Act Fast to Stop Tissue Damage
To stop the harm done to your body, it is critical to be proactive and act very quickly. There are less serious conditions that can be treated at home without a medical professional. For example, “frostnip” is a mild case of freezing that won’t cause permanent nerve damage but the affected area can start hurting once it begins to return to normal body temperature. Over the counter pain relievers work fine to soothe this discomfort. As soon as you start to feel a deep cold on your skin, tingling sensations or see some discoloration, immediately move to a place that is warm and sheltered from the elements. Remember to always take off clothing that is damp or cold as soon as you can and always use warm rather than hot water compresses.
Depending on your access to warm water, heating the area can also be effective in preventing freezing. Optimize your body heat by using your own body parts like your armpit, hands, or groin as body warmers. Rubbing your hands or clothing over the affected area as a way to warm up is not recommended because although you will feel fast relief, you will be causing more tissue damage that could lead to serious blistering.
Seek emergency professional medical help if the affected area has been warmed up for more than a few minutes but is still hard or white.
As enticing as it may be to run that frostbite under some hot faucet water, beware of the harm it does to your already damaged tissues. Instead, run it under warm water to gradually warm the tissues over the course of a few minutes so that the blood flow will return steadily. Using heating products like furnaces to warm yourself before allowing the blood supply to return will cause more damage to the affected area and could even burn you resulting in longer healing.
