The recent cold snap in America’s Midwest has prompted inquiries to the Iowa Department of Public Health regarding the length of time it takes for skin to freeze in the predicted winter chill today – some areas are predicting temperatures as low as 40F below zero with the wind chill factor. In these conditions, exposed skin could freeze within 10 minutes, causing frostbite. Frostbite most often affects parts of the body that are most difficult to maintain warmth including the fingers, nose, ears, toes, cheeks, and chin. When frostbite occurs it can cause tingling, numbness, and grayish discoloration in the affected area. It can also permanently damage the skin, causing scarring, and severe cases can lead to amputation.
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Tags: cold, freeze, frostbite, iowa, wind chill, winter
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
January 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
well my skin can stay in cold for 18min. and 10sec.
January 19th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Living at Omaha in Nebraska it really gets cold here. It’s right on the Missouri river which doesn’t help much, and the northern gusts of wind are furious. My brother got frostbite and lost his toenails in getting stranded on I-80. I have read that his nails will grow back just like new. Am I correct?