Frostbite (cont.)

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Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Mary Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Indiana University.

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Frostbite Diagnosis

The doctor will take a history in order to gather information on the events of the exposure and the medical condition prior to the cold injury.

The doctor will take note of the vital signs, including temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and respiratory rate in order to exclude or treat any immediate life threats such as hypothermia or severe infection.
X-rays may be performed, but they probably will be deferred until weeks later when they are more useful to the treatment team.
The doctor will collect data in order to classify the injury as superficial or deep and the prognosis as favorable or poor.
- A good prognosis is heralded by intact sensation, normal skin color, blisters with clear fluid, the ability to deform the skin with pressure, and the skin becoming pink when thawed.
- Blisters with dark fluid, skin turning dark blue when thawed, and an inability to indent the skin with pressure indicate a poor prognosis.