First medical care in frostbite of children and adults: Rules for providing. What to do when frostbite and face?

An article about what frostbite is, what the degree of its severity, methods of assistance in the event of a cold injury, as well as its prevention.

The media broadcast about global warming, people of the older generation say that winters are not the same. Nevertheless, since November, OP March doctors in the emergency room daily take patients with frostbite of one degree of severity. Why are damage to cold? How to prevent them? How to help a person who received frostbite?

Attention: the article has real photos of frostbite!

Types and degree of frostbite

Fraud is a type of thermal injury, in which the effect of low temperature damages the cells and tissues of any part of the human body up to their death.

Important: there is no need to think that you can froze your nose, your fingers or legs can only be when Moroz on the street is minus 15-20 degrees. A similar injury can be obtained in the plus temperature if the weather is wet and windy

The trauma has the following mechanism of development - under the influence of low temperatures or with a set of adverse weather conditions, small blood vessels are, first of all, on the protruding parts of the body, blood circulation is disturbed, the cells and tissues are short of oxygen and nutrients, as a result of which they begin to die.

Important: if the air temperature on the street fell to minus 30 degrees, cells and body tissues are damaged directly by cold. There are also “frosty burns” that occur with short -term human contact with an extremely low temperature source, for example, liquid nitrogen or dry ice

Most often, the protruding parts of the body are frozen, where the a priori blood circulation is worse. It:

• ears
• nose
• fingers
• toes

Fraud most often happens in people who:

• for a long time are on the street, while they move little
• wear tight shoes or clothes that squeeze blood vessels
• have problems with immunity due to acute or chronic disease
• are intoxicated
• suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems
• for a certain time, they did not sleep, did not sleep or overdo it
• smoke

Patients with frostbite are treated by doctors - combustiologists. The tactics of treatment depends on the severity of the injury, and four are distinguished.

The most easy is the frostbite I degree. This happened almost every person who does not lock at home in frost. Symptoms of injuries are pale or redness of the skin, their hyperemia.

The patient feels tingling, tingling, pain. Sometimes, on the contrary, the damaged part of the body goes numb and loses sensitivity. Subject to treatment, and more often without that, after a week, recovery occurs. At the same time, the skin in the damaged area can slightly peel off, as its upper layer measured it

Light frostbite on the cheeks of the child.

If a person is exposed to severe frost or adverse weather conditions for a significant period of time, he may have frostbite II degree. The damaged area becomes white due to bleeding, loses sensitivity.

When warming the damaged part of the body, the patient experiences pain, his skin burns and itches. After some time, bubbles appear on frostbitten skin. Fraud of this degree of severity needs treatment. Recovery occurs after 10-14 days, scars, as a rule, leaves no injury

Frostbite of the III degree Heavings are already characterized by irreversible changes in damaged tissues - their necrosis. The fabrics die within 2-3 weeks, when they completely rejected, scarring is read. Injury is accompanied by severe pain

With a cold injury IV degree Heavings irreversible necrotic changes occur not only in the skin, but also in the muscles, joints and bones. The damaged part of the body becomes blue-black, edema is formed. The skin in the frostbite zone is much colder than on the body untouched by cold

Important: if a person was in the cold for a long time, he may simultaneously observe several degrees of severity. At the same time, a hypothermia of the body occurs, at which the human body temperature drops to 34 degrees and below

VIDEO: Frostbite

Providing aid when frostbite: Rules

Everyone should know how to provide emergency assistance to himself and others in case of frostbite. Tactics of envy actions from several factors:

• severity of thermal damage
• the circumstances of the incident
• the presence or absence of hypothermia of the body
• the presence or absence of concomitant diseases and injuries (for example, blood loss)
• the age of the victim

In general, the tactics of actions should be this: they call an ambulance or transport the victim to the medical institution. Even if it seems that the degree of skin lesion is minimal, it is better that the doctor examines the victim. At that time:

1. It is necessary to eliminate the source of destruction. That is, low temperature. The best option is to move the victim to heat. If this is not possible, the effects of the cold of his body must be closed and wrapped
2. To contribute to the restoration of blood flow when the victim is already warm, the frostbitten part of his body is eliminated from shoes and clothes. Firstly, this will assess the degree of frostbite. Secondly, nothing will squeeze the blood vessels in the damaged limb
3. If there are no blisters on frostbitten skin, it must be warmed up by rubbing
4. The skin with frostbite 2-4 degrees do not rubbed in any case! Also, you can not use heating pads, batteries, a warm stream of air from a hairdryer. You can not apply fat and oil on frostbitten skin. Heating should be gradual. You can use your own breathing, a bandage of cotton and gauze, a flap of natural fabric. To maintain heat, a layer of oilcloth or rubberized fabric is applied on top of the fabric. When frostbite of the second - fourth degree, damaged arms or legs fix with a bus
5. Drive the victim with a warming drink. This should never be alcohol! Hot tea, broth, any warm food are suitable
6. Give the victim a vasodilating medicine. In any automobile first -aid kit or ladies' cosmetic bag, usually there is a shkpa also help aspirin with analgin (if they are not allergic)

Important: contrary to widespread opinion, it is categorically impossible to rub frightened skin with snow. There is a risk of injuring it even more, as well as to bring an infection.

First aid for frostbite

An examination by a doctor predetermines further tactics for treating frostbite. For injuries by cold, 1-2 degrees of the patient is often released home, with 3-4 degrees they are hospitalized without fail.

1. After warming the patient with frostbite of the first degree, damaged areas of the skin is rubbed with boron alcohol. During the treatment period, for 7-10 days, it can be prescribed by electric shock baths, ultraviolet or UHF-therapy in the physiotherapeutic office of the clinic. Houses can be used auxiliary folk remedies
2. The emerging blisters during thermal injury of the second degree must be disinfected. The skin is treated with ethyl (medical) alcohol. After the doctor carefully reveals blisters, removes dead tissues. A bandage with alcohol is applied to the frostbitten zones. The patient wears it for about 10 days. At this time, he should drink antibiotics or undergo injection course with them. After him, the same physiotherapy is shown as with frostbite of the first degree
3. Necrotomy and necroectomy is a surgical procedure shown by patients with a third degree of severity frostbite. About a week after the injury, the doctor superimples the frostbitten areas of the skin, applies the bandage, two weeks after that it removes dead tissues. Next, they wait for the processes of scarring and epithelization that contribute to their physiological methods
4. When frostbite of the limbs of the fourth degree, doctors often have to carry out amputation. This forced step is the only way to preserve the life of the victim

Help in frostbite: arms and legs

You can only provide first aid and treat at home only light frostbite of the arms and legs. Otherwise, the consequences can be irreparable. It is necessary to do the following:

1. Make a warming bath. Initially, the temperature of the water in it should be 20 degrees of heat. Within 30-40 minutes it is increased to 40 degrees
2. Frostbitten hand or leg gently and neatly massage, only slightly touching the skin
3. If you use a heating pad, it is placed near the frostbitten areas, and not directly on them, and through the clothes
4. To keep warm longer, the victim is wrapped in a blanket
5. Offer him to drink sweet warm tea
6. If the pain in the frostbitten limb is intense, you can drink analgin or ibuprofen. In order to expand blood vessels and provide blood flow in the hand or leg, they give the injured Eufillin
7. As soon as the sensitivity returns in the limb, it can be slightly rubbed with alcohol and bandage it

First aid when frostbite

The frostbitten face and cheeks first numb and become pale, and then, when warming, blush, swell and begin to hurt. The tactics of help in this case are this:

• the victim is provided by heat
• in order to remove the pain syndrome, they give it no-shpu, analgin or ibuprofen
• if necessary, give him sedative or cordial - Valerian, Corvalol, nitroglycerin
• apply to frostbitten areas of the skin of petroleum jelly, ointment Bepanten or Levomekol

Important: try to improve blood circulation after frostbite, ears or limbs by taking strong coffee or alcohol. The vessels will expand too quickly and can burst

Furrolling of children: First aid

Children often hypothermia or receive frostbite due to the fact that they cannot evaluate how warm they are dressed, and also do not understand that something is wrong with their limbs, cheeks, nose or ears. Even if frostbitten limbs lose their sensitivity and numb, kids often continue the game, the situation is aggravated.

Parents must monitor compliance with the rules of layer of clothing in the frosty period and so that the kids on the street move as much as possible. If the child’s fingers, nose or cheeks are reddened, this is not necessarily a healthy blush, but the first signs of frostbite and a significant occasion to finish the walk.

In the case of frostbite of the legs, pens or face of the child, it is necessary to do the following:

1. remove clothes from the child, gently rub the skin
2. warm the baby in a warm bath (by half an hour, gradually increasing the temperature of water from 20 degrees to 38 degrees)
3. put a child under a warm blanket
4. if necessary, grease frostbite areas with a bepanten and apply a gauze bandage on them
5. give the baby warm tea or milk

Important: these measures must be taken only in case of light, first degree, frostbite in children. More severe cases are treated only by a doctor

VIDEO: First aid for frostbite. Emergency assistance "School of Dr. Komarovsky"

Fraud prevention

Like any other misfortune, frostbite is easier to prevent than to treat later.

Preventive measures are simple:

1. You need to dress for the season
2. Winter clothing should not crush, violating blood circulation
3. Shoes should also not be cramped. You need to put in an insole into it. The problem of sweating the legs must be solved
4. On hand, there must necessarily be gloves or mittens with natural insulation and synthetic water -repellent layer
5. Before going to the frost, you can not drink alcohol, since it violates the processes of natural thermoregulation of the body
6. Nicotine causes vascular spasm, you can’t smoke in the cold
7. Rings and earrings made of metal when exiting the frost is recommended to remove
8. At the first signs of frostbite, staying on the street must be interrupted. A cup of tea will help to warm up in a warm place
9. With a frosty wind, it is necessary, as far as possible, to hide the face

VIDEO: Prevention of frostbite