Mountain Living

Treatment
2-94. To prevent this condition, keep the feet dry and clean. Change socks often, drying the insides of
boots, massaging the feet, and using foot powder. Drying the feet for 24 hours usually heals mild cases.
Moderate cases usually heal within three to five days. The feet should be handled gently―NOT rubbed or
massaged. They should be cleaned with soap and water, dried, elevated, and exposed to room temperature.
The victim must stay off his feet and seek medical attention. Severe cases, when feet are not allowed to dry,
are evacuated as a litter casualty.

Blisters
2-95. When first noticed and before the formation of a blister, cover a hotspot with moleskin (over the area
and beyond it). Use tincture benzoin to help the moleskin adhere to and toughen the skin. Once a blister has
formed, cover it with a dressing large enough to fit over the blister, and then tape it. Never drain blisters
unless they are surrounded by redness, or draining pus indicates infection. If this occurs, drain the blister
from the side with a clean sterile needle. After cleaning with soap and water, gently press out the fluid
leaving the skin intact. Make a doughnut of moleskin to go around the blister and apply to the skin. For toe
blisters, wrap the entire toe with adhesive tape over the moleskin. (Toenails should be trimmed straight
across the top, leaving a 90-degree angle on the sides. This provides an arch so that the corners do not
irritate the skin.)

Frostbite
2-96. Frostbite is the freezing or crystallization of living tissues due to heat being lost faster than it can be
replaced by blood circulation, or from direct exposure to extreme cold or high winds. Exposure time can be
minutes or instantaneous. The extremities are usually the first to be affected. Damp hands and feet may
freeze quickly since moisture conducts heat away from the body and destroys the insulating value of
clothing. Heat loss is compounded with intense cold and inactivity. With proper clothing and equipment,
properly maintained and used, frostbite can be prevented. The extent of frostbite depends on temperature
and duration of exposure. Frostbite is one of the major nonfatal cold-weather injuries encountered in
military operations, but does not occur above an ambient temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Categories of Frostbite
2-97. Superficial (mild) frostbite involves only the skin (Figure 2-2). The layer immediately below usually
appears white to grayish with the surface feeling hard, but the underlying tissue is soft. Deep (severe)
frostbite extends beyond the first layer of skin and may include the bone (Figure 2-3). Discoloration
continues from gray to black, and the texture becomes hard as the tissue freezes deeper. This condition
requires immediate evacuation to a medical facility.

26 July 2012

TC 3-97.61

2-19