Frostbite is very common in extremely cold weathers and occurs when you expose your body ‘to temperatures below the freezing point of the skin”. Frostbite is often accompanied by a firm, numb sensation around parts of the body; usually the finger tips, nose, cheeks and toes. While severe frostbite will require immediate medical attention, its initial stages (known as frostnip) can be treated by several simple means; some of which you are explained below.
1. Gently re-warm
The first thing to do after noticing the onset of frostbite is to re-warm the affected portion of the body. However, extreme caution should be taking while doing this. Do not put the affected area directly under heat as it may further damage the tissues in that area. Take care to gently and progressively warm it.
2. Don’t use water
Most people make the mistake of putting the affected area under running water in order to thaw it, but this is completely wrong, as it may just worsen the situation and cause more damage to your skin.
3. Don’t heat your face
The human face is one of the central organs of sense and consists of some of the most delicate and highly sensitive nerves in the body, so never make the mistake of putting your face over a fire or any source of intense heat to warm it up. Instead, what you should do is to warm your hands and gently massage your face, or better still, you could put a dry face towel over a heat source (be extremely careful with this), and use it to massage your face.
4. Make room for blood circulation
One of the symptoms of frostbite is the lack of blood circulation in that area of the body. So to treat it, try to improve circulation in the affected area. For example, if you have frostbite around your hands, remove your jewelry, watch or anything else that may hamper the easy circulation of blood. And while wearing warm clothes, it is also recommended to wear outfits that are not too tight, instead, wearing slightly loose clothes will provide room for proper blood circulation.
5. Use ointments
There are certain ointments that can effectively soothe frostbite. Some of these are aloe vera, banana peel ointment, olive oil or peppermint oil and so on. Any of these would be perfect. Just rub it around the affected region and you will be fine in no time.
image courtesy of: rd.com.
