Play Date Turns Painful For Young Girl Affected By Frostbite

VALHALLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Operators at the city's 311 call center received more than 85,000 calls on Friday, many due to the cold -- nearly 30,000 more than a regular day.

Some of those calls were about health concerns, and as CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, the bitter blast injured a young girl.

"She didn't feel it. She didn't realize it. She was just having fun," said Alicia Lore of Westchester County.

Lore's daughter Alyvia, 6, experienced frostbite after just 30 minutes of playing in the snow on Monday. She was fully layered up.

"She must have gotten snow in between her boots and her skin. She had kind of those furry boots and the snow was packed in," Alicia said.

Alyvia was on a play date. After playing in the snow she went to lunch and a movie with a friend. She tried to put band-aids on it herself, but there was no blistering or oozing.

She exposed the injury to her mother later that night while out with her mother.

"Lifted up her pant leg, and came over screaming. Frostbite did not enter my mind at all," Alicia said.

Lore thought maybe it was an allergic reaction to something, but Alyvia was admitted to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. She has been getting wound cleanings every day and new dressings.

"If wet snow is getting under their sleeves or into their boots, it can exacerbate an even worse case of frost bite," said Dr. Carey Goltzman, chief of critical care medicine at the hospital.

Dr. Goltzman said it's important to check your kids for wet clothing when they come in and immediately put them in dry clothing.

"If you know what the area is where the child has developed some sort of injury, very slow rewarming and not direct heat," Dr. Goltzman said.

He suggested a warm bath, not a hot one.

Alyvia wasn't up for talking on Friday, but her mother said her spirits have not been numbed.

"She's already asking about going ice skating and snow tubing with her friends," Alicia said.

Alyvia will be in the hospital until at least Monday.

Doctors said as long as temperatures remain this cold, children should play inside.

Frostbite is an injury to the body that is caused by freezing. It causes a loss of feeling and color in affected areas. It most often affects the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers, or toes. Frostbite can permanently damage the body, and severe cases can lead to amputation.

At the first signs of redness or pain in any skin area affected persons should get out of the cold or protect any exposed skin.

A white or grayish-yellow skin are, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, and numbness may indicate frost bite.

A victim is often unaware of frostbite until someone else points it out, because the frozen tissues are numb.