Do I need to seek medical attention due to overexposure to the cold?

December 3, 2007 12:04 PM

FrostbiteFilter: Last night my hands were exposed in 20 F (-7 C) weather for about 10 minutes. I was finally able to warm them up and restore circulation. But the tip of the little finger and the tip of the thumb still (18 hours later) have that pins and needles feeling. They are not discolored, swollen or numb, and there is no loss of motion. Do I need to seek medical attention or will this feeling eventually go away by itself?
posted by ubiquity to health (26 comments total)

It's unlikely it's frostbite, it would generally speaking, take longer than 10 minutes at that temperature to cause frostbite and you're not demonstrating any of the usual symptoms.

If the pins and needles persists you should go to a doctor and get yourself checked out.
posted by iamabot at 12:08 PM on December 3, 2007

You might have chilblains. I had this, it's kind of a sub-frostbite stage of injury, and eventually it went away without doing anything. A doctor looked at it during a physical and set not to worry about it.
posted by beagle at 12:08 PM on December 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

10 minutes at 20 degrees? That's doesn't seem like enough to cause a problem.
posted by rokusan at 12:11 PM on December 3, 2007 [3 favorites]

I should quantify that frostbite is the term for tissue freezing and being damaged by ice crystals formed inside the body, it's possible you had this happen at the tips of your thumb and finger, but it's probably not anything you can treat specifically outside of making sure you don't re-expose your hands for a while. The feeling should go away as the tissue is repaired, your hands are not going to fall off.

On re-read my first answer was going with the thought that your fingers were falling off, which doesn't look like it's your problem.
posted by iamabot at 12:12 PM on December 3, 2007

Do I need to seek medical attention or will this feeling eventually go away by itself?

I was caught in 10 F weather on my bike — the cold ate through two layers of gloves and most of the pain in my hands lasted for about an hour. The pins and needles part went away for me after a day.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:13 PM on December 3, 2007

I am not a doctor. However, my extremities have been exposed to far colder temperatures for longer, with no long-term ill effects. Minus 7C for ten minutes doesn't strike me as noteworthy -- do you normally have circulation problems?

Therefore, I suggest that there's something else at work here and that you may want to consult with a doc to see what's going on.
posted by aramaic at 12:13 PM on December 3, 2007

do you normally have circulation problems?

I should have mentioned that I have type II diabetes and do have some problems with the circulation in my hands and feet.
posted by ubiquity at 12:17 PM on December 3, 2007

I've been out in minus 20 F in a t-shirt and jeans for about that amount of time and didn't get frostbite....
posted by Doohickie at 12:19 PM on December 3, 2007

Does your health care have a nurse's phone line? This strikes me as just their sort of ideal use.

One of our local medical clinics has a frostbite information page that says that numbness after the first half hour is a good reason to get someone to look at it professionally.

20F strikes me as really warm to be looking at frostbite in just 10 minutes unless you're unusually sensitive to cold (or it was really damp or windy. (I was out shovelling snow in 15 degree weather for over an hour yesterday, with some wind, and was totally fine.)

It's possible there's something else going on, and you just noticed now as a result of the cold-recovery. It'd make me more likely to check with a doctor, personally.
posted by modernhypatia at 12:21 PM on December 3, 2007

I have had frostbite. It was after several hours in far colder temperatures than you describe, and the affected areas were blackened and severely swollen. They have fully recovered, but I am very glad that I saw a doctor about it immediately.

I am not a doctor, but what you have doesn't sound anything like the frostbite that I had. Nevertheless, if I had your symptoms, I would run, not walk, to a doctor, because I care about my fingers and thumbs.
posted by The World Famous at 12:27 PM on December 3, 2007

Pins and needles for 18 hours = go see the doctor. They might not have any treatment other than time, but don't you think your family would prefer it if you visited a doctor?
posted by grouse at 12:44 PM on December 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

If you have diabetes, circulation problems, and live in a cold climate I recommend taking cayenne pepper pills.

I live in Buffalo, NY and have type I diabetes. I keep my toes warm all winter with these guys. Also, it is a thermogenic supplement which increases metabolism and can help clean out arteries according to a study.

If interested, they come in two strengths 40k HU (heat units) and 100k. Start off with the 40k and work up to the 100k. I take one pill, twice a day with food. It works wonders. Give it a whirl.
posted by munchingzombie at 1:03 PM on December 3, 2007

I should have mentioned that I have type II diabetes and do have some problems with the circulation in my hands and feet.

That's a good reason to go to the doctor, even though it really seems unlikely that you have actual frostbite at such a moderate temperature.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 1:31 PM on December 3, 2007

yes, definitely go to the doctor. if you're diabetic, you have to be really careful about that stuff.
posted by thinkingwoman at 1:31 PM on December 3, 2007

Sounds like frostnip, not really a medical term. Treatment is to keep the affected area away from the cold. IANAD, but I live in Maine, and have a healthy respect for the cold.
posted by theora55 at 1:36 PM on December 3, 2007

I had pins and needles in my toes for about four months after climbing at nearly 7000m in the Andes. It was undoubtedly a result of the cold and probably nerve damage. It went away eventually though.
posted by rhymer at 2:23 PM on December 3, 2007

10 minutes at 20 degress is plenty of time to get frostbite, or start getting it. A lot of what happens depends on what you're doing, wind chill, etc.

sounds like you just got some numbness form cold--frostbite was starting, but not setting in. I've had this on several occasions. Ususally, the tingling goes away in a day. Sometimes, I get blisters on the tips of my fingers, which becme really painful after a week or so.
posted by lester at 2:24 PM on December 3, 2007

recoverable, avoid cold and extremes of heat, massage regularly, you should be back to normal in a few days but if it persists go to the doctor. (You must be ultra careful of your extremeties with diabetes.)
posted by Wilder at 2:31 PM on December 3, 2007

Ubiquity, with your health issues you should see the doctor. I have Reynaud's Syndrome and I have to be very careful about things like that too.

Also, I know that the oft-cited "they" say that you should not warm up your extremities too quickly. (I think that is because you'd send ice cold blood back to your heart which can't handle the cold.)
posted by IndigoRain at 2:52 PM on December 3, 2007

I have a friend who had frostbite years ago and he says that when his hands get even moderately cold he feels that pins and needles thing in a few of his fingers. Maybe you've had frostbite--say, as a kid-- and this is an after-effect?
posted by wafaa at 2:58 PM on December 3, 2007

I got frostbite once, and since I didn't have health insurance (sadly, still don't), I just waited it out and didn't see a doctor. It took about a month for the pins-and-needles feeling to go away, but it eventually did.
posted by polyester.lumberjack at 3:10 PM on December 3, 2007

Sounds a little like chillblains, although I think it's normally described more as 'itching' than 'pins and needles' but I suspect everyone is different. That's something that can be more severe in folks with poor peripheral circulation.

I don't think it's frostbite, though. Even with low circulation, it doesn't seem cold enough or long enough to really freeze.
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:10 PM on December 3, 2007

10 minutes at 20 degress is plenty of time to get frostbite, or start getting it.

Um - another factor ubiquity - was it windy?

-7 C, combined with a moderate wind can definately give your exposed skin frostbite due to windchill.
posted by jkaczor at 3:17 PM on December 3, 2007

Diabetes leaves one at risk for peripheral neuropathy, and frostbite can certainly contribute to that.
posted by Neiltupper at 3:35 PM on December 3, 2007

yes, very windy.
posted by ubiquity at 4:23 PM on December 3, 2007

If your question on Ask Metafilter is "should I see a doctor", the answer is always yes.
posted by Caviar at 3:02 PM on December 4, 2007