An innovation to relieve erythromelalgia through cooling

There is currently no effective treatment to cure erythromelalgia (a rare acrosyndrome). However, there are solutions to effectively relieve the intense burning pain in your extremities (hands, feet, and face). It is known that cold can help alleviate this torment.

In this article, we introduce a refreshing innovation to help you cope with these debilitating symptoms.

Before presenting it, here is a brief reminder to better understand erythromelalgia, its causes, and traditional treatments.

Erythromelalgia: A Rare and Little-Known Disease

Of unclear origin at first, erythromelalgia often begins after the age of forty. However, there are cases affecting very young children as well.

It is caused by significant arteriolar vasodilation, a vasomotor disorder affecting the extremities, also known as a rare paroxysmal acrosyndrome.

More concretely, the blood vessels dilate significantly, causing burning sensations, particularly in the extremities of the body.

There are two types of erythromelalgia (depending on the cause):

• Primary erythromelalgia: Caused by an abnormal mutation of the SCN9a gene, it is hereditary. This type is often more painful and intense than secondary erythromelalgia.
• Secondary erythromelalgia: Linked to various underlying disorders (disease, medication use, etc.).

Erythromelalgia is also diagnosed if a myeloproliferative syndrome such as polycythemia or chronic myeloid leukemia (a group of symptoms caused by the excessive and abnormal proliferation of blood cells in the bone marrow) has been confirmed.

In some cases, erythromelalgia is associated with fibromyalgia, which is also a disorder of pain threshold regulation. However, the connection between these two conditions remains unclear.

From a social perspective, people with erythromelalgia can quickly feel isolated. The disease disrupts daily life: attacks can occur with minimal warming, and since the condition is not well-known, patients may feel misunderstood or not taken seriously. The severe pain and attacks can lead to extreme fatigue and, in some cases, depression.

How Does Erythromelalgia Manifest in Daily Life?

According to some testimonies, the pain feels like walking on burning sand. Imagine being at the beach and having to run from your towel to the water’s edge – that’s the burning sensation people with erythromelalgia can experience!

The blood vessels open intensively. This happens during an erythromelalgia attack, but in this case, a temperature of 23°C (73°F) is enough to trigger the pain, and the vessels cannot close back up.

Some describe the pain as tiny burning needles pricking all over their heels, with burning toes. Others avoid taking hot showers for fear of triggering another attack.

These intense burning sensation attacks, accompanied by pronounced erythema (redness) in the extremities, are often accompanied by swelling and are triggered by an increase in local body heat.

These crises can be triggered by:

In general, the body reacts strongly to heat, resulting in an intensive opening of blood vessels that do not close back up.

Proposed Treatments

Today’s treatments can provide relief but do not effectively treat the disease at its core.
Additionally, they often involve medication solutions, which could potentially compromise the health of certain organs in the long term. Frequent medication intake is also not advisable in all cases (such as allergies or digestive or renal diseases, for example).

• Beta-blockers (for primary erythromelalgia)
• Aspirin (for secondary erythromelalgia) and powerful painkillers in severe cases (primary erythromelalgia)

It is also recommended to elevate the affected areas to alleviate overheating.

Therefore, there is currently no effective treatment to cure this rare disease. That’s why individuals afflicted with the condition often try to alleviate their suffering primarily by using cooling methods and pain relievers.

Relief Through Cold Therapy

Individuals suffering from this condition feel an overwhelming need to cool the affected areas in various ways: ice water baths, freezer packs, applying cold compresses to sensitive areas, frostbite creams… During the day, they also resort to these ice packs as it’s the only approach that truly soothes them (some use cans, easy to carry in a cooler or insulated bag).

Unfortunately, these various solutions often lead to severe skin alterations afterward, ulcers, warming of frostbite (edema), followed by necrosis.

These unbearable and violent pains (sensations of “burning alive”) often occur during the night when falling asleep because it creates a slight vasodilation. Some people end up sleeping on ice cubes. Otherwise, it’s impossible for them to find sleep.

According to various testimonies, we can see that one of the best ways to relieve the pain remains the cold.

Relief Through Cold Therapy Without Side Effects

For individuals with erythromelalgia, the ideal scenario would involve continuous and soothing coolness along their legs and feet (and possibly their face and hands for some) throughout the night and/or day.

Today, several technologies can address this need.

1. The Climsom Intense Cooling Mattress Topper

The Climsom Intense air-conditioned mattress topper can provide real relief for individuals suffering from erythromelalgia. By diffusing intense coolness, it naturally alleviates pain and soothes sensations of warmth.

Indeed, the temperature-regulated mattress topper can reach very cool and constant temperatures (15°C). It’s important to note that this coolness is conveyed through water, and the user’s weight rests on the mattress topper, intensifying the perceived coolness. This intensity is further enhanced by the medical-grade silicone material used. Imagine immersing yourself in a bath of seawater at 15°C…

To use it, simply position the mattress topper under the lower body and select the temperature that best suits you and soothes the flare-ups. This will allow you to fall asleep more peacefully and improve the quality of your sleep. Compatible with all bedding, it gladly replaces ice packs in the bed, providing a more gradual, regular, and comfortable cooling experience.

Originally, this device was designed to meet the needs of patients with venous insufficiency and restless leg syndrome. In both cases, the device addresses the need to reduce the diameter of blood vessels (vasoconstriction).

It was created to facilitate falling asleep and improve sleep quality for individuals with conditions that prevent them from falling asleep calmly and peacefully, leveraging the beneficial effects of cold.How It Works

Its operation is simple. Just fill the device’s reservoir with preferably demineralized water, plug it in, and turn it on. You can then choose your comfort temperature ranging from 15 to 48°C directly on the device or conveniently from your bed using its remote control. Depending on the chosen temperature, the temperature controller will heat or cool the water and circulate it through the network of tubes in the mattress topper. It can also be programmed up to 12 hours before bedtime, allowing you to slip into bed with a very cool temperature that immediately relieves these unbearable sensations of warmth.

What’s in the Pack

• A temperature controller with remote control


• A silicone mattress topper 70 x 100 cm, covered with a cover with one side in cotton (warmth) and one side in medical silicone (coolness) + possibility to remove the cover for even more coolness.


• A 1.5m flexible hose to move the temperature controller away from the mattress topper.


• 1-month satisfaction or money-back guarantee

Testimonial

“I wanted to let you know that we are delighted with the Climsom Intense mattress topper used for our 7-year-old daughter who suffers from erythromelalgia (burning sensations in the feet and legs). We turn it on 1 to 2 hours before her bedtime, so she can slip into bed at 8 degrees*. It soothes the pain she feels. She no longer needs to sleep on ice packs. I have recommended it to other parents of children with the same condition as her. It is easy to use because even our daughter knows how to use it. Thanks again for our daughter, thanks to this mattress these bedtimes are a little less painful. It’s a shame it’s not covered by health insurance.”

Mme A. CHATEAULIN

*The temperature controller can indeed go down to 8°C. However, the normal usage temperature with an Intense mattress topper will most often be 15°C. In addition to the Climsom Intense mattress topper and in order to provide you with a portable solution, Climsom offers other devices that can provide relief through cold therapy.

2. Cooling Pillow Pads

At any time of the day, during a flare-up, grab your cooling pillow and apply it to the overheated part of your body. Self-cooling, these pillows are naturally cool: no manipulation is needed to cool them down. For extra coolness, they can be placed in a refrigerator or even a freezer.

These cooling pillows can be placed on the legs and feet and can be very convenient for travel or in addition to the Climsom Intense mattress topper. For the face, simply place your cooling pillow on top of your regular pillow or between your pillowcase and your pillow.

Drawing on over 15 years of experience and customer feedback, Climsom has developed three models of cooling pillows to satisfy as many people as possible.

The Climsom Intense Cooling Mattress Topper and the Climsom Cooling Pillows are innovations that help alleviate the lives of many people suffering from erythromelalgia.