Symptoms of Frostbite

• Cold, tingly and painful skin.
• Pale, hard, numb skin. It can be serious. It always needs medical care after re-warming.

Cause of Frostbite

• Health Conditions. You are more likely to get frostbite if you have Raynaud's Disease, diabetes or have had frostbite in the past.
• Clothing. Wearing wet clothes makes frostbite worse. Touching bare hands to cold metal during freezing weather can cause frostbite right away.
• Length of Time in Cold. You are more likely to get frostbite the longer you are in freezing weather. Wind-chill causes you to get frostbite quicker.
• Other Causes. Some medicines, smoking, alcohol and recreational drugs all raise your risk of frostbite.

Frostbite Severity. Frostbite can be described like burns:

• Frostnip (mild frostbite). Cold, tingly and painful skin. No skin changes after re-warming.
• 1st Degree. Pale and hard skin while frozen. Mild redness and swelling after re-warming. No blisters.
• 2nd Degree. Same as 1st degree, plus blisters after 24 hours.
• 3rd Degree. Blood-filled blisters leading to long-term skin damage and scarring.

When to Call for Frostbite

Care Advice for Mild Frostbite

What You Should Know about Frostbite:

• Frostbite is caused by exposure of parts of the body to temperatures below freezing for a period of time.
• It most often affects the fingers, toes and feet. It can also affect the nose, cheeks and ear lobes.
• Frostbite means the nerves, blood vessels and skin were frozen for a short time.
• Often happens to people who work outside in the cold; those who do winter sports.
• The homeless and the elderly are especially at risk.
• Most frostbite is mild and gets better with warming up.
• Here is some care advice that should help.

Rewarming with Wet Heat:

• Move into a warm room.
• For Frostbite of Fingers or Toes. Place the body part in warm water. A bathtub or sink is often best. The water should be very warm (98.6° to 102° F, or 37° to 39° C). It should not be hot enough to burn. Keep soaking in the warm water for about 30 minutes. A pink flush means blood flow has returned to the body part. At this point, the numbness should be gone. The affected part may feel painful as blood flow returns.
• For Frostbite of the Face (such as ears, nose). Put a warm wet washcloth on the area. You should keep doing this for about 30 minutes. A pink flush means blood flow has returned to the area.
• With more severe frostbite, the last 10 minutes of rewarming can be painful.
• If not using a bathtub, keep the rest of your body warm. Cover with blankets.

Common Treatment Mistakes:

• A common mistake is to put snow on the frostbitten area or to rub it. Both can cause damage to thawing tissues.
• Do not re-warm with dry heat. Do not use heat lamps, heating pads or electric heaters. Reason: skin that has frostbite can't sense burning.
• Do not re-warm if the body part may freeze again in the next few hours. Freezing-warming-freezing causes more harm than freezing-warming.

Drink Warm Liquids:

• Drink lots of warm liquids, such as tea or hot chocolate.

Pain Medicine:

• To help with the pain, take a ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
• Use as needed, but do not take more than the maximum recommended dosage as stated on the package.
• If you are not sure what to take, ask a pharmacist.

Aloe Vera Ointment for Pain:

• Put aloe vera ointment on the frostbite.
• Use twice daily for 5 days.

What to Expect:

• Frostnip does not cause any damage to the skin. After rewarming, the skin feeling, color and softness come back in less than 1 hour.
• Mild frostbite: after rewarming, the skin may be flushed and tingly. This lasts for a few hours.

Preventing Frostbite:

• Cold sensitivity and repeat bouts of frostbite is common if you have had severe frostbite in the past.
• Dress in layers for cold weather. The first layer should be thermal underwear. The outer layer needs to be waterproof. The layers should be loose, not tight. Mittens are warmer than gloves. Do not use tight gloves or shoes. They might limit with blood flow.
• Wear a hat, because more than 50% of heat loss occurs from the head.
• Change wet gloves or socks right away.
• Make sure you know the first warning signs of frostbite. Tingling and numbness are signs to go indoors.

Call Your Doctor If:

• Color and feeling do not return to normal after 1 hour of re-warming
• Frostbite gets blisters
• You think you need to be seen
• Your symptoms get worse

Remember! Contact your doctor if you or your child develop any "Contact Your Doctor" symptoms.

Disclaimer: this health information is for educational purposes only. You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it.




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