Frostbite Prevention

Frostbite can be just as dangerous and damaging as those burns that you can get from heat and fire. This is because both of them damage your skin and tissue. Of course, with frostbite your body will have been exposed to low temperatures for a long period of time. Such conditions will cause your blood vessels to constrict in order to restrict your blood flow and thus protect your core temperature. Whenever this happens your tissue can freeze, thus causing you to have permanent damage. Usually this will occur on the outermost extremities of your body, such as your fingers and your toes. Once it happens nerve damage can occur because you have lost oxygen. This is what causes you to lose all feeling and sensation in the area of your body where the frostbite has occurred. In fact, one of the most common secondary injuries in the infection of the affected areas, which happens whenever you fail to keep the area in which you have no feeling properly disinfected.

Some of the most common symptoms of frostbite are:

• The affected skin will become discolored.
• A burning or tingling sensation.
• Partial or complete numbness.
• Intense pain.

Gangrene can sometimes occur if your blood vessels get severely damaged. Sometimes when this happens amputation will become necessary. This is because whenever frostbite goes untreated the damaged area of your skin will grow darker and develop blisters. If this is then left untreated your skin will become completely damaged, turn black and become loose.

In order to treat frostbite you will need to first move to a warmer place where you can contact medical professionals. You should then place the frostbitten area into warm water. Don't apply any friction to this area by rubbing or shaking the area because this can then move the ice crystals to surrounding areas of your skin and affect that tissue as well. Of course, the best way to treat frostbite is to actually avoid it in the first place. The best ways to do this is by avoiding:

• Extreme cold.
• Wet or damp clothes.
• Wind-chill.
• Poor circulation that can be caused by alcohol, fatigue, smoking, tight clothing and some medications and diseases.

By preventing the risk factors that expose you to frostbite you will be able to dramatically decrease your chances of damaging either your skin or your tissues.

Sources for this article include:

http://firstaid.webmd.com/understanding-frostbite-prevention

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frostbite#Prevention

http://shredstowe.com/2009/12/bundle-up-frostbite-tips-for-the-mountain/

http://www.healthy-skincare.com/frostbite-prevention.html