Can Frostbite Be Life-Threatening?

Frostbite is a very dangerous condition that occurs when skin freezes. This can occur at temperatures of as high as 40 degrees F if the wind is strong enough and the exposure time long enough.

Misconceptions

• A lot of people think that frostbite occurs only in far northern areas, but it can occur nearly anywhere under the right conditions.

Causes

• Frostbite happens when the skin freezes. Wet skin will freeze more quickly than dry skin, so a wet, windy day is more dangerous than a dry one at the same temperature.

Severe Frostbite

• Severe frostbite causes the body to shut down blood flow to the extremities in order to protect the core organs. When this happens, gangrene, with likely loss of the affected limb, occurs due to the blood loss.

Complications

• Quite often, if you truly have frostbite, you will also have hypothermia. This happens when your entire body temperature drops below 95 degrees. Hypothermia, left untreated, is nearly always fatal.

Conclusion

• Frostbite can be fatal, if severe, but this is the exception. Normally frostbite is treatable, with full recovery likely.