Question: Has anyone else ever gotten welts from snow + wind gusts?

[novium]

Went up skiing at Alpine yesterday and it was beaaautiful....but snowing hard icy snow and getting kind of windy up top. There was a few times that the gusts were such that it felt a little like my face was getting sandblasted, but I was having too much fun to stop and fix my scarf to cover my face again. However, when I next looked in a mirror, the uncovered part of my face was completely covered in tiny welts. It looked like I'd run into a bunch of mosquitos...or maybe had acne. The redness has faded some now, but the raised skin is still there.

I don't think I've ever had this happen before, so I'm completely at a loss, and Google wasn't helping.

 

[geargrrl]

a kind of frostbite?

 

[SkiBilly]

Yes it could be superficial frostbite...more than just frost nip. Check with your doctor. Is your skin still bumpy? If not, how long was it bumpy for?

 

[novium]

Yeah, still kind of bumpy. Not so much that I think other people would notice, but it does make my skin just look like crap in a vague way. But it was only yesterday.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Hmm. We call the top of the T-Bar "free dermabrasion" some days, but I've never had welts. I do have my jacket zipped up to my goggles at those times, though. Sounds pretty awful.

 

[MrsPlow]

Is it this?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cold-urticaria/basics/symptoms/con-20034524

 

[snow addict]

Sounds like hives. See a dermatologist for recommendations how to better protect skin and how to bring reaction quickly down. antihistamines should work too. Unless it's a symptom of some health issue it's not a big deal and will eventually disappear. I had hives as a kid, also as a reaction on wind, snow and cold. Started all of a sudden when I was 11 even that I was very well accustomed to the cold. As I was approaching a "tender" age my mum was determined to get to the bottom of it to avoid dealing with a teen who doesn't want to go outside because it gave her "pimples" - and I was in XC race club, so there was some urgency as it was a big part of my life. Anyway, apart from initial diagnosis, tests didn't help much. We were recommended all sort of elimination diets, which of course we never followed, and the following year the problem eventually disappeared as if it never happened.

 

[Tvan]

I was going to say something similar to what @snow addict said. I get hives in the cold on my face and also my legs. Nothing serious and it's better if I keep my face covered.