Frostbite is a skin injury that happens when skin is exposed to freezing temperatures. Sometimes the cold also injures deeper tissue. Serious frostbite can go all the way down to the muscles and bones. Frostbite is common in kids because they lose heat from their bodies more quickly than adults do. Also, kids often get wet while playing in snow and resist taking breaks while having fun.

After warming up the affected areas and checking how severe the frostbite is, the health care provider likely gave your child medicine to decrease damage to the tissues and to treat pain. To prevent infection of the injured area, they may have cleaned and bandaged any wounds, and given a tetanus shot or antibiotics if needed. Here's how to help your child continue healing from frostbite at home.

• Give your child any medicines as instructed by the health care provider.
• Clean the frostbitten areas gently with soap and water to prevent infection.
• Change bandages as directed.
• Do not try to break any blisters that might form on the frostbitten area.
• Don't rub or massage the frostbitten area.
• If the frostbite was on your child's foot, they shouldn't walk on it until the health care provider says it's OK.
• Be especially careful not to let the skin get cold again for at least the next 6–12 months, depending on the severity of the frostbite.
• Go to all follow-up visits as recommended by the health care provider. If the frostbite was severe, there could be damage to blood vessels, nerves, muscles, or bones in the affected areas. Your child may need to see specialists to help with wound care or pain, to monitor growth of the affected areas, or to help regain proper function of the affected areas.

• Your child's skin becomes numb again.
• The frostbitten area changes color (becomes dark, blue, or red), gets swollen, or has drainage of pus from the wound.
• Your child has a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.

What is frostnip? Frostnip is a milder form of cold injury. It is the first sign that a person's skin is too cold, and an early warning sign to go inside to warm up. With frostnip, the top layers of skin get cold, red, tingly, or painful. But the symptoms clear up quickly when the skin is warmed up, with no damage to the skin or tissues underneath. Frostbite happens if a person with frostnip doesn't warm up, and the skin (and sometimes deeper layers) gets frozen and damaged. Frostbitten skin loses color and feeling and may be hard or waxy.

Where is frostbite most likely to happen? The parts of the body that tend to get frostbite most often are the nose, chin, cheeks, ears, fingers, and toes.

What can help prevent frostbite from happening again? After being frostbitten, the skin may be more sensitive to cold for a while. So it will be more important than ever to dress your kids in warm, loose-fitting, waterproof layers of clothing when it's cold out. Be sure to bring them inside for regular warm-up breaks when they're outside playing in cold weather. And always remove wet shoes and clothes when they come in.