A man in his 60s was left with severe cold burns after his daughter tried to reduce his fever by placing dry ice directly on his forehead and armpits.
The man, identified only as Mr Fang, had developed diarrhoea and a fever several days earlier after eating something that upset his stomach.
Worried about her father’s condition, his daughter decided to try physical cooling at home. Remembering that they had some leftover dry ice, she thought it would be more effective than ordinary ice because of its extremely low temperature.
She placed a large bag of dry ice directly on his forehead and under his arms.
Within hours, however, his skin had become severely red and blistered. He also experienced intense pain before realising something was seriously wrong and seeking medical treatment.
Doctors at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital said the injuries were caused by direct contact with the extremely cold dry ice.
Chief physician Tong Yongxi from the hospital’s infectious diseases department explained that dry ice is solid carbon dioxide and has a temperature of around -78.5°C, far below ordinary ice, which is around 0°C.
Unlike normal ice, dry ice does not melt into liquid water but instead turns directly into carbon dioxide gas through sublimation.
Direct contact with dry ice can cause serious cold burns within seconds. The extreme cold causes blood vessels beneath the skin to constrict sharply, while cells and tissues can freeze and become damaged.
Doctors describe this type of injury as frostbite, which can cause tissue damage comparable to a conventional burn.
Tong warned that using dry ice to cool someone with a fever is extremely dangerous and should never be done by placing it directly on the skin.
The hospital said some commercially sold dry ice products also carry warnings advising users to avoid direct contact because of the risk of frostbite.
Fortunately, Mr Fang sought medical attention quickly. Doctors treated both his fever and diarrhoea, while also treating the damaged skin to prevent further complications and infection.
His injuries healed successfully, and he was discharged from hospital four days later.
