Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
This football-mad lad’s ears were nearly “frozen off” after he played his favourite game without a hat in freezing temperatures as blisters formed from the cold.
The boy was treated at Changchun Children’s Hospital, in north-eastern China’s Jilin Province, on 6th January, a day after he spent the entire afternoon kicking a ball around with his friends.
Doctor Ma Lina, head of the facility’s burns and plastic surgery department, told local media: “The boy thought his body was strong enough to handle the cold.
“He played an entire afternoon’s worth of football and wore neither a hat nor a scarf.
“When he returned home at night, his ears hurt and itched, and then they turned red.
“His family didn’t think it was serious, but the following evening when he returned from school, they noticed blisters on both ears.
“We diagnosed him with second-degree cold burns.”
Temperatures in Changchun at this time of year range between minus 7 and minus 23 degrees Celsius.
Cells in the boy’s ears are thought to have burst from prolonged exposure to the cold, with images showing the bubble on his swollen right ear having accidentally been popped.
Doctor Ma said it would take the boy about two weeks to recover from his cold burns, with his larger left ear blister to be popped and drained during this time.
The medic added: “His ears could’ve been frozen off. They’re thin and susceptible to severe frostbite, which would’ve been irreparable.”
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