As countries in the northern hemisphere face a bitterly cold snap, there is serious risk of injury – and even death – from freezing weather.

Thankfully, with the right preventative and protective measures, the human body can survive these icy temperatures.

Here’s what you need to know about identifying and treating the most common cold injury: frostbite.

The body runs most optimally at 37°C and has a number of inbuilt mechanisms to adjust to cold or hot changes in environments.

These include changing our breathing rate, adjusting blood supply to various areas of the body or altering our fluid intake to ensure we replenish what we lose through respiration, exertion and urination.

However, despite our bodies’ inherent temperature controls, without the right protection, we might still be vulnerable to cold weather injuries.

Frostbite is the result of damage to tissues – usually skin – on exposure to subzero temperatures.

Most commonly damaged areas are ears, fingers, toes, cheeks, lips, nose and other extremities that are exposed – or not covered enough – such as the penis in winter sports or the eyes.

For frostbite to occur, exposed body parts need to be subjected to a temperature that is below minus 0.55°C. At this temperature it will take several hours for........

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