I feel like a moron....ever treated an ice burn??

[lizzyb5280]

As a paraplegic, I've always been careful with hot objects not to burn my legs. Living in the south, so snow/ice aren't a concern, never really worried about the risk of extreme cold.

As I was fixing dinner tonight, I was about to put a frozen lasagna in the oven when I remembered it was supposed to go on a baking sheet first. Our baking sheets are in a drawer below our wall-mount oven, so I set the lasagna on one leg for less than a minute while I got a baking sheet out of the drawer. Well, wouldn't you know about an hour later I noticed a red, slightly swollen, and warm to the touch rectangle on the top of my leg. Obviously I got an ice burn from the extreme cold of the lasagna.

Anyone ever had to treat one? I just treat it like a regular burn, right? I've been putting aloe vera on it, and have some silvidine on hand if it starts to blister.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I don't think they're quite the same. The heat and the cold are causing different things to happen on a cellular level from what I can figure.

So long as the skin doesn't white or hard, doesn't hurt excessively but still has feeling to it, I'd leave it alone and uncovered. If it is doing any of those things, consult a doctor. What happens when your skin is exposed to that cold of temperature is like this: the cold is freezing the water in your skin cells, and the "ice" that forms is jagged and it kind of rips through the cell wall obviously destroying that cell. If you've ever seen a picture of someone with full on frostbite, that black skin is dead because all of those cells have been destroyed as those little ice crystals have moved around and burst the cell. I think what you have would be considered "frostnip" or "frost burn", almost the beginning of what would eventually cause frostbite.

When I was 4 or 5, my aunt and uncle had an ice cream shop. My mother and father used to help out, and I'd go with sometimes. Somehow (the story varies depending on who tells it) I ended up getting my hands stuck to the wall of a freezer (like a chest freezer). Everyone debated how to get my hands unstuck (hot water- big no, unplugging the freezer-it'd take too long, etc), and I was freaking out at this point, so my uncle ends up grabbing my wrists and yanking my hands off the freezer. It tore sheets of my skin off, and I had to go the the ER. They told my mom I had "frost burn", plus the pieces of skin torn off (not deep enough to bleed but it was very painful). They gave me an antibiotic and some sort of cream that numbed my hands a bit, probably lidocaine or something like that.

Anyway, just be careful with it, especially if the skin is broken or if you have comprimised circulation in your legs.

 

[bookwormde]

If it goes white, or black or blue of blisters or starts weeping get medical attention. Ideally if you are going to put anything on a minor burn it should be steril, but in most cases as long as it is not open in any way you are ok.

bookwormde

 

[seashoreCM]

I I ended up getting my hands stuck to the wall of a freezer (like a chest freezer). Everyone debated how to get my hands unstuck (hot water- big no, unplugging the freezer-it'd take too long, etc), and I was freaking out at this point, so my uncle ends up grabbing my wrists and yanking my hands off the freezer. It tore sheets of my skin off, and I had to go the the ER. legs.

I suggest lots of warm water.

 

[lizzyb5280]

Thanks everyone. I've taken several anatomy classes, so I totally get the difference between a ice burn and a heat burn at a cellular level. It's basically the same reason why frozen produce doesn't come out crispy when you thaw it; the water freezes and causes all the cells to burst open.


I did use some silvidine and lightly covered one part of it while I slept last night (I sleep on my stomach and part of it looked like it was trying to blister) but uncovered it this morning, and it's all looking much better. I do think the aloe is drawing some of the heat out of it (it was much redder/warmer last night) so I think I'll keep that up today. I also wiped the whole area with antiseptic first to try and keep it clean. And thankfully I'm always on antibiotics for UTI prevention, so that should help as well.

And of course should it show signs of infection or tissue death, I'll be at the doc in a heartbeat.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I was actually going to use the frozen veggie example. Sounds like you're doing things right for it!