In Pennsylvania, severe frostbite occurrences occur, which may necessitate follow-up treatment, hospital stays, and even amputations.
This week, the Harrisburg region will see highs in the low 20s and lows in the single digits every night.
There are steps that everybody can take to be safe as temperatures drop and winds whip about us, but some groups are more vulnerable to a dangerous case of frostbite than others.
The National Weather Service defines frostbite as the freezing of skin and the body tissue immediately beneath it, with severity levels. It initially affects exposed body parts like the fingers, toes, nose, and ears where blood flow may be restricted.
The weather service reports that the most common winter weather-related death is hypothermia, another severe condition brought on by the cold: Most people are astonished to find that hypothermia deaths can occur with temperatures between 30 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Health hazards including frostbite and hypothermia can result from winter conditions. Are you ready to assist someone who is suffering from these conditions?Learn more about treating hypothermia and frostbite by reading these tips:This link: https://t.co/LddeUwNUpQ
It might be difficult to determine how many people nationwide are seeking treatment for frostbite. Together, they accounted for 16.9% of ED visits in 2021 and are grouped under the injury category in federal statistics. According to further federal statistics for 2006–10, cold was a contributing factor in 3,468 additional deaths and the underlying cause of 3,192 deaths in the United States.
Frostbite can happen within 30 minutes at a wind chill of 18 or 19 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, according to a weather service wind chill chart. To give a few examples, those types of cold conditions happen when the air temperature is 5 degrees and the wind speed is 30 mph, or when the air temperature is 10 degrees and the wind speed is 55 mph.
Wind chills brought on by air temperature and wind speed can result in frostbite in as little as 30 minutes, according to this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service chart.The National Weather Service
Over the past three years, Katrina Schafer, a physician assistant at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, has reported that between three and six patients have been treated each year for inpatient treatment of frostbite at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Burn Recovery Center.
As a division of Jefferson Health, a Philadelphia-based organization, the network operates clinics or a hospital throughout a 10-county area in eastern Pennsylvania, extending from the suburbs of Philadelphia through the northern Poconos, Berks, and Schuylkill counties.
Children and people 65 and older have the worst cases. They might not have a place to live or have underlying illnesses like diabetes, Raynaud’s phenomenon, malnourishment, or peripheral vascular disease that impair circulation. Because nicotine narrows blood vessels, smokers are susceptible to severe frostbite. People who use drugs or alcohol could lose awareness of their surroundings and the temperature.
The prognosis may change your life.
Even though it hurts, local wound care is often necessary for frostbite in its early and second stages. According to Schafer, people can see him as an outpatient and do well, toldlehighvalleylive.com. We give them plenty of time to see if the body can repair itself during that third, severe stage.
Sadly, those who are admitted to our facility are considering amputations. Amputations of the toes make up the majority of cases we see, however occasionally a transmetatarsal amputation—which involves removing half of the foot—occurs. In extreme situations, below-the-knee amputation would be the next step.
After a week-long inpatient stay, outpatient therapy may be an option.
Preventing frostbite
Schafer recommended that people who are susceptible to severe frostbite spend no more than 10 to 15 minutes outside during hazardous wind chills. Use warm water instead of hot for warming up skin that has been exposed to the cold to prevent burning skin that might be losing its feeling.
Additionally, it’s critical to wear layers, warm socks, appropriate footwear, gloves, a scarf, and a cap. According to Schafer, clothing that is overly tight can impede circulation.
Matthew Togno, head athletic trainer at Centenary University in Hackettstown and sports medicine coordinator for St. Luke’s University Health Network, also suggests dressing in layers and covering exposed skin and the head, where the body can lose a lot of heat.
According to him, such cold-weather apparel usually features an inner layer that permits evaporation off the skin. A intermediate layer that offers insulation can then be added. The outermost layer should then be resistant to water and/or wind.
After assisting in the evaporation of perspiration and water from your skin, the primary layer should insulate and provide protection from the elements.
Even though practicing for spring sports can require spending a lot of time outside in the winter, Togno claimed that since he started working as a trainer in 2009, he has never seen a player get frostbite.
We do a lot of preventive, which is why,” he toldlehighvalleylive.com.
In order to identify athletes who are more susceptible to cold injuries—such as those with a lean body composition or cardiovascular conditions—a comprehensive medical history is the first step. Additionally, coaches and trainers keep an eye on meteorological factors like wind speed and air temperature, and they adjust practices as needed.
According to Togno, prevention is essential.
You can contact Kurt Bresswein at [email protected].