Frostbite occurs when skin and other tissues are exposed to very cold temperatures. It can happen within minutes when you are:
Frostbite usually affects the hands, feet, nose, cheeks, and ears. Superficial frostbite injures the skin and tissues just beneath the skin, but usually does not permanently injure tissue. Deep frostbite, which also affects muscle, nerves, and blood vessels, may result in tissue death, a condition known as gangrene.
The following are signs and symptoms of frostbite:
When exposed to cold, the body tries to preserve heat. Blood vessels near the skin's surface narrow, forcing more blood into the core to keep the heart and lungs warm. This helps prevent hypothermia, which results when the body's temperature falls below 98°F (34°C). However, it also prevents the extremities (such as hands and feet) from receiving enough warm blood. At first, the blood vessels alternate between narrowing and widening, to keep the extremities as warm as possible. But under extremely cold conditions, the vessels stop widening. When skin temperature drops low enough, ice crystals can form around and within the cells, freezing tissue and possibly rupturing cells. The lack of circulation that occurs when the body directs blood flow away from the extremities may also cause cell damage.
These factors increase the risk for frostbite:
Seek emergency medical care to treat frostbite as soon as possible. Your health care provider will ask about your exposure to cold, including what the temperature was and length of exposure. Your provider will also examine your skin, looking for signs of superficial and deep injury. You may not be able to see the extent of your injury until the area rewarms. Doctors may run blood tests and imaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to determine the severity of your injury, as well as any complications, such as infection.
If you are going to be outside in cold temperatures, it's essential to prevent frostbite. Take these steps to keep warm:
Frostbite is a medical emergency. It is important to get conventional medical care as soon as possible. Remove constricting or wet clothing and immobilize and insulate the affected areas. Your health care provider will treat mild frostbite by rewarming the affected area, washing it with an antiseptic, and applying a sterile dressing. If medical care is not available immediately, seek shelter and rewarm a mildly frostbitten area by immersing it in warm water (98.6 to 102.24°F or 37 to 39°C), or by repeatedly applying warm cloths to the area for 30 minutes. Never use hot water, fire, a heating pad, or other dry heat because these methods may burn the skin before the feeling returns. Remove any jewelry from the affected area before rewarming because the area may swell. Never rub or massage frozen body parts, and avoid walking on a frostbitten foot, if possible (however, if you are far from help, it is better to walk on frozen feet than to thaw them out). Wrap the area in dry dressings, putting dressings between fingers and toes to keep them separated. If there is any danger of refreezing, it is best not to thaw the area until you reach warm shelter. Thawing and refreezing can seriously damage tissue.
If there is no danger of refreezing, treat deep frostbite by rapid thawing in a warm water bath. The patient should be hospitalized and have a health care provider elevate the frostbitten area. Medication can help control pain. Providers will take steps to prevent or treat any infection. Deep frostbite is often accompanied by hypothermia, a medical emergency that requires hospital care.
Your provider may prescribe drugs, such as narcotic analgesics to treat pain, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat pain and inflammation, antibiotics to prevent or treat infection, or a tetanus shot to prevent tetanus. Aspirin and ibuprofen may be helpful, but evidence is limited.
Generally, surgical treatment is not used as an early intervention. However, it may be necessary in patients with compartment syndrome.
If frostbite has caused tissue death in any area, such as a hand or foot, amputation may be necessary. The decision to amputate is taken over a period of 4 to 8 weeks after the injury. However, in patients with serious infection, wet gangrene, or pain that won't respond to treatment, surgery may be required sooner.
It is important to seek conventional care for frostbite as soon as possible to prevent tissue damage. While nutritional supplements may enhance conventional treatment, maintaining the body's core temperature by dressing warmly, drinking fluids, and eating plenty of food before and during exposure to cold are critical to preventing and treating frostbite.
You should never use herbs to self-treat frostbite. Speak to your physician before using any herbal therapies to make sure they are right for you, and that they do not interfere with conventional treatment.
Few studies have examined the effectiveness of specific homeopathic remedies. A homeopath, however, may recommend one or more of the following treatments for frostbite:
Frostbitten areas should never be massaged or vigorously rubbed.
The outlook for frostbite depends on the depth of tissue injury and can range from complete recovery to amputation.
Possible complications of frostbite include the following:
A majority of patients have long-term, residual symptoms including pain, loss of sensation, swelling, hair or nail deformities, and rarely, arthritis.
Damage caused by frostbite is not always immediately evident. Health care providers will monitor your condition over weeks or months to determine the severity of your injury. Many patients have long-term symptoms, including pain, numbness, swelling, and hair or nail deformities.
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Reviewed By: Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD, Solutions Acupuncture, a private practice specializing in complementary and alternative medicine, Phoenix, AZ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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