Can you be so cold that your penis freezes? According to the testimony of Prince Harry, in his book The Substitute, yes it is possible. He was on an Arctic expedition in 2011 and this extremity of his body would not have endured the harsh temperatures outsideas the underlines Slate USwhich collects professional opinions on the issue.
Imagine that if it is rare, it is not the first time that it happens. While the thermometer flirted with -15 degrees at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, cross-country skier Remi Lindholm suffered from the same ailment, pointed out CNews at the time. He had testified to “unbearable” pain, which had been treated with a hot water bottle when he arrived from the race. He had already experienced the frozen penis in Finland, his country of origin.
The penis, an extremity at risk
Let us first remember that frostbite is “damage to the body’s tissues due to frost. They affect the parts of the body most exposed to the cold. The lesions affect the skin and, in the most serious cases, the subcutaneous tissue. , even the deep tissues (nerves, muscles, tendons, etc.) are affected”, underlines the health insurance. It is not strictly speaking the tissues that freeze, but the blood vessels that contract and no longer circulate the blood in this place.
According to a urologist interviewed by Slate, Craig Comiter, professor of urology at Stanford, the penis counts in the same way as the fingers, the feet or the nose in the extremities at risk vis-à-vis the cold. And the risk is that the blood vessels contract so much to resist the low temperature that the tissues lack irrigation and become necrotic. The concern is thatwe rarely think of covering our genitals as we would with technical tools intended for extreme cold for hands and feet…
The Finnish skier specified in his interview that he suffered particularly when his body had warmed up. And this seems logical, according to the explanations of the health insurance, which stipulates that the itching and pain increases as the area warms. The frozen penis would first be characterized by numbness and pallor, at least initially.
Several stages of severity: how to react?
If the scoop can make you smile, it is nonetheless serious: frostbite can be very serious and lead to amputation if they are not dealt with within a reasonable time. The phase of pallor and numbness is indeed only the first stage of frostbite, which can then manifest itself by “small red, even purplish patches, which swell and itch”, notes the health insurance.
Also come in a third time blisters containing clear fluid, then they fill with blood and become cracks and sores. “The treatment is urgent in order to avoid the occurrence of irreversible deep lesions”, insists the Ameli.fr site.
Prince Harry had to go see a doctor to treat them, he says. Seth Cohen points out that if only the skin of the penis is affected, and not the corpora cavernosa, the function of the penis is maintained.
What if this happened to you? How should you react? Health insurance has compiled a list of tips for reacting in such a situation (even if the method is not specific to penises!) Try to gradually warm the affected skin, in particular by applying it against a warmer part of your skin Or taking a lukewarm bath. Raise the temperature to 42 degrees and stay there for 20-30 minutesuntil the skin becomes reddish.
Not to do : “Avoid rubbing, massaging or manipulating the area reached, so as not to destroy the tissues”, notes Ameli.fr, which also specifies that any dry heat must be avoided! You must not drink alcohol and you must try to use frozen limbs so that the irrigation In case of advanced frostbite, seek immediate medical attention.
Sources: Slate, CNews, Ameli.fr
