frostbite?

[coldwater]

Anybody here ever have frostbite? What's it feel like?

I was out in about -10 for 3 hours or so on Tuesday and I think the tips of my ears may have gotten a bit nipped.

Overall I felt very comfortable and in control of the cold, right combinations of clothes, plenty in reserve, right exertion level etc. But I guess I didn't pay attention to my ears, which were not under a hat much of the time, and I just didn't notice whether they were too cold or not! (after a while you don't feel them anyhow!)

Now they just feel a little hot, achey/tender to the touch, and itchy, (kinda like when you come in out of the cold, but that was 2 days ago!) and I was just curious if that's what it was, or not. Either way, no major damage done, just curious, and a learning experience. Pay attention to covering your ears, even if you don't notice them being cold!

(I've been this way since I was a kid. My mom always used to yell at me to put on a hat!)

coldwater

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Yeah, that sounds like a bit of frostbite, or frostnip (depending on which book you read)

I've suffered from it several times on the ears, a couple times on the cheeks, and once... well, I waon't say where. Let me say that I now shove a sock down my pants when I ride a bicycle in temperatures -20F and colder. The last was the most painful. When I came in, and the frozen part started thawing, both my wife and I were rolling on the ground. I was rolling in pain, and she was rolling in laughter.

Oddly enough, I've never had frostbite while hiking/climbing. It has almost always occurred on my comute to work.

 

[hikerfast]

i used to have my hat on again and off again. now i wear just ear muffs when i hike, and my head still sweats. im way more comfortable this way. i realized the only reason i was putting a hat on was to keep my ears warm. plus you get to look real goofy in the pictures.

 

[Mark]

Probably

I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but it sounds like you may have gotten some frost nip. Extremities like your ears and nose can get frostbitten quickly, even if the rest of you is comfortable overall. A little wind and low temperatures can quickly freeze exposed skin. I saw a patch of frostbite develop on my hiking partner’s exposed cheek last year on Cabot in a matter of a few minutes. It’s very important to frequently check your hiking partners for signs of frostbite if the conditions warrant.

I got a bit of frost nip on my ears a few years back while skiing in -80d wind chill. It was sore for a few days and I lost some skin (kind of like the peeling you get after a sunburn), but suffered no long lasting side effects.

 

[Skyclimber]

I've had frostbite to my fingers, toes, ears. They turn red, burn, itch. My left ear even after several years, still bothers me with itching from time to time.
My former husband though had severe frostbite on a couple of occasions, once on his thumb and once to the heel of his foot. Both turning grocely black and shredding, peeling skin. As well for his foot, he developed the fluid sacs, causing alot of pain, having to drain the fluids out, soaking the foot, waiting for the new skin to form, which was an average of three months to heal !
His finger was close to amputation, but fortunately it started to heal. He refused medical attention for his foot.

 

[Bob Smith]

I got frost bite on the tips of my ears while skiing and they peeled for 3 months. They are still senative to the cold 15 years later.

 

[spider solo]

The other day with temps and wind chills in the -20 and -30's I tried something that I read about (in these forums I think).
Instead of wearing a head band the regular way ..I wore it across my nose instead.
It worked great!! My face and checks were warm and toasty all day. I still wore my regular bacalava underneath which I could adjust throughout the day to my hearts content.
Thanks to whomever came up with the idea!
hmmm...I wonder if it could work for Pete's problem........??

 

[Head]

Sounds like Winter nipped ya...My buddy Bird got it pretty bad last winter. (He almost quit hiking over the darn thing!) Here's a Picture the day that it happened, and another Pic a couple of weeks later! He almost lost his toe but he's recovered to a point where he hikes in the winter months again.

 

[MattC]

I think I may have gotten a tiny bit of frostnip or bite on my right thumb on Saturday, which is weird because it wasn't terribly cold. Anyway, the thumb is peeling a little and is a little sensitive. It doesn't itch or burn. A friend of mine (who is doctor) managed to get frostbite on his toes while doing a Catskills 8-peak overnighter. He says the affected toes were red, swollen and painful. He believes he may lose some toenails. The scary thing is that he says he wasn't that uncomfortable and doesn't know if it happened while he was hiking or camping. However, he's pretty sure his crampons contributed quite a bit to the chilling effect.

Matt

 

[Grumpy]

Many years (37) ago one of my ears got frostbitten. It turned red, lost sensation, became pale. As it warmed, the ear swelled very badly. There was considerable discomfort. The ear began “blistering” overnight. Dr. treated me with antibiotics. Swelling persisted for some time. After a while the swelling subsided, lesions drained and dead skin started sloughing off. This lasted for a maybe two weeks or so (perhaps more). I do recall that healing took many weeks, and the new tissue was extremely sensitive to cold, sun and everything else. It is not nearly so sensitive now, but that took a lot of years.

I think my frostbite was serious but still fairly superficial, else the result might have been much worse. I certainly didn’t do much of anything right except to visit a Dr. the next morning.

The way this happened was a lesson. I was shooting pictures of skiers. Standing on the slope, foolishly without a good hat, in mid teen to mid 20s temperatures without a lot of wind, I held my position for a long time. One ear was consistently exposed to the sun and didn’t suffer any ill effects. The other ear was persistently shaded, and that’s the one that got frosted.

G.

 

[KZKlimber]

Wife & I skied up the Whiteface Auto Road on Valentine's Day. It was -26F at the bottom and the wind was blowing about 40 MPH at the summit. I had all exposed flesh covered, but was wearing metal rimmed sunglasses. When I took them off I had 2 brown strips where the frames rested on my cheekbones. It peeled away in a couple of days with no long term effects.

 

[Barbarossa]

I got frost bite on the tips of my ears while skiing... They are still senative to the cold 15 years later.

Same here, mine was 20 years ago and the tops of my ears are still sensitive.

I was at Ft Wainwright, AK walking to the next building to go to lunch. It was bright sunny and 15 F, which felt pretty balmy. I was only out for 100 yards, but I there was a huge gust of wind.

I got fluid sacs, then some peeling, but not much more. With the extra sensitivity in my ears I am probably quicker to put on a hat, which may not be such a bad thing.

 

[sardog1]

Yep, it's January again.

Anyone venturing out these days may benefit from a look at "Cold Injuries", an excerpt from the NOLS Wilderness First Aid book. It's the best free writing on the subject that you will find. If you're going to be outdoors this winter, you might find the excerpt very useful.

And now (again) the same disclaimer as last year: No, I'm not affiliated with NOLS, or even a graduate, just an admirer.

 

[sierra]

frostbite

I froze my hands ice climbing a few years back, it was about-20 and I had to take my gloves of to tie my knot. My hands went back in my gloves and while leading the next pitch I lossed all feeling peroid. The good thing was they didnt hurt but I was gripped. The only way I could continue was simply to keep and eye on the leash of my tool and make sure it stayed tight, couldnt do anything else though my hands where useless. After getting down I defrosted then in the car the best I could, it sucked, it was a pain I cant describe, it was a few weeks before they felt ok again, to this day they get cold very quick.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Wife & I skied up the Whiteface Auto Road on Valentine's Day. It was -26F at the bottom and the wind was blowing about 40 MPH at the summit. I had all exposed flesh covered, but was wearing metal rimmed sunglasses. When I took them off I had 2 brown strips where the frames rested on my cheekbones. It peeled away in a couple of days with no long term effects.

Ahh.. You just reminded me. Something like that happens to me several times a year. Not on the cheeks, but the peice of metal going across the bridge of the nose.

In fact, it looks like it happened this morning on my comute into work. Temperature around -20F. They claimed windchill was -40, but I was cycling into the wind, so that definately added to the cold.

 

[coldmountain]

Pete H-I am sorry but I cannot stop laughing about you and your sock. I know it aint funny but I cant help myself. Oh sweet merciful crap that must have been awful. ow ow ow.
Maybe you could come out with a new product line?? What could we name it??

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Pete H-I am sorry but I cannot stop laughing about you and your sock. I know it aint funny but I cant help myself. Oh sweet merciful crap that must have been awful. ow ow ow.
Maybe you could come out with a new product line?? What could we name it??

It exists. It is called, "The Hand"

http://www.the-hand.com

The same company makes something for women (upper body), called "The hug"


I find a sock works just as well, and is free. EVERYONE has at least one mate-less sock, right?

 

[Nadine]

I've had my toes get red and swollen in ski boots before. Painful.
I carry chemical hand and foot warmers now.