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Saturday, November 07, 2009

Frostbite?

So you're probably thinking that "frostbite" is some sort of clever title, but in fact, I mean it quite literally. I think I gave myself frostbite this morning. I was using ice out of the ice maker to fill up a small cooler of drinks to take over to the new house. As I was reaching into the bin, my hand brushed the underside of the actual ice maker part. Suddenly, I felt intense pain on the back side of my middle finger (the segment closest to the palm). I thought I sliced the back of my finger open, and I really expected to see blood dripping as I pulled my hand out.

Instead, I saw nothing, which made no sense. Maybe I had just scraped it? I didn't see anything, and I couldn't really feel anything, but it still hurt quite a bit. I could provide no logical explanation. I continued to put ice in the cooler, carefully avoiding the under side of the ice maker, and went on my way. Within 30 minutes or so, the back of my finger started to hurt again, only this time it felt like a burn. When I looked down, I saw a red mark about half an inch long (1.2 cm) and about a quarter inch wide (6 mm). It sure *looks* like a burn. All I can figure is that I managed to brush the actual chiller coils under the part of the ice maker that physically makes the ice and quite literally froze the skin on my finger, which (as I understand it) is the definition of frostbite. It was only in contact for a second or two at most, but yowie! It hurt for several hours, but it has now subsided. It's just really bizarre to think that's what happened.



Currently feeling: frozen

3 comments:

  1. Don't quote me on it, but I'm pretty sure you can burn yourself with cold and that sure looks like what you've done.

    I thought frostbite was when the skin died from lack of blood in the cold, which is why people have to get things like toes amputated, but I've been lazy and haven't actually looked it up.

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  2. Congratulations! That's definitely frostbite.

    FYI if there's a next time, the best way to warm frostbitten fingers is to stick them in your armpits (body heat and all that).

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  3. Ouch! Whatever the case, hope it heals for you quickly.

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