What causes frostbite?
Frostbite is an injury that occurs when the human body is attacked by low temperature. The occurrence of frostbite is related to cold, dampness, poor local blood circulation and reduced drought resistance.
Frostbite is generally divided into three types: chilblain, local frostbite and freezing.
1. Chilblain
Chilblain often occurs unconsciously, and the frozen parts are mostly in the auricle, hands, feet, etc. It manifests as local redness or purple, swelling, itching or tingling, and some may blister, and then erosion or scab.
After chilblain occurs, chilblain cream can be applied locally. Antibacterial and cortisone ointments can be applied to erosions.
2. Local frostbite
Local frostbite is mostly caused by the ear, nose, face or limbs being damaged by freezing when there is no cold protection measures below 0℃. It is generally divided into four degrees:
First degree frostbite: manifested by the local skin turning from pale to patchy blue-purple, and then redness, swelling, itching and tingling.
Second degree frostbite: manifested by local skin redness, swelling, itching and burning pain. Blisters appear in the early stage;
Third degree frostbite: manifested as skin gradually changes from white to blue and then to black. The frostbitten part loses its sense. Edema and blisters may appear in the tissues around the frostbitten part.
Fourth degree frostbite: the sensation and motor function of the injured part completely disappear, and it is dark gray. Since the degree of frostbite at the junction of the frostbitten tissue and the healthy tissue is relatively light, edema and blisters may appear at the junction.
3. Frozen
Frozen refers to the damage caused by the body being attacked by severe cold and the whole body cooling down.
The injured show stiffness, dullness, weakness in the limbs, dizziness, and even confusion and loss of consciousness, and finally die from respiratory and circulatory failure.
The injured who have frozen are unable to save themselves. The rescuer should immediately transfer them to a warm room. The movements should be gentle during the transfer to avoid damage to the stiff body. Then quickly take off the wet clothes and shoes of the injured, and put the injured in a warm water bath at 38℃~42℃.
If the clothes have been frozen on the limbs of the injured, do not take them off forcibly to avoid damaging the skin. You can put them into warm water together with the clothes and take them off after thawing.
First aid for frostbite
When frostbite occurs, if conditions permit, the patient can enter a warm room and give warm drinks to raise the patient’s body temperature as soon as possible.
At the same time, soak the frostbitten part in warm water at 38℃～42℃, the water temperature should not exceed 45℃, and the soaking time should not exceed 20 minutes.
If frostbite occurs in the wild and there is no condition for hot water bathing, the frostbitten part can be placed in the arms of oneself or the rescuer to warm it up, which can also play the role of hot water bathing, so that the frozen part can quickly restore blood circulation.
When treating frostbite urgently, never rub the frostbitten part with snow or roast it with fire, as this will only aggravate the injury.