When To Visit An Urgent Care Clinic For Frostbite
Posted on: 27 March 2023
If you spend too long outdoors without wearing proper attire, it's possible to develop one or more areas of frostbite on your body. This issue often occurs in such areas as the tips of your fingers and your ears, although it can occur on any part of your skin that doesn't have adequate protection against the cold. Minor cases of frostbite will go away without leaving permanent damage, but this is a skin issue that can often require help from a medical professional. You shouldn't shy away from visiting an urgent care clinic if you experience these frostbite-related issues.
Complete Loss Of Feeling
The sensation of your skin during a case of frostbite can vary significantly. In minor cases, you'll feel a bit of a tingling sensation that may soon go away. If the frostbite is worse, you'll often have more serious issues. A common indicator that your frostbite is bad is that you have a complete loss of feeling in the affected area. For example, if you get frostbite on your earlobe, you might be able to touch this part of your body without feeling it at all. This should prompt you to seek medical care.
Skin Loss
Mild cases of frostbite will typically cause your skin to slightly change color. In more serious cases, the color change will be immediately noticeable — often appearing white or gray. This significant color change is often accompanied by a loss of skin. You'll notice that your skin is peeling off or flaking off. This can especially happen if you touch the area that has been damaged. Skin loss can often lead to a serious infection, so it's important to promptly visit an urgent care center.
Severe Pain
The level of pain that you experience when you have frostbite can vary based on the severity of the damage to your skin. While losing feeling is serious enough to warrant a trip to an urgent care center, having a high level of pain should also cause you to seek medical attention. If you feel as though your skin is burning or tingling to the point that you're in extreme discomfort, it's important to get help. The doctor who assists you will likely provide you with pain medication that will lower your overall pain level, while also providing whatever additional care the affected area needs.
Contact a local urgent care to find out more.
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