Is this your symptom?
- Frostbite is a cold injury to the skin
- Affected areas include fingers, toes, feet, nose, ears and cheeks
- Symptoms range from cold, tingling and painful skin to white, hard or numb skin
Symptoms of Frostbite
- Cold, tingly and painful skin.
- Pale, hard, numb skin. It can be serious. It always needs medical care after re-warming.
Cause of Frostbite
- Health Conditions. You are more likely to get frostbite if you have Raynaud's Disease, diabetes or have had frostbite in the past.
- Clothing. Wearing wet clothes makes frostbite worse. Touching bare hands to cold metal during freezing weather can cause frostbite right away.
- Length of Time in Cold. You are more likely to get frostbite the longer you are in freezing weather. Wind-chill causes you to get frostbite quicker.
- Other Causes. Some medicines, smoking, alcohol and recreational drugs all raise your risk of frostbite.
Frostbite Severity. Frostbite can be described like burns:
- Frostnip(mild frostbite). Cold, tingly and painful skin. No skin changes after re-warming.
- 1st Degree. Pale and hard skin while frozen. Mild redness and swelling after re-warming. No blisters.
- 2nd Degree. Same as 1st degree, plus blisters after 24 hours.
- 3rd Degree. Blood-filled blisters leading to long-term skin damage and scarring.
When to Call for Frostbite
Call 911 Now
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
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Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Call 911 Now
- Can't be awakened or hard to keep awake
- Speech is slurred
- Acts or talks confused
- Stumbling or falling
- Body feels very cold to the touch (not just hands and feet)
- Ice crystals on the skin
- You think you have a life-threatening emergency
Go to ER Now
- Skin color and feeling does not return to normal after 1 hour of rewarming
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- White, hard, numb skin (before rewarming)
- Severe shivering still present after re-warming and drying
- Severe pain still there after rewarming and taking pain medicine
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Frostbitten skin starts to blister
- Blisters start to look infected (spreading redness or pus)
- Skin damage and last tetanus shot more than 10 years ago
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Mild frostbite or frostnip
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.
