Contents:
Medical Video: Frostbite 2019 - Japan vs North America Crew Battle
1. Definition
What is frostbite?
Frostbite is a cold, pale, painful, tingling, or numb feeling in the skin. The most common parts are toenails, fingers, end of life, outer ear, or cheeks. Nerves, blood vessels, and skin cells temporarily freeze. Cold temperatures will determine how quickly this happens. Frostbite will get worse if the skin and clothes are also wet when exposed to cold air. Touching cold metal or volatile products (such as gasoline) that are frozen with bare hands can directly cause frostbite. Frostbite on the cheeks can occur when a toddler continues to emit popsicles for a long time. Injury during cold is a painful and sometimes dangerous thing. Severe cold exposure (hypothermia) is accompanied by shaking and drowsiness is an emergency.
What are the signs and symptoms?
Signs and symptoms include:
- Cold and itchy skin
- Numb
- Reddish, bluish or grayish and yellowing skin
- The skin looks hard
- Stiffness, due to the tightness of the joints and muscles
- Blisters after being exposed to warm temperatures, in severe cases
2. How to overcome them
What should I do?
The main treatment of frostbite is to warm the affected part of the cold. Take your child to a warm room. Soak the affected part of frostbite in warm water or cover with warm water compresses. Bathing is the fastest way. The water temperature must be very warm (40 ° to 42 ° C) but not too hot so it doesn't burn. Soaking in warm water should be continued until there is a pink hue and is a sign of return to circulation in the part affected by frostbite (usually 30 minutes). At this point, the feeling of numbness has disappeared. If you get severe frostbite, the last 10 minutes when reheating the temperature will usually be painful. Your body should also be kept warm with enough blankets. If there is pain, take acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and warm drinks.
Frequently Performed Errors
A common mistake that is often made in dealing with frostbite is applying sajues to the affected part of frostbite or massaging it; both of these can cause damage to the network. Do not warm the body temperature affected by frostbite with a dry warmer, such as warm lights or electric heating, because the skin affected by frostbite will be very flammable.
When do I have to see a doctor?
Go to the doctor immediately if:
- More than three parts of the body get frostbite
- The part affected by frostbite is quite large
- Frostbite caused by exposure to heavy cold
- Body temperature is less than 35 ° C
- Severe trembling
- Talk is unclear or confused
Also contact your doctor if:
- Skin tone and sensation do not return to normal after 60 minutes
- Part of frostbite blisters
3. Prevention
- Make sure to always wear special clothing for cold weather. The first layer should be warm underwear, and the outer layer needs to be waterproof. Layers of clothing should be loose, not tight.
- Wear a hat because more than 50 percent loss of warmth occurs from the head.
- Get to know the early symptoms of frostbite. Tingling and numbness are one of the main symptoms.
