Frostbite is dangerous to health

During the New Year holidays, children and adults have a lot of free time, which is often spent in the fresh air. You need to be extremely attentive to your health and the health of your loved ones in the cold season.

Adults and children should adhere to the following rules:

• use multi-layer clothing: double mittens, you can wear a pair of sweaters and socks:
• wear clothing made of waterproof and heat-insulating materials;
• clothing should not interfere with movement, shoes in any case should not be tight, permeable to moisture;
• it is necessary to insulate the head and neck, where the vessels that carry blood to the head are located;
• before going outside in the cold season, especially for a long time, you need to eat well and eat well. Insufficient nutrition and fatigue can cause frostbite, as the body's resistance decreases;
• when working outside in cold weather, it is necessary to take care of regular hot meals, periodic heating in a warm room;
• adults should not drink alcohol, as it reduces the feeling of cold and does not allow you to feel how cold a person is;
• also, you can not smoke in the cold, as smoking causes narrowing of the blood vessels and reduces the blood supply to the extremities. For this reason, it is smokers who make up a certain risk group for frostbite;
• women should not use moisturizers, and a nourishing cream can be applied no later than an hour before going out. Frost dries the skin, so you can not use water-based medicines before going outside.

Signs of frostbite:

• loss of sensitivity
• tingling or tingling sensation
• skin bleaching - 1 degree of frostbite
• blisters - 2 degree of frostbite (visible only after thawing, possible manifestation after 6-12 hours)
• darkening and dying - 3 degree of frostbite (visible only after thawing, possible manifestation after 6-12 hours).
• What not to do with frostbite:
• ignore the very fact of frostbite
• rub with snow
• sharply warm up
• drink alcohol.

First aid for frostbite is reduced to restoring the temperature and blood circulation in the affected tissues. The victim is given hot food and drink, covered with a warm blanket.

Heat-insulating materials are applied to the affected limbs (you can wear woolen socks, mittens, wrap the victim with a scarf, a down scarf).

It is unacceptable to rub the frostbitten areas of the body with snow, warm them under hot water, near heating devices, use folk remedies.

It is necessary to contact a medical institution as soon as possible!

Head of the regional burn center
GUZ "Lipetsk City Hospital No. 3" Svobodny Sokol»
Kopylov Ilya Mikhailovich