Frostbite cases are on the rise as temperatures continue to dip

At CHI Health hospitals across Omaha, Lincoln and Kearney, officials said they’ve seen at least 25 patients with frostbite injuries since Friday.

CHI Health’s St. Elizabeth Regional Burn and Wound Center in Lincoln is the only burn unit in Nebraska. Esther Rathjen, burn unit manager and clinical nurse specialist, said St. Elizabeth’s has admitted 13 patients for frostbite in the past two days and received over 40 calls from across Nebraska and Iowa.

“In my 23 years of practice in this department, we have never seen these types of numbers,” Rathjen said.

Signs of frostbite include waxy fingertips and blisters. Rathjen said if someone starts seeing blisters, it’s important to get to a hospital for treatment.

Eric Jensen, burn nurse and community educator, said it’s important to stay dry, wear layers and spend short periods of time outside to prevent frostbite.

It’s also important to check up on neighbors and family members when they go outdoors, especially the elderly.

“They step outside, the snow, the ice, somebody might have tried to scoop them out but then those drifts blow back in, and they have a fall, and it takes them time to get back in,” Jensen said.

Both Jensen and Rathjen said getting treatment in the first 24 hours after the initial exposure is crucial to reducing amputation in frostbite-impacted areas.

By Jolie Peal, Reporter Nebraska Public Media News