A Westchester mother learned how dangerous the arctic freeze can be when her 6-year-old daughter got frostbite in just 30 minutes, despite being dressed in plenty of layers.
Alyvia Lore is recovering at Westchester Medical Center after getting blisters and burns on her legs Monday. Her mother, Alicia Lore, rushed her to the hospital.
"It wasn't what I thought frostbite would look like," said Alicia Lore. "I thought it would be purple and black, I thought you would have had to be outside longer. She was well dressed."
Alyvia Lore said it was "a bubble on my leg that was painful."
"I was very scared, and it was painful because I looked at it and it scared me," she said.
The snow got in between the little girl's boots while she was playing outside, and it was the direct contact between the snow and her skin that gave her frostbite and a trip to the burn unit.
Francis Winski, a doctor at the Westchester Medical Center, said a burn injury can be either hot or cold, and the same type of damage that occurs from the heat also occurs when the tissues are frozen with frostbite.
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Winski is part of Alyvia Lore's care team at the hospital and after monitoring the frostbite progress, he says she'll need minor surgery.
"This can happen before you even realize it," he said.
On Friday, with record-breaking low temperatures across much of the tri-state area and winds reaching 30 mph, the real feel will be about 19 degrees below zero. Within 30 minutes, exposed skin could be vulnerable to frostbite.
Alicia Lore said it's a lesson learned.
"It's probably better to stay inside," she said.
