frost bite

First FDA-Approved Treatment for Severe Frostbite Now Available in the U.S.

December 9, 2024

SGB Today

by SGB Partner Sponsored Content

SERB Pharmaceuticals, a global specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that Aurlumyn (iloprost) Injection, the first FDA-approved treatment for severe frostbite in adults to reduce the risk of digit amputations, is now commercially available in the US.

Dr. Jennifer Dow, emergency medicine physician at Alaska Regional Hospital and medical director for the Alaska Region of the National Park Service, said, “This marks a significant milestone in the field of frostbite treatment in the United States and represents a new era of hope for patients at risk of digit amputations. Frostbite can be a debilitating condition that can lead to devastating consequences for patients. We hope Aurlumyn will revolutionize the standard of care and provide physicians with an essential tool to treat this condition and reduce the risk of amputations.”

Thomas Kolaras, executive vice president and U.S. chief commercial officer, said: “We are proud to make Aurlumyn (pronounced Or-Loo-Min) available to hospitals, first responders and military customers in the U.S. This treatment empowers healthcare professionals to act decisively in critical moments, delivering hope and effective care to those at risk of life-altering complications.”

Studies show that thousands of people in the U.S. are hospitalized with frostbite yearly. This debilitating condition, most often affecting winter sports enthusiasts, military personnel, and outdoor workers, can lead to digit or limb necrosis requiring amputation.

The most recent Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Frostbite “strongly recommends” considering Aurlumyn as a first-line therapy for Grades 3 and 4 frostbite <48 hours after thawing and possibly for up to 72 hours.

Learn more at aurlumyn.com

You could say I am an expert on frost bite, I suffered it when I was lost. I did not get to the point of potential amputation but the following winter I had to change a tire in 20-degree weather and the skin on my fingers just peeled away. It was at that moment I realized I had experienced a frost bite from the previous winter. I must believe there are many others who have had the same experience as me, so they too are experts in the effects of frost bite. Since then, I wear gloves when the temperature is 30/35 degrees and mitten when it gets colder. I now know how quickly the skin on my fingers will peel.

Having read this article about a product that can help in potentially restoring the digits to normal is wonderful. I say potential because I do not believe they really know how well it will work. My opinion.

The best way to protect against frost bites of your fingers and toes is simple for your hands to wear mittens. Keep as I do a pair of leather gloves that have a fabric lining, possibly wool in a men’s clothing store. You take off the mittens and pull the gloves out of your pocket to do whatever requires dexterity. When you finish off, they come, and the mitten go back on. If necessary, if your fingers get cold during work put the mittens back on. It is best if you take off the gloves so the fingers can touch each other which helps them to warm each other.

Feet are a little different. They are enclosed in footwear. I know for fact that soldiers have rampant cold feet, and a study of the problem showed a significant number of Marines have suffered frost bitten toes. That is when they started to have a company in New England try to develop the boot dryers. What that company did is long gone but mine is still going strong.

But I digress. As I have previously written, our feet emit more moisture than any other part of our body. That moisture stays in our footwear. Wearing wool socks may sound good but it isn’t. The wool just absorbs that moisture and when the moisture cools you have cold feet. Of course, having boots that are gortex lined just adds to the problem since it will NEVER allow that moisture out, and the Thinsulate is not a good insulator. It NEVER was and never will be.

The first step to take is to get Lamilite socks. They have been proven to allow the moisture to get away from your skin surface and not absorb the moisture. They have been on the market 5 years and have achieved a reputation for working. The next item in the arsenal for keeping feet warm are the Wiggy over boots for use to -30 degrees or the Wiggy mukluks for use to as cold as you want to go.

I have used both over boots and mukluks [they the mukluks saved my feet when lost] so I know how well they perform.

The military supplies the soldiers with wool socks. If you have any members of your family on active duty do them a favor and supply them with Lamilite socks and if you have yet to get a pair now is the time since we are heading into winter.

I am not so sure you want needles stuck into your fingers.