Contents:
- Medical Video: The Stowaway | Critical Role | Campaign 2, Episode 45
- Is that frostbite?
- Why can ice cubes make skin burn?
- Signs and symptoms of frostbite
- Is frostbite dangerous?
Medical Video: The Stowaway | Critical Role | Campaign 2, Episode 45
You may have quite often experienced burning skin due to sunburn. However, did you know that cold temperatures from ice can also cause the same thing? So cold, sometimes the skin can become inflamed until a burning sensation appears after touching ice cubes. This condition is referred to as frostbite orice burn.
Is that frostbite?
Hot and cold temperatures can both affect skin health. If you hold ice cubes or are exposed to very cold winds and your skin is immediately inflamed, then you may experience frostbite (ice burnorfrostbite).
Frostbite is a condition when the body's tissue freezes and is damaged by exposure to low temperatures (cold). At first, the skin will feel very cold, reddish, sore and numb for a long time. This generally occurs in parts of the hands, feet, nose and ears, because these body parts are often not protected by clothing, making them more vulnerable to changes in temperature from the outside.
Pain similar to burning skin usually occurs after you have touched for a long time with things that are very low in temperature. For example, when you hold the ice cube for too long or directly attach ice cubes to the sprained leg without wrapping it with cloth first. The cold temperature of ice can trigger burning and redness in a few moments.
Why can ice cubes make skin burn?
When experiencing muscle cramps or injury, ice cube compresses are usually the most frequent first aid. This method can indeed help relax stiff muscles. But if you put it directly on the skin without wrapping it with cloth first, your skin can become inflamed.
This can occur because of differences in temperature on the skin and ice. The temperature of the skin tends to be warm, while the temperature of the ice is very low aka cold. When ice cubes come into contact with the surface of the skin, the heat on the skin can only be released momentarily.
As a result, the water content in the skin cells freezes and begins to damage the cell structure below. Cold temperatures from ice also make blood vessels near the skin begin to narrow.
This causes blood flow to the inflamed area of the skin to decrease and worsen the damage to the skin. The skin feels stinging like burning.
Signs and symptoms of frostbite
People who often hold ice cubes, especially dry ice or prickly ice, are certainly more at risk of experiencing frostbite. Not only because of ice cubes, this can also happen if you are exposed to very cold, fast, and long winds.
Basically, the symptoms of burning skin due to ice are similar to those caused by sunburn. The easiest way to detect it is to see a change in skin color. For example, the skin can turn reddish, but it can also become pale white or grayish yellow.
Other signs and symptoms of frostbite include:
- Cold and stinging skin
- Itchy and painful skin
- The texture of the skin turns harder or even soft like a candle
- Numbness or numbness
Is frostbite dangerous?
Similar to burning skin due to sunburn, inflamed skin due to exposure to ice cubes can generally be handled easily. For example, mild frostbite or frostnip tends not to cause permanent skin damage.
You can treat this one skin problem by soaking it in warm water for 20 minutes. After that, wrap the infected skin area with a warm cloth so that the skin temperature stabilizes faster.
However, if your skin feels more painful and inflamed, this means that the cold temperature of ice has begun to damage the skin deeper into the tissues, muscles, or even bones.
Severe frostbite can lead to complications in the form of infection and further nerve damage if not treated quickly. So, immediately consult a doctor if you experience it.
