Frostbite «

Stranded With Frostbite? 17 Dos and Don’ts

In my last post, I talked about how Olympic gold-medal winner Rulon Gardner saved most of his foot despite severe frostbite. The main thing is, he didn’t rewarm it while there was still a chance of the tissue refreezing. (If it had refrozen, it would have been dead meat—literally.) And of course, he was able to get to a medical facility.

But what if you can’t get expert care? What if you’re stranded in some shack or tent? Here are some first-aid dos and don’ts for severe frostbite when help is not on the way.

[... continue reading]

Frozen Foot? When Not to Rewarm It

Rulon Gardner wrestling at the 2004 Olympics

Rulon Gardner (in blue) wrestling at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, two years after a dangerous bout with frostbite.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Relatively speaking, losing just one toe and a couple of toe tips was pretty much a best-case scenario for Rulon Gardner. He could have lost his entire foot—and some people would have in the same situation.

As I talked about Tuesday, the Olympic gold-medal wrestler survived being stranded on a mountainside for seventeen hours in 2002. His right shoe was frozen to his foot. I imagine the tissue was gray or white and hard to the touch, frozen with severe frostbite. But Rulon did a few things that saved his foot—things anyone in the same situation could do, high-level athlete or average joe.

[... continue reading]

What an Olympian’s Brush With Death Teaches Us About Frostbite

American wrestler Rulon Gardner accepts his bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics, two years after losing a toe to frostbite. Photo (cropped) courtesy, USA Wrestling.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Rulon Gardner is one megatough dude. He’s a local celebrity here in Colorado (Olympic wresting gold medalist and The Biggest Loser participant). A giant of a guy, he was stranded for something like seventeen hours on the side of a mountain after a snowmobile accident in 2002. You can read his story in Sports Illustrated.

They found him almost dead from hypothermia. His right shoe was frozen to his foot. He survived and is back to competitive wrestling. He lost the tips of both big toes, all of his right middle one, and a lot of skin. But it could have been so much worse. We can learn a lot about frostbite from his experience.

[... continue reading]

Popular Posts

Stranded With Frostbite? 17 Dos and Don’ts

Frozen Foot? When Not to Rewarm It

What an Olympian’s Brush With Death Teaches Us About Frostbite

Blogroll: Survival Blogs

Other Blogs and Sites

Survival Forums

Survival Websites