Winter is Coming: How to Recognize Frostbite

Toes are especially prone to frostbite, so as temperatures drop, it’s a good time to review the potential signs of this condition. Symptoms include the following:

  • Cold skin initially and a prickling sensation

  • Numbness

  • Red, white, bluish-white or grayish-yellow skin

  • Skin that is hard or has a waxy appearance

  • Skin that blisters after rewarming (severe cases)

Contact your doctor if you have an increase in pain, swelling or redness in the frostbitten area; a fever; or unexplained symptoms.  Signs of hypothermia, another cold-induced condition, include significant shivering, slurred speech, and drowsiness.

You may not realize that some underlying conditions can increase your susceptibility to cold.  Due to metabolic changes that occur with age, elderly people produce less heat.  Infants are susceptible as well, due to their high body surface area to mass ratio.  Individuals with less body fat have less tissue insulation. Malnutrition and exertion limit the body’s ability to generate heat.  Sedative drugs can dull awareness and make one less aware of how cold it is.  Conditions such as hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency and hypoglycemia all limit heat production as well. Neuropathy in diabetics limits the body’s ability to retain heat.

Bottom line, the colder it is, the less time you should spend outside.  And if you have one of the conditions listed above, you should be even more vigilant.

References:

Mayo Clinic.  Frostbite.  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/frostbite/symptoms-causes/syc-20372656.

Biem J, Koehncke N, Classen D, Dosman J. Out of the cold: management of hypothermia and frostbite. CMAJ. 2003 Feb 4;168(3):305-11. PMID: 12566336; PMCID: PMC140473.

Image credit:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snow_Feet.jpg