Wind chills this week will be cold enough to cause frostbite on exposed skin in just a matter of minutes.
Megan O’Brien is a PA with the Franklin Medical Center in Hampton.
“So frostbite can occur, we see it occur more frequently on exposed skin. So when you are going outside, it’s really important to make sure you’re bundling up and don’t have a lot of exposed skin. Areas that are more susceptible could be like the nose, fingertips, toes, signs can be kind of redness, definitely pain on the skin. Worsening symptoms could be changing of the color of skin, such as white or grayish, yellowing, and then absolutely if starting to lose any sort of feeling in any part of those skin regions, that is something to absolutely red flag need to get inside right away.”
She describes hypothermia.
“So hypothermia can occur at very cold temperatures usually. Well, the definition of hypothermia is when the core body temp hits 95 degrees or less. Symptoms can be definitely shivering, exhaustion, sometimes confusion, drowsiness, low energy. In kiddos, we can see bright red or cold skin and kind of the same thing. Definitely need to be in a warmer environment. Definitely, absolutely, if there’s concern for hypothermia, they need to be evaluated immediately by a medical professional.”
That’s PA Megan O’Brien with the Franklin Medical Center in Hampton.
