board and care facility. His feet are a purple color. Is this an indicator of something I can help fix? We are on our way to the doctor soon, but is there anything to do in the mean time?

Answer 1

The 93 club , my Grandma belongs to that club and she had shown the same symptoms , I took her to the doctor , I suggest you do the same, in her case it was not life threatening just a condition that occurs in older individuals ,that did not have to be treated , wish I could remember the term my Doctor used.

Why I think uncle Jack should see a Doctor , Celulitis and not celulite which Women despise on fatty areas, well Celulitis is an infection of the skin and usually requires agressive treatment , antibiotics and sometimes a Hospital stay of a week , redness of the skin accompanied by warmth , yes it usually is hot to the touch , my Grandmother has had it at least 4 times in the last 7 years, that is why I think it's best to be safe and have it checked out anyway.

why this condition can happen , some individuals retain water and have swelling in the legs and feet , sometimes the skin breaks naturally or from a bump or scrape , then the infection starts , if he is in a chair most of the day try to see if you can elevate his feet this helps alot , too cool down the skin , one remedy is too grate a carrot and apply grated carrot to area use a bandage ,lightly wrapped too keep the grated pieces on skin and then leave on for a while, change often and start over, you may see improvement shortly. Also use moisturizer on skin and lightly massage , this helps with swelling and circulation.

Again the above is for Celulitis , and it is not necessarily your uncles condition , if you should decide to try it anyways , I see little harm in it , but it's best to see a Doctor , like I said my Grandma had some puple skin and it turned out to be nothing just a condition that occurs with age and no treatment was necessary , I care for my Grandma and worry too , just wanted to make sure it is not a condition from diabetes which she does not have or circulatory problem that can lead to one losing a leg, it's best to play it safe.

Best of health to Uncle Jack.

Answer 2

He may have a condiction called Raynauds or he may have some other type of circulation disorder. Please read on, I know that this is long but it may help.

Most primary doctors do not understand a lot about
Raynauds. He may need to be seen by a Rheumatologist since they are more knowlegable when it comes to both Raynauds and other circulation disorders. Please check out the web site that I have placed in the source area it may help you understand this disease. Also should he have the disease there are things that can help him to make him comfortable and even help keep his feet healthy. ***You mainly see the color changes in the toes***

When his feet get cold do they turn other colors, red, white
and even blue that sort of looks purple? He may have what is called Raynauds, which is a circulation disorder. I have this and if he has this he should keep his feet very warm at all times, as it helps promote circulation. You may want to insist that he keeps his feet warm as it may be a cirulation disorder of some sort, at least until he has been seen by his doctor.

The best way I can describe the disorder is that it is similar to diabetes, except that you are not diabetic. A person with this disease can develop ulcerations to the feet which become extreemly painful, as do people with diabetes.

When you take him to his doctor ask the doctor if he thinks that this may be what he has, they can test for it through blood work. They may also test him for diabetes. It may just be that he has bad circulation in his lower extremities.

There really isn't much that can be done for the disease. If he smokes he will need to quit as it is bad for this disease. Keep his extremities very warm to promote circulation, make him wear a hat if you live like in the midwest where it is cold. Have him wear a scarf and good warm gloves and warm boots. If he takes blood pressure medication they may place him on heart medication such as Nifedipine in place of the blood pressure medication as it works for both blood pressure and it also widens the blood vessels to promote circulation to the areas where the blood flow isn't as good.

I would also say that if he has this disease get him shoes that diabetic people wear as they will be better for his feet to help keep him from developing ulcers that are hard to heal. Also take him to the podiatrist (foot doctor) frequently to help keep his feet healthy. They can clip his nails and make sure that the nails don't dig into his skin and cause him to develop ulcers. Make sure that he stays warm and avoids stress since both are so hard on your body when you have this disease.

I wish you the best of luck and I hope that all goes well with your uncle's health. You are certainly a wonderful person for stepping up and making sure that he is no longer mistreated. God Bless you for making sure that your uncle is being taken care of. No one ever deserves to be mistreated, I'm so sorry that happened to him.

As I have said I do have this disease, I have had it for years. It didn't start getting really bad for me until 2001 when I developed ulcers on my feet. The pain is unlike anything that I ever have had in my life, even child birth can not hold a candle to it. I gave birth to my daughter naturally with out the use of any pain medication or blocks, that was a walk in the park compaired to this pain.

I am telling you this so that if your uncle does have this please check out the web site as they have creams that can both warm and keep his skin from cracking and becoming ulcerated. It is called ProNeema skin cream.

God Bless you both, I will keep you both in my prayers. Take care!

Answer 3

It's lack of blood supply as a result of blood
circulation problem,in the mean time you can massage his feet to increase the blood
flow to the whole area and you'll be rewarded some how when you get older.

Answer 4

Probably peripheral vascular disease. At 93, chances are your uncle"s blood vessels are already clogged making arterial blood difficult to reach the lower extremities.

Answer 5

My guess would also be poor circulation, what you may want to find out though is what's causing it, and is it treatable, and if so, why they weren't doing whatever they could about it.
You may want to be sure his blood sugar has been checked, diabetes many times can lead to the same symptom.

Answer 6

Sounds like it could Low Cirrculation. My grandmother had that and had to get her toes cut off. I would get it checked out by a Dr.

Answer 7

Not sure, if it is not bruising, could be caused by bad circulation, really this is a question for the doctor

Answer 8

my uncle's sister was 86 when her lips becamed purple.. she died in a couple of days... i don't want to scare you but at 93 the purple skin means that the heart activity is somehow over..

Answer 9

could be from poor blood circulation?