Information on frostbite

What is frostbite

Frostbite – or frostbite – is the injury that occurs when the skin and tissue are frozen underneath At the beginning, the skin becomes very cold and reddish, and then it becomes numb, cruel, and pale. The condition is predominantly common in the fingers, toes, nose, ears, chins, and cheeks, The skin exposed to cold and inclement weather is more susceptible to this injury. But frostbite can occur in areas of skin covered by gloves and other clothing, The reasons for frostbite and its grades will be discussed in this article, as will the first aid provided to the injured person.

Natural Skin Reaction for Cooler

Skin is the largest organ of the body, and contains many different layers from each other, Skin protects human beings and allows them to feel the various things that happen in the surrounding environment the tactile method blood vessels can be found throughout the body, including skin, where it carries blood to different tissues to keep them in nature When there is cold from an external source, these blood vessels shrink, This makes it more narrow for blood to pass through, especially in limb areas and ends such as fingers and toes, This happens mainly to maintain the central body temperature. and, over time, lack of blood flow to those remote areas harms the skin and subsequent tissue.

Causes of frostbite

Frostbite occurs when the tissue under the skin is cooled and frozen. The first and foremost cause of this harm is exposure to the cold atmosphere, but it can occur as a result of direct contact with ice, cold minerals, or extremely cold liquids. The conditions that can lead to frostbite are as follows:

Wear clothes that are not suitable for the weather. For example, clothes that do not protect against cold, wet weather, inclement weather, or that are very tight.

Staying in cold weather and cold winds for very long periods, and the incidence of this problem rises when air temperatures fall below negative 15 ° C, even with no high wind speeds, and in cold air vents below minus 27 ° C, frostbite can occur in uncovered skin in less than 30 minutes.

Contact with cold objects such as ice or cold metals.

Frost Bite Grades

Frostbite can occur in many degrees and stages, depending on the exposure, severity, and time of exposure. Three degrees of exposure can be distinguished from this situation mainly. They can be classified order in terms of the severity of the injury as follows:

Cold Capacity

It is a mild degree of frostbite. Persistent exposure to cold can lead to numbness in the affected area, and as the area gets warmer, the person can feel pain and numbness, and the cold capacity does not lead to permanent damage to the skin.

Surface frostbite

Which pretends to redness the skin, which turns white or pale, A person may feel warm in the area, but this is a sign of serious skin damage. When trying to heat the injury area at this point, the skin can look dotty, A person can also feel tingling, burning, and swelling and pollination-filled oils are seen 12 to 36 hours after heating the skin.

Deep frostbite

As the condition progresses, it can infect all layers of skin, With subcutaneous tissue, the skin may turn white or blue, A person can also feel numb, in addition to losing all sensations of cold, pain, or discomfort in the affected area, Joints and muscles can stop working, and large-sized blisters demonstrate 24 to 48 hours after the area is reheated, The skin can then be colored in black and become harsher as the tissue dies.

First aid in case of frostbite

A person with frostbite on the hands or feet can also suffer from hypothermia. This condition must therefore be treated and endeavor to eliminate complications resulting from it before proceeding with frostbite treatment. The following steps can be taken when suspected of frostbite:

Protect the infected person from cold and transfer him to a warm area, remove wet and tight bauble clothing from his body, look for signs of hypothermia, and treat this problem initially.

When able to get medical care quickly, it is best to wrap the damaged area in sterile clothing remember to separate the hurt fingers from each other, and then transfer the injured person to the ambulatory care unit.

When medical care is not close, a person can be given initial heating treatment, drowning the affected areas with warm water – not hot – for 20 to 30 minutes, warm cloth can be applied to the ears, nose, and cheeks frequently, and it is recommended that the water temperature be between 40 and 42.2 degrees Celsius.

It is possible for a person to feel severely burned, swollen and tonal changes during the water heating process, and it can be said that heating is done when the skin returns to its soft nature and the sensation returns by the infected.

Apply dry sterile fabrics to the harmful area, and place fabrics between the hurtful fingers to keep them separated from each other.

Move heated areas of injury as little movement as possible.

The re-freezing or cooling of previously harmful limbs can lead to harsher harms, so the cooling of these areas must be prevented, the person kept warm, and when the body is not guaranteed to prevent cooling, the heating process is preferred to be delayed until the warm place is reached.

When frostbite is severe, the sufferer is given warm fluids to compensate for the fluid deficiency.