How to provide first aid for frostbite

Doctors call frostbite an injury caused by cold. The mechanism here is simple . When the ambient temperature drops, our body sharply constricts its external blood vessels. This stops blood flow in and under the skin and helps prevent the loss of heat, which is necessary for the normal functioning of internal organs.

If it is not very cold or you are in the cold for a short time, nothing dangerous happens. Otherwise, circulatory disorders can become deeper and lead to serious, often irreversible consequences.

In very cold (−15 °C and below) and windy weather, frostbite can occur in just 5 minutes.

How to recognize frostbite

Soft form

Photo: Jaim924/Depositphotos

Even at the initial stage, the symptoms of frostbite are quite obvious:

• The affected areas – usually the hands, toes, nose, cheeks, ears – become cold, as if they were tingling with tiny needles.
• The skin partially loses sensitivity and becomes numb .
• Part of the body may turn white and then turn red.
• Muscles and joints become stiff, precision and ease of movement disappear.

This stage is safe. The only problem is that due to loss of skin sensitivity, you may not realize that frostbite is increasing. And here there is already a risk of serious injury.

Superficial frostbite

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The previously reddened skin turns pale again, becomes hard and waxy. But at the same time, you may feel a sudden warmth in your seemingly stiff fingers, ears, nose or cheeks… This is not a good sign. The body understands that the external tissues are in serious danger, and in a desperate attempt to save them, it dilates the peripheral vessels, providing a sharp rush of warm blood.

If you return to warmth at this stage, frostbitten skin will begin to thaw and perhaps its color will become uneven – this is normal. You may also notice severe redness, burning, or swelling, and 12 to 36 hours after the cold injury, peeling or small fluid-filled blisters.

Deep frostbite

Photo: Healthline

If you do not escape from the cold in time, the body will lose hope of warming the outer layers of the skin and will again close the peripheral vessels to conserve heat inside. And now this is really dangerous.

The skin will become increasingly waxy, and the muscles and joints will continue to stiffen. In cold weather these changes are practically painless. But frostbite penetrates deeply, and poor circulation leads to tissue death. And when returning to warmth, the situation can become critical: pain and swelling will appear.

In a matter of hours, large, painful blisters will grow on the skin, and the tissue underneath will turn black and harden. This means that the cold-affected part of the body has died.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to restore it, except with the help of prosthetics.

How to provide first aid for initial frostbite

With a mild form of frostbite, it is enough to simply return to the warmth and warm up – for example, drink hot tea. Please note: warming up should be gradual. There is no need to stick affected fingers into hot water – a sharp temperature change can harm blood vessels.

Are you warm? You can return to snow and frost again.

If it is far from warmth, try not to let your body understand that you are freezing and that something is threatening your internal organs. To do this, maintain maximum mobility: walk quickly, or even run towards the house or actively jump in place, clap your hands, pat your nose, cheeks and ears.

How to provide first aid for superficial or deep frostbite

If it comes to superficial or deep frostbite, the scheme of action changes.

It is forbidden :

• Rub and massage the affected areas. Spasmed vessels become brittle, and there is a high risk of damaging them, which will lead to bruising and worsen the situation. The body will react to subcutaneous bleeding by narrowing the vessels that lie deeper.
• Warm up quickly. This again will have a bad effect on spasmodic vessels. If you want to speed up warming up, you can first put your hands or feet in water at room temperature: after frost, it will already seem quite warm to you.
• Drink alcohol. Alcohol dilates peripheral blood vessels. As a result, due to the rush of blood to the skin, you temporarily become warmer, but the body loses heat intensively – hypothermia is possible. In addition, as soon as the effect of alcohol decreases, the body will try to block heat loss by “collapsing” as many peripheral blood vessels as possible, which will worsen the symptoms of frostbite.
• Damage to the skin and even subcutaneous tissues due to frostbite can be irreversible. Therefore, it is extremely important to take action on time.

Need to :

• Return to the warmth immediately!
• Monitor the condition and, if tissue swelling lasts longer than several hours, and blisters or fluid-filled blisters appear on the skin, consult a doctor. Under no circumstances should you puncture the blisters yourself: you risk getting an infection. This should be done by a specialist (of course, if there is such a need).
• Contact your doctor or emergency room as soon as possible if you notice darkening of the skin.
• Take ibuprofen or another pain reliever if the discomfort of thawing seems too strong.
• If a frozen person feels ill, does not show signs of life, or the darkening of the tissues is noticeable, immediately call an ambulance.

How to prevent frostbite

This point may seem unnecessary, but let us still recall the safety rules.

• Monitor the weather forecast and try not to walk for a long time if the temperature drops below −15 °C. Not so low values ​​can be dangerous if they are accompanied by high humidity and wind.
• Dress appropriately for the weather. Ideally, use the principle of multi-layering . On frosty days, wear three layers of clothing: a thin bottom layer that wicks away excess moisture and does not let out heat (thermal underwear), a thick, breathable middle layer (fleece works best) and a warm top layer (an insulated jacket or down jacket with wind- and water-resistant properties).
• Use protective cosmetics – so-called cold creams. They create a thin, oily layer on cold-exposed areas of the skin that helps retain heat and moisture.
• Don’t drink alcohol on the street! A drunk is knee-deep not only in the sea, but also in the cold. You risk not noticing the dangerous symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia. Depending on the degree, the latter is fraught with different consequences: from decreased immunity and the risk of getting sick to problems with the cardiovascular system and other internal organs.
• Elderly people and those who suffer from certain circulatory disorders (for example, diabetics) should be especially careful. Frostbite can also occur more quickly in young children and people with low body fat .
• Learn to recognize and respond promptly to symptoms of frostbite. This will help keep both you and the people around you healthy.