Noticing frostbite signs and how to treat it during Minnesota cold snap
It’s the coldest part of the coldest month, generally, in Minnesota. With a long holiday weekend, there will be plenty of kids still braving the outdoors at skating rinks, ski slopes, and sledding hills.
Dr. Liz Plaezek, a pediatrician at Children’s Minnesota, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that for kids, frostbite can happen quickly in these frigid temperatures.
“Kids can get frostbite in as little as 20 to 30 minutes in this cold weather, especially with the wind and snow,” said Plaezek. “It can be safe for outdoor play, but I would really limit the time spent outside, so scheduling breaks, if they go outside maybe 10 minutes and then bringing them in to warm up and checking to make sure their layers are still nice and dry and on their bodies.”
And, if you notice symptoms of frostbite, Plaezek said quick action is needed.
“That’s the red nose, the kind of numb or tingling sensation you might get on your cheeks or fingers if you’re outside for too long. That’s actually the first signs of frost injury or cold injury,” said Plaezek. “And generally, we recommend using either body heat or water that’s around body heat, or about 100 degrees, just to rewarm those areas really slowly. We don’t want to do anything hotter than that because that can cause further injury or actually burns to the area.”
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