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Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

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Re: Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

#61

Post by _yb2s »

robbiep wrote: post #10
DiscourseFan wrote: post #2

Yeah but clearly people wouldn’tve been doing it if it hadn’t worked, so what is the reason for trying that specific traditional method?

Without being overly condescending, you do realise that most of the things that have been done throughout history, along with many we still do, are the result of cultural practice and have no evidence base whatsoever? Whilst 1956 seems to be a fairly late date to stop what would seem in the surface to be a counter intuitive practice, 80 years earlier blood letting was still in vogue

I think most (but not all) such things actually did work, and were based on real evidence, we just don’t have easy access to that evidence and context anymore. It is quite likely that modern people are just arrogantly dismissing something they don’t understand.

Re: Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

#62

Post by [deleted] »

grugagag wrote: post #44

When I was a kid we’d be spending a whole day playing in snow. When we’d come home in the evening with ice on the shoes, hair and cold hands and feet - but not as bad as getting real frost bites - would have a little warm up. My grandmother taught me to wash my hands with cold water at first then gradually add warm water. I still remeber cold water felt warm on frozen hands. Also many times when my hands were cold I’…

[deleted]

Re: Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

#63

Post by normie3000 »

aaomidi wrote: post #50
mistrial9 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ok that is terrible, but note that gently slowing circulation to arms or legs and then returning circulation is a simple theraputic action that has been used for millennia

Trying to understand the relevance of this comment

It was all a big misunderstanding.

Re: Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

#64

Post by iancmceachern »

crazygringo wrote: post #27
schiffern wrote: post #18

Perhaps it got started with people misunderstanding / misremembering drying off by rubbing snow on wet skin. Being wet in cold conditions can be a death sentence so you need to dry off quickly, and this is one of the recommended methods. https://www.ncexped.com/drying-off-snow/

Oh wow, that's counterintuitive until you remember that snow basically works like a sponge. So as long as it starts out cold enough and you're quick enough, the snow can soak up water before it melts and gets you wet all over again.

Totally.

It's interesting how it's counterintuitive I the exact same way as rubbing dry sand on your weet sand covered feet on the beach takes the sand off. Same mechanism too. Redistribution of the moisture back into the aggregate whole.

Re: Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

#67

Post by haccount »

schiffern wrote: post #18

Perhaps it got started with people misunderstanding / misremembering drying off by rubbing snow on wet skin. Being wet in cold conditions can be a death sentence so you need to dry off quickly, and this is one of the recommended methods. https://www.ncexped.com/drying-off-snow/

[flagged]

Re: Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

#68

Post by toast0 »

hiatus wrote: post #9
DiscourseFan wrote: post #2

Yeah but clearly people wouldn’tve been doing it if it hadn’t worked, so what is the reason for trying that specific traditional method?

> Yeah but clearly people wouldn’tve been doing it if it hadn’t worked Like bloodletting, leeches, lobotomies...

(Clean) leeches are actually pretty handy sometimes.

Bloodletting is standard of care for hemochromotosis; you can use leeches for that, but just drawing blood is probably more efficient; some blood banks will let you donate it, some say no because the donation isn't supposed to be of benefit to the donor.

Certainly, a lot of conditions where bloodletting was used don't warrant it, but it's not altogther bad.

I don't think there's a good use case for a lobotomy, though.

Re: Why did people rub snow on frozen feet? (2017)

#69

Post by keybored »

robbiep wrote: post #10
DiscourseFan wrote: post #2

Yeah but clearly people wouldn’tve been doing it if it hadn’t worked, so what is the reason for trying that specific traditional method?

Without being overly condescending, you do realise that most of the things that have been done throughout history, along with many we still do, are the result of cultural practice and have no evidence base whatsoever? Whilst 1956 seems to be a fairly late date to stop what would seem in the surface to be a counter intuitive practice, 80 years earlier blood letting was still in vogue

Word games. They don’t have an “evidence base” that are up to our standards. They might have an “evidence base” in the sense that it worked for past generation and folklore now says that it should be done.

A lot of things come from somewhere and are not arbitrary. That’s all that’s being asked here.

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