Officials urge caution after record year of frostbites

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A year after seeing a record number of frostbite patients, health officials are encouraging Hoosiers to take precaution in the cold.

The Richard M. Fairbanks Burn Center at Eskenazi Health says, like burn injures, frostbite can cause serious damage to the skin. When wind chills dip into negative numbers, frostbite can set in within minutes, officials say.

Last February alone, 40 percent of patients at the Richard M. Fairbanks Burn Center were those who suffered from frostbite. Officials say frostbite is often preventable and that it’s important to properly protect yourself from the cold.

Symptoms of frostbite include a tingling sensation, followed by numbness on the affected area. Skin where frostbite has set in will be hard, pale and cold and will have no feeling, officials say. In more severe cases, the skin will become white and numb and may also have blisters, and blackened or dead tissue may result. Frostbite could cause damage to tendons, muscles, nerves and bone.

Doctors say that if you feel symptoms of frostbite coming on, don’t rub or massage the affected area, because it could cause further damage to the skin. Move to a warm area, remove all wet clothing and apply dry, sterile dressings to the frostbitten skin. If the symptoms are severe and normal color and feeling don’t return to the area, contact a health care professional immediately.

For more information about the unit or burn prevention, call 317-880-6900.