The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.

How to act if a child licks metal in the cold and stuck

'17.01.2021'

Source: chips-journal, ru

Children get to know the world empirically - it is not enough for them just to know that the stove is hot and the glass is fragile. It is important for them to touch, knock, smell, taste, drop - in general, collect the most complete information about the research object. Sometimes such experiments, of course, lead to disastrous consequences, says Chips-journal.ru.

Photo: Shutterstock

With the onset of winter, young scientists have additional reasons for research: for example, how quickly will a snowball brought home melt? Will your ears fall off if you walk in the cold without a hat? And finally, does the tongue really stick if you lick a frozen piece of iron? The answer to the last question is yes, indeed. We explain.

Why does the tongue stick to cold metal?

For those who still have enough theoretical knowledge, we will briefly explain the physics of the process. Heat always tends to equalize the temperature, and therefore moves from the heat source to colder areas. So, for example, the warmth of our hands wants to warm the space around us, but the gloves we wear prevent it from doing it - and so our hands remain warm. Gloves insulate heat well, but metal, on the contrary, is an excellent conductor.

When you touch a frozen gland with a warm, moist tongue, the ice metal absorbs heat from the surface of the tongue faster than your body can replace it. Saliva freezes and you find yourself in an insidious ice trap.

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I licked the metal in the cold and stuck. What to do?

If you (we will not judge you) or your child are in such an unpleasant situation, then you have several options.

Warm water

The fastest and most effective way to save the tongue from the cold captivity is to pour warm water or tea on it (and on the piece of iron itself) (not hot! Otherwise, you can also get a burn). A thermos with tea will help you to insure against such cases on every walk. If it's not useful for a rescue mission, it's generally nice to have a warm drink with you.

Own saliva

If warm water is not at hand, then the victim of the cold metal can use his own saliva to melt the ice instead. The problem here is to accumulate enough saliva, which is quite difficult to do with an open mouth. If there is not enough saliva, it will simply freeze, and the tongue will stick even more.

Breath

Another way to melt ice without using a thermos is like this: fold your hands in a "house" around the lips and the metal to which the tongue is stuck. Then start breathing hard so that the warm air from your lungs melts the ice and helps you free yourself - and your hands provide additional protection so that the air does not cool down so quickly.

Homemade heating pad

As a non-trivial way to solve the problem, Dr. Komarovsky recommends turning your existing bag, condom or gloves (rubber, latex or plastic) into a homemade heating pad, filling them with your own urine. As an extreme measure, it is suitable, but it is unlikely that this can be done on a playground.

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Desperate measures

The most tragic scenario, which must be resorted to only if all other options do not work, is to tear off the frozen tongue by force. Again, this should be done only as a last resort, because this method is traumatic, dangerous, bloody and is justified only if the child has been in such an uncomfortable position for quite some time, which increases the risk of frostbite. In all other cases, we strongly recommend that you first try all the available methods (if the case happened in the city, you can try for warm water in a nearby store, cafe or hairdresser), and only then proceed to extreme measures.

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