From Wiki….I know I got “frost nipped,” which is 1st degree frost bite, more than once in my young life! As noted, it itches and hurts. Yeah….hurts like hell which made me go inside and run my hands under cold water….because warm water is excruciating.
* First degree: This is called frostnip and this only affects the surface skin, which is frozen. On onset there is itching and pain, and then the skin develops white, red, and yellow patches and becomes numb. The area affected by frostnip usually does not become permanently damaged as only the skin’s top layers are affected. Long-term sensitivity to both heat and cold can sometimes happen after suffering from frostnip.
* Second degree: If freezing continues, the skin may freeze and harden, but the deep tissues are not affected and remain soft and normal. Second degree injury usually blisters 1–2 days after becoming frozen. The blisters may become hard and blackened, but usually appear worse than they are. Most of the injuries heal in one month but the area may become permanently insensitive to both heat and cold.
* Third and Fourth degrees: If the area freezes further, deep frostbite occurs. The muscles, tendons, blood vessels, and nerves will all freeze. The skin is hard, feels waxy, and use of the area is lost temporarily, and in severe cases, permanently. The deep frostbite results in areas of purplish blisters which turn black and which are generally blood-filled. Nerve damage in the area can result in a loss of feeling. This extreme frostbite may result in fingers and toes being amputated if the area becomes infected with gangrene. If the frostbite has gone on untreated they may fall off. The damage done to the area by the freezing process of the frostbite may take several months to find out and this often delays surgery to remove the dead tissue.[3]