• Frostbite: From Napoleonic era treatments to the first FDA approved frostbite drug

  • Dec 11 2024
  • Length: 27 mins
  • Podcast

Frostbite: From Napoleonic era treatments to the first FDA approved frostbite drug

  • Summary

  • Dominique Jean Larrey lived quite a life. He was born in 1766, and at the age of 13, had to walk from his home in a French village to study in the city of Toulouse. That journey was 70 miles, and yes, he walked it. That would be important much later in his life, when he found himself walking through the bitter cold in Russia as the Chief Surgeon of Napoleon's army. During that time, Napoleon's troops had to contend with the reality of Russian cold and temperatures that got as low as -37 degrees Celsius, which is about -35 Fahrenheit.

    Larrey attributed his ability to withstand the cold to his walking. But many of the soldiers around him wound up with frostbite, and to treat them, Larrey suggested slowly rewarming the affected area and rubbing it with snow. Frostbite treatment has been on quite the journey since then, and it was just earlier this year that the FDA approved the first drug to treat frostbite in the US, which is exciting news for the doctors who see cases of frostbite and for patients who are often left with the horrific reality of amputation.

    Send us your science stories/factoids/news for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode and to be entered to win a Tiny Matters coffee mug! And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter at bit.ly/tinymattersnewsletter.

    Links to the Tiny Show & Tell story are here and here. All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.

    Show More Show Less
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Frostbite: From Napoleonic era treatments to the first FDA approved frostbite drug

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.