Frostbite

When we’re out in the cold weather there’s a tendency to tighten our clothes an extra notch to keep the cold out. That’s fine if you’re reducing the chance of cold air getting in to your body but you need to stop before you restrict your circulation. For example, it’s possible to tighten boot laces too much and reduce the warm blood getting to your feet. Skiers might find on lifts or in the restaurant it’s worth undoing a buckle on the boot to help circulation and making it easier to wiggle their toes to encourage a bit more circulation around the foot.

Most of all, if you’re in a ski area then take some frequent stops and take the time to check each other’s faces for signs of frost-nip (small, white patches of skin). We all get cold from time to time and a lot of us might get a little frost-nip at some point but if we’re careful we can avoid more serious cold injuries.

• Avoid sweating and change wet or damp clothes as soon as possible particularly socks and gloves.
• Wear a scarf or face mask
• Ensure footwear isn’t too tight (skiers! take note!)
• Use mittens in place of gloves in cold weather
• Use plastic bags inside leaky boots, even consider paper between the toes as an insulator.
• Drink plenty of (preferably warm) liquid, eat sweets or chocolate regularly and avoid alcohol.

Frost-Nip

Signs : Small, white patches on the skin which are numb and painless

Frost-nip is the earlier stage of frostbite and can occur when the air temperature is near or below freezing. It’s more prevalent at higher altitudes and with people with hypothermia or injuries or with restrictions to blood flow like tight clothing or boots.

Frost-nip signals the onset of frostbite and at this time the symptoms are reversible. Early signs are small, white patches on the skin which are numb and painless. This loss of feeling is the usual early indication when areas are covered with clothing.

For most skin areas re-warming with someone else’s warm hands ifs effective, breathing warm air on the area and placing fingers or toes in another persons warm armpits, groin or belly. Most of all, get inside and warm up thoroughly. If you’ve got wet clothing then it needs removing at the earliest opportunity.

If you’re out skiing or snowshoeing in a group it’s important you keep checking each other for signs of frost-nip in cold weather especially in windy conditions. Normally skin can take a fairly long exposure to cold but a sudden wind can bring symptoms in a few minutes.

You should remember that at the onset of frost-nip and frostbite it’s quite painful but as the tissue freezes the feeling is lost and the pain can reduce.

Frostbite

Signs : Affected area is white, numb and normally painless. Feels cold and solid to the touch.

Frostbite is a far more serious cold injury usually in the body’s periphery, it’s caused by a defensive mechanism that body has to protect the vital organs where circulation to the extremities, like hands, toes, nose, ears etc, is shutdown or reduced to keep the core of the body warm. The body tissue at the extremity is actually freezing and ice crystals are forming between the cells taking water from the the cells themselves. You can accelerate or worsen the problems of frostbite and frost-nip by restricting circulation

Frostbite is actual damage to tissue and can have longterm affects. The symptoms are the cold area becoming hard and freezing at the first stage. Left untreated the freezing continues into muscles, tendons, blood vessels and nerves.

Frostbite is extremely serious and will require treatment from medical professionals. There’s limited first-aid that can be performed for frostbite and there are several things you should not do :

• Do not rewarm the affected area if there’s any chance it will get cold again, warming and refreezing the area will result in permanent damage.
• Do not rub the area.
• Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs/intoxicants etc
• Do not burst blisters.
• Do not re-warm with direct heat.

There are some things you can do :

• Do avoid further frostbite, put on dry clothing, check boots etc.
• Do keep the victim warm, fed and hydrated.
• Do give aspirin OR Ibuprofen

With serious frostbite you should re-warm the victim only when there’s no danger of re-freezing and when they don’t need to walk to safety. Once a frostbitten area is re-warmed it will be extremely painful and if it’s the feet the victim will be unable to walk.

Before you go

Pre-existing medical conditions and medications can raise your risk for frostbite or frost nip, if you know you’re going somewhere cold it’s worth mentioning to your regular healthcare professional and asking for advice.

Particular risk factors are :

• taking beta blockers
• diabetes
• Raynaud’s disease
• nicotine !!