Nonfreezing cold injury —
NFCI
is a general term that includes trench foot and its nautical equivalent immersion foot. NFCI involves injury to the soft tissues, nerves, and vasculature of distal extremities from prolonged exposure to wet, cold (but nonfreezing; generally 0 to 15°C or 32 to 59°F) conditions.
Which of the following are examples of non-freezing cold injuries?
Nonfreezing cold injuries include
chilblain, immersion foot and trenchfoot
. Freezing injuries include frostnip and frostbite. Toes, fingers, ears and nose are at greatest risk because these areas do not have major muscles to produce heat.
What is the most common non-freezing cold injury?
Immersion foot
is a local, non-freezing injury that occurs in cold, wet conditions, usually in temperatures of 30° to 40°F. The injury occurs when blood vessels constrict in response to heat loss, reducing blood flow to the extremity and depriving cells of oxygen and nutrients.
What are two types of cold injury?
Cold injuries are divided into freezing and nonfreezing injuries (occur with ambient temperature above freezing). They include
hypothermia, frostnip, chilblains, immersion foot and frostbite
. Exposure to cold can induce Raynaud's disease, Raynaud's phenomenon and allergic reactions to cold.
What is a freezing cold injury?
Frostbite
is damage to skin and tissue caused by exposure to freezing temperatures – typically any temperature below -0.55C (31F). Frostbite can affect any part of your body, but the extremities, such as the hands, feet, ears, nose and lips, are most likely to be affected.
What is frost nip?
Frostbite is
an injury caused by freezing of the skin and underlying tissues
. First your skin becomes very cold and red, then numb, hard and pale. Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin. Exposed skin in cold, windy weather is most vulnerable to frostbite.
Is hypothermia a non-freezing cold injury?
INTRODUCTION Immersion foot typically refers to an injury caused by cold exposure to tissue
not resulting in freezing
. This condition is also referred to as trench foot or nonfreezing cold injury (NFCI). NFCI can cause gangrene or infection acutely, and cold intolerance and pain syndromes chronically.
What are the 3 categories that cold injuries can be classified into?
Cold injuries are classified into 3 categories:
decreased core temperature (hypothermia), freezing injuries of the extremities, and nonfreezing injuries of the extremities
.
Which drugs can suppress the body's shivering?
Morphine, fentanyl, alfentanil, and meperidine
are most commonly used for shivering, with meperidine as perhaps the most effective.
What are the signs of cold injury?
- White, gray, or blue-white skin.
- Cold, hard skin.
- Loss of feeling in body part.
- Peeling skin.
- Clear or blood-filled blisters.
- Black skin (severe)
What is a cold burn called?
Cold burns.
Also called “
frostbite
,” cold burns cause damage to your skin by freezing it. You can get frostbite by being outside in freezing temperatures. It can also happen when your skin comes into direct contact with something very cold for a prolonged period of time.
Can you get sick by being cold?
“Can you get sick from being cold?
Yes, but not in terms of a cold or the flu
. This comes from frostbite and/or even hypothermia. If you get frostbite or hypothermia, this can weaken the immune system, which leaves you more at-risk for getting illnesses, such as the common cold and/or the flu.”
What is the most common cold weather injury?
The most common non-freezing cold injuries are
chilblain and trenchfoot
. Trench foot occurs when tissues are exposed to temperatures from 32-60°F for prolonged periods of time (>12 hrs), whereas chilblains, which is a more superficial injury, can occur after just a few hours of exposure.
How do you treat cold injuries?
In all cases of cold-induced injury, the patient should be slowly warmed to 22°–27°C to prevent reperfusion injury. Freezing injuries are treated with warming of the body's core temperature and with the
bathing of the affected body parts in warm water with added antiseptic agents
.
How long before frostbite turns black?
The joints and muscles of the affected area may also stop working. After the area is rewarmed, it will develop large blisters
within 24 to 48 hours
and the area will turn black and hard because the tissue has died, according to the Mayo Clinic.
How long can you stay outside in 0 degree weather?
For example, a temperature of zero degrees F and a wind speed of 15 mph creates a wind chill temperature of -19 degrees F. Under these conditions, frostbite can occur in just
30 minutes
. You can, however, survive a winter scenario like this.
