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Cold and Heat

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Dermatology in Public Health Environments

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Abstract

The skin has a fundamental role in preserving human body homeostasis. This balance is influenced by cutaneous blood flow, basal metabolic rate, shivering, and sweating. The degree of cutaneous injury is also influenced by the type of heat or cold source, the duration of exposure, temperature, skin thickness, and individual predisposition. The skin has the capacity to adapt to some changes in temperature, but sometimes these changes can cause severe damage and induce skin diseases. The etiopathogenesis of many diseases caused by cold remains poorly understood, but research suggests that the disruption in the regulation of dermal blood flow has an important role. Burns are very common in our daily life and can be indubitably dangerous. It is crucial that doctors in general know how to manage burns, and it is also important that people in general know how to deal with this problem, because in many cases this knowledge can help to minimize damage in primary care. This chapter highlights the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and current therapeutic approach to the most important diseases associated with heat and cold, namely frostbite, acrocyanosis, chilblains, cold urticaria, cryoglobulinemia, cold panniculitis, burns, and erythema ab igne.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brazilian Society of Dermatology, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Clarissa Barlem Hohmann MSc

  2. Dermatology Service, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Renan Rangel Bonamigo MSc, PhD

  3. Sanitary Dermatology Service of the Department of Health of Rio Grande do Sul State (ADS-SES), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Renan Rangel Bonamigo MSc, PhD

  4. Graduate Pathology Program of Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Renan Rangel Bonamigo MSc, PhD

Authors
  1. Clarissa Barlem Hohmann MSc
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  2. Renan Rangel Bonamigo MSc, PhD
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Correspondence to Clarissa Barlem Hohmann MSc .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology Service of Clinical, Hospital of Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Renan Rangel Bonamigo

  2. Health Secretary of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Sergio Ivan Torres Dornelles

Glossary

Cellulitis

A bacterial skin infection characterized by a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot and tender.

Chilblains

Also known as pernio or perniosis, these are skin lesions resulting from abnormal response to cold temperature and characterized by erythematous or purplish lesions localized on fingers, toes, ears, and nose.

Cryoglobulins

Immunoglobulins that precipitate in vitro at temperatures below 4 °C, and dissolve after rewarming at 37 °C.

Frostbite

Defined by freezing, cold thermal injury, which occurs when tissues are exposed to temperatures below their freezing point for a sustained period of time.

Panniculitis

An inflammation of the subcutaneous adipose tissue. Cold panniculitis is a form of traumatic panniculitis caused directly by cold exposure.

Raynaud phenomenon

An intermittent ischemia of the fingers or toes characterized by severe pallor and often accompanied by paresthesia and pain, induced by cold and relieved by heat.

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Hohmann, C.B., Bonamigo, R.R. (2018). Cold and Heat. In: Bonamigo, R., Dornelles, S. (eds) Dermatology in Public Health Environments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33919-1_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33919-1_27

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