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What does frostbite look like?

Everyone knows what a burn looks like. But what frostbite looks like is known to those few who have had the opportunity to get frostbite on their limbs or face. In fact, frostbite is extremely rare unless a person lives in climate zones with harsh climates and low ambient temperatures. People accustomed to frost most often insure against frostbite by stocking up on clothes made of warm fabrics or fur, buying gloves, mittens, hats and shoes, and protective creams for exposed skin areas commensurate with the ambient temperatures familiar to them from previous winter seasons.

If a person comes for a while to a harsh climate zone or goes on vacation during the winter season, then he cares little about specific clothes and shoes. Fans of ski resorts and winter recreation should know that frostbite on the extremities, as well as on the skin of the face or nose, ears or chin, can occur completely unexpectedly.

It must be remembered that the signal of any injury is a pain effect. But in cases of mild frostbite, there is no pain signal. Frostbite is signaled by the opposite reaction of the receptors – numbness. That is, mild frostbite is felt as numbness of the skin, extremities (fingers or hands), numbness of the tip of the nose, and similar sensations in all areas of the body that have been exposed to frostbite. It is numbness that becomes the starting point on the path to severe frostbite, because the body no longer senses how strong the sub-zero ambient temperatures are. For this reason, any numbness of the skin caused by cold winter winds or frost (even light frost) should be considered a symptom of frostbite, and seek shelter indoors from the wind or frost.

On closer examination, a frostbitten area of skin, even with mild frostbite, does not look blue from the cold, as is commonly thought, but pale (as if drained of blood), and then begins to turn red, which indicates an inflammatory reaction caused by frostbite. Redness of the skin in the area of frostbite does not relieve the feeling of numbness. Even mild frostbite can cause blisters (small blisters). Severe frostbite appears as large blisters, similar to blisters from a burn.

If numbness gives way to pain, then this is a good symptom, indicating the restoration of blood circulation in the tissues. But if no pain is felt when the skin is red at the site of numbness, then this indicates serious frostbite.

In any case, with any degree of frostbite (undefined), it is necessary to make several attempts to independently restore blood circulation in the frostbite area.

For first aid for frostbite, this is done as follows:

First, take shelter in a place protected from cold winds and low temperatures.
Secondly, prepare warming compresses for numb areas of the skin: dry, warm cloth without roughness for dry warming of frostbitten areas of the skin, water with a temperature of no higher than 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) for baths or lotions.
Thirdly, you need to drink at least one to two cups of hot drink (hot water, tea, coffee, milk).
Fourth, prepare a rich cream for lubricating the skin that has dried out after compresses in the area of frostbite (you can make it yourself from pork fat, interior fat, lamb fat or any other animal fat, from high-fat whipped cream, from butter).

What not to do if you suspect frostbite (even mild frostbite):

In case of frostbite, it is strictly forbidden to rub the skin in the area of numbness, since the blisters that appear (barely noticeable at first) can burst and lead to further injury.
It is strictly forbidden to place numb areas of skin against heating devices (radiators, radiators), keep numb areas of skin near an open fire (fire, fireplace, gas burner), or place numb areas of skin against hot kettles, pots, cups for warmth.
It is not recommended to drink alcoholic beverages to warm the body from the inside, since alcohol first causes blood vessels to dilate and then spasm, which will aggravate the body’s condition in the area of frostbite.
You should not rub or soak the skin in the numb area with alcohol, as alcohol (alcohol) can cause a slight burn to skin already damaged by frost (double injury).

It is necessary to distinguish between a bluish appearance of the skin, caused by hypothermia and, as a result, spasm of blood vessels, and a pale, numb appearance of the skin (whitened area of skin), indicating frostbite (even mildly). If your skin is spasmodic, you can rub it with your hands or a cloth; if your skin is white, you should not rub it with your hands or a cloth. When skin blood vessels spasm during frost or cold wind, the skin, which finds itself in the warmth of the room, quickly restores blood circulation on its own, what feels like tingling and pain. When the skin is numb from frostbite, a person, finding himself in a warm room, does not feel any tingling or pain in the area of frostbite from the blood vessels (capillaries) expanding after a spasm. This occurs until blood access to the capillaries of the damaged area of the skin is restored.

If numbness of the frostbitten area of skin does not go away after simple first aid procedures, you should contact qualified medical professionals.