Frostbite victim says 'It's very painful'

CLEVELAND — "It's painful, very painful," said 20-year old Stefon Dillon, whose fingers got frostbite after he spent an hour walking in the cold without gloves Monday night.

"In twenty minutes, that's when I started feeling the pain. It started in my pinkie," he said.

"In less than three to five minutes, you can get frostbite," said Michael Anderson, MD, Chief Medical Officer at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Frostbite occurs when the blood supply isn't getting to the skin.

"We worry about those people who have had areas surrounded to the cold for even for the briefest amount of time," said Anderson.

"Wear gloves," advises Dillon, as he left the emergency room after he was treated and released. "Wear a couple pairs of gloves because it is cold out there."

Content courtesy of University Hospitals.

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