purple legs and feet, bad circulation?

Wow! I thought I was alone with my purple feet. This has been going on for about 8 years, I am 26 years old. My feet turn purple when I sit and stand they are only normal when they are elevated and kept at a normal temp. When its warm or hot outside they turn extremely red to the point where people ask me if they are sunburned. When they are purple, people say I have the feet of a dead person. So flattering! They ache when they are not elevated (purple) They sting when they are hot(red). Please help!

I had a similar problem that cleared up very well with something called Upper Cervical care. It is a special type of chiropractor. They only treat the neck. But it helped!

Hope this helps!

I'm 16 and i've been experiencing the same symptoms the people above have described. My feet are the only real problem though. My hands get cold from time to time. But mostly it's my feet that start to go red in colour, then after a few minutes become purple, to the point where my feel look like they could belong to a corpse lol. My feet turn purple even after im standing for only a minute or two, and also when im just sitting down. The worst thing about it is that, when i go out, i can't wear high heels at all because my feet will just be purple all day, and it doesn't look that nice when people look at my shoes and see my feet. I've been curious to know if there are easy ways to prevent this, such as yoga or soaking my feet in hot water. But im not 100% sure what is the best way to prevent it yet. Any ideas?

Guest wrote:

"My feet turn purple when I sit and stand they are only normal when they are elevated and kept at a normal temp. When they are purple, people say I have the feet of a dead person."
This is exactly my problem. I'm mainly just worried that in later years it might cause varicose veins, arthritis or other problems. The other problem is i can't have hot baths to reduse it cause every time i clean the bath to get ready for one, there's always my family that decides to throw a bunch of cleaning chemicals in it, dirty washing baskets etc So my bath is never an option.

I have the same problem, i broke my arm when i was 12 and my mom and dad wouldnt let me go outside cause my cast would start to stink.Then i got addicted to a game, i've been playing it since then i quit for a year but now i sit at my computer 15-18 hours a day playing it my feet only uste to get red when standing longer than 10-15 minutes but now they turn purple when sitting longer than 10-15 minutes i would really like some help or info and i'm not fat in any way i weigh around 140 pounds 5"10 any help would be nice ;D

i have the same symptoms but i was diagnosed with arteriosclerosis of the extremities, "hardening of the arteries"

Hey, I have the same thing, except my legs are bright purple all the time pretty much. When I am in the sun for a long time they look normal sometimes but other than that they are purple. They aren't like solid purple, it's like these little lines that look like veins that turn purple. Also, if I go out in the heat for too long the purple veiny lines will turn bright red. Its really weird. I'm going to ask my doctor about it soon.

OH MY GOD!!! I have the exact same thing!!! My feet, legs, hands, and arms turn purple. My arms and legs don't turn completely purple. Also, my toes get numb, especially my pinky toes, even if the rest of my body feels really warm. My hands get this weird pattern; it sort of looks like fish scales (most likely my veins, I think). Then if my feet/hands/etc. aren't a full purple, they can be a bright, VERY vibrant pinkish red and purple mix. Also, when I get out of the shower, my legs (knees especially) are a bright, bright light red, and when I bend my knees to get out of the shower it hurts. It's only my knees and I don't know why, it goes away after a minute or so. Back to the purple legs/feet thing, my limbs are even purple in the Summer. It's rediculous.
I asked my pediatrician (I'm 16, by the way, which sounds like the average age to be getting this condition--I got it a maximum of 2 years ago) when I was getting a check up about it, mainly because my feet were a deep purple right in front of him, but he just said it was because of the way I was sitting on the table (pfft whatever). I'm pretty sure that it's a blood circulation problem,because of the purple color (sort of like blue--deoxygenated blood, little circulation getting oxygen to said body part/parts) and also because I have been getting head and back "pains". My head hurts if I've been lying down or even sitting up straight and then standing up (which happens when you "get up to fast" and the blood rushes away from your head), the thing that causes people to see black/grey and rainbow spots. The thing with my back isn't really a "pain", but rather an intense need to stretch my spine. The feeling usually (more like hopefully) goes away when I stretch or do physical activity involving my back. The reason why we stretch is because physical activity gets the blood going and therefore increases oxygen all of the body. So my theory is my body wants me to get more oxygen all around. If you have any of the symptoms I do that no one else mentioned I'm willing to talk discuss them and interested in hearing about it, because no one else I know experiences my back problem.

omg i have this too but im only 13 :-( its just my legs tho, they are purple pretty much all he time except ifi rub them (which they usually go purple quickly afterwards anyway) its really embarrasinso can u email me if u find a soloution x thanks ;-) x

Hi, I also have purple legs and red spots. I find it really irritating. My Purple-ness is on most of my body except for my head, neck and chest. I have gone to the Docter numerous times and he still can't figure out whats going on. I suffer from low blood pressure and this lowers the amount of treatments avaliable to me. My Doctor put me on medication called "Plendil ER" inwhich I have been taking for four months, Unfortunetly this has made no difference to my circulation at all. When i get out of bed in the morning my legs are fine, no purple at all, but as soon as I stand up or my body temperature drops my legs go purple. Being 15 this is really Embarrasing and is getting worse! Apparently this condition has something to do with raynauds, just no as bad. Please if you find a solution email me! Thanks!

I just started having the purple/blue blotchy feet 2 days ago. Up until now and for the past 5 months I've had a problem where my feet get very warm and it feels like I am walking on small rounded stones. I went to the doctor with this condition but he offered no explanation. Then 2 days ago in the evening my feet got really cold (very unusual for me) while sitting around watching tv. I took a hot bath to warm them up then all of a sudden the bottom of my feet turned blotch purple blue and even one toe on the right foot turned white and my big toe got numb. I have never had this problem before in my feet. I do suffer for raynauds but it has been confined to my hands and even then it hasn't been bad over the past 5 years. I am going to a doctor tomorrow. If anything comes of it I will reply.

I have had this for years. I'm 18 now and I've had it since I was around 10 years old.

For me personally I get a dull pain in my lower legs/feet very easily. If I'm standing up, legs crossed - even and actually especially when I'm lying in bed. It doesn't matter if I wear 3 pairs of knee high socks, the coldness and pain is still there. It's horrible and often stops me from being able to sleep. When I rub them to stimulate blood flow I get pins and needles as they wake up, which is heaven compared to the numb dull achey pain. I also get the red/white dots - especially on my upper arms. >:(

I also get shaving rash very easily, and purple "corned beef" legs if I stand or sit for too long. It made me very self concious during P.E at school since they insisted of shorts. Now I'm out of school I never have bare legs. I can't even stand the sight of them when it's just me, so I avoid having them bare at all times. Sometimes I'd like to wear a skirt or be able to wear a bikini, but no.

Also, when I have a shower, my feet go bright red from standing. It's awful, my knees even go red, and when I shave I get an awful rash, especially on the fronts of my thighs. I also have a lot of blue veins that are noticeable. I'm also quite pale.

I have tried spray on and even getting a natural light tan, but neither work. Fake tans just come off when you shave/shower and real tans are not healthy for people who are pale. (I love pale skin btw, but would like to be able to show it off). :-(

I'm naturally slim but because of poor circulation, I don't get to enjoy my figure. People are often envious because I'm thin, but I'd give it all up for nice skin which a lot of people I know have.

Also, if I'm out in cold weather my hands/arms go bright purple/blue too. Even if I wear gloves. It's hell basically - constant discomfort and imo there should be more research done and more cures available. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. It's a very depressing condition.

I have some advice to ease it though; Exercise when you can
Avoid sugary/unhealthy foods
Body brushing/Putting your legs above heart level for 20 mins. (Although girls - not if you're on your period apparently)
Going to the doctor to chat about supplements and if there's an underlying issue
Squeezing your toes then releasing stimulates blood flow as does wiggling your fingers
Drinking ginger green tea
Hot and cold water therapy
Lots of layers of clothes when it's cold (But thin layers, not thick ones)

My heart goes out to anyone who suffers from this, lets just hope we can find a miracle cure and start showing off our legs. ;-)

It's good to know it's not as uncommon as I thought though.

Much love xoxox

Hi, I have really bad purple legs that are always cold, plus Keratosis Pilaris. I think it is something to do with low blood pressure, but I heard aspirin helps? It's supposed to thin the blood to help it pump, but I don't really know. It can be really hard to get my legs to warm up, but other times they are really warm (mostly in bed).

Hope this helps

The same thing happens to me! I get red and purple blotches over my legs when i get cold. My docter said that its normal. To cover it, you just need a tan.

This seems to be an old thread but was so happy to find this posting and all the info that you guys provided.

I also have these symptoms since a teenager. I have since been diagnosed with Raynauld and also had Graves Disease until treated for that. Although, I agree that perhaps the Raynauld's is related to this ugly blue skin, I'm not sure that thyroid problems (Graves Disease) is related. The worst part for me is that now that pantyhose are out of style, there is NO WAY I will wear a skirt to office with air conditioning on! Uggh.

Anyway, I am curious, where you all live. Now that I'm in my mid-forties and kids are grown, I am thinking about relocating to warmer climate in the future (maybe Florida).

None of my doctors seem to be concerned except to tell me that I have fair skin! LOL.