A frostbitten foot can be identified by which finding?

A frostbitten foot can be identified by which finding?

• A. Blisters only on the sole.
• B. Rapid skin reddening.
• C. Warm, flushed skin.
• D. Mottling and blisters.

Answer: (D)

Frostbite presents as a cold, numb skin area that can become pale or waxy. As the tissue thaws, the skin often develops mottling (patchy, blotchy color) and blistering. This combination—mottling with blisters—is a classic finding that indicates frostbite in a foot, reflecting tissue damage from the cold and the evolving injury as it begins to thaw. Rapid reddening would suggest warming or another type of skin irritation, not the cold injury pattern of frostbite. Warm, flushed skin isn’t typical of established frostbite, which starts cold and pale rather than warm. Blisters confined to just the sole are possible, but they don’t capture the broader appearance the frostbite injury tends to show, namely the mottled skin with blisters.

Frostbite presents as a cold, numb skin area that can become pale or waxy. As the tissue thaws, the skin often develops mottling (patchy, blotchy color) and blistering. This combination—mottling with blisters—is a classic finding that indicates frostbite in a foot, reflecting tissue damage from the cold and the evolving injury as it begins to thaw.

Rapid reddening would suggest warming or another type of skin irritation, not the cold injury pattern of frostbite. Warm, flushed skin isn’t typical of established frostbite, which starts cold and pale rather than warm. Blisters confined to just the sole are possible, but they don’t capture the broader appearance the frostbite injury tends to show, namely the mottled skin with blisters.