What causes frostbite in the ear?

Frostbite, also known as “auricular frostbite”, is a cold-induced peripheral blood circulation disorders, and long-term ischemia, hypoxia can be caused by limited inflammatory dermatosis of the ear, manifested by congestive erythema in the auricle, red, swollen and warm skin (inflammatory manifestations), intense itching (nerve endings irritation), and in severe cases, there will be ulceration and other skin phenomena. From the physiological structure, the two ears protrude on both sides of the head, and the skin of the auricle is very thin, with less subcutaneous tissue and lack of subcutaneous fat protection, and the blood vessels of the auricle are superficial. When a sudden cold stimulus, blood vessels contract sharply, which in turn triggers local tissue ischemia, hypoxia, and frostbite occurs in the auricle. It should be noted that after frostbite occurs in the auricle, patients need to gently massage with their hands to promote local blood circulation; never immediately warm up (such as going to a hot room to bake a fire or using a hot water bag, hot towels and other sudden heating, etc.), so as not to cause vasospasm, resulting in local necrosis. In addition, the patient should not rub hard, otherwise it is easy to cause local blood circulation obstacles, and then the occurrence of auricular pseudocysts and auricular chondritis. It is recommended that patients go to the dermatology department of regular medical institutions, and do not take any unauthorized treatment to avoid aggravating the condition.