Dan's Feet
Monday, 07 May, 07 (17:48)

Dan's future as a foot model is in ruins today as the full extent of his frost bite has become apparent. Take a look at these disgusting toes (minus big toe nail).

The good news through is that it is healing well, and the story of how Dan got frost bite is growing and many a lady is impressed.

How did this happen?

Well, it largely came down to his ski boots. Usually on an expedition like this you are constantly moving and once you are active ie. moving and excercising, you stay active and warm. The problems come either when you are too warm, often from wearing too many clothes, from stopping for too long or from wearing incorrect clothing. If you get too warm, either through clothing or excercise you will sweat and sweating is designing to cool the body down. As soon as you stop, you can get very cold very quickly.

In Dan's case, his ski boots were a little too tight (fine for Alpine use) and he wore two pairs of socks on a few days thinking that it would be warmer. Unfortunately wearing more socks compounded the problem. This reduced the layer of air between his foot and the boot, a layer that would normally keep his foot warm. This combined with the regular stopping because we were usually flying the kites in very light winds meant that Dan was sweating more and then getting cold. This constant cycle led to frostbite.

We had exceptionally good clothing and particuarly boots but unfortunately the boots couldn't be worn when skiing. Once we realised Dan's problem though he stopped wearing the ski boots and only wore the expedition boots, got into the tent and sleeping bag and was feed a constant supply of food and hot drinks.

It might look a big grim but actually it isn't so bad, he's still smiling and we're already talking about the next expedition.

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Peripheral Effluvium
Tuesday, 01 May, 07 (14:10)

David with hair bandage

Thank you for your messages of support to David and his condition. There have also been a number of queries about just what is frostbitten hair.

Peripheral Effluvium or frostbitten hair is a condition in men or women resulting from prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures or radiation. Where the ambient temperature is less than minus 16 C degrees, H2O particles in exposed follicles first freeze then expand. This expansion causes the cuticle to break down, this stage is sometimes referred to as frost nipped hair and is a reversible condition.

In more acute cases, as in frost bitten hair the cuticle disappears layer by layer until the cortex is exposed. If left exposed the capillary action of the freezing effect on the H2O particles will move up the hair follicle progressively breaking down the entire cuticle layer. If the entire cortex is exposed the condition is not reversible and the follicle must be removed.

There are no known cases of this condition in the indigenous peoples of the arctic region. Oils secreted into the cuticle layer allow for expansion and contraction during the H2O freezing phase protecting the entire hair follicle.

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Days 21 & 22 - From intrepid explorers to traditional tourists
Saturday, 28 Apr, 07 (18:29)

We left Spitsbergen very early yesterday. We were up at 2.30am, after a rather inadequate 2 hours of sleep, and flew to Tromso and on to Oslo. We have made an easy transition from explorers to tourists and have generally been wandering around, living the typical tourist life and enjoying doing normal things. That said, we are still boasting our grizzly beards. We fitted in a spot of polar history yesterday and went aboard The Fram, the ship Amundsen used to go to the South Pole.

We are fairly tired now and it has been great taking it easy for a couple of days. Our first sleep in a bed last night was also nothing short of divine. We are in Oslo today, soaking up some sunshine and playing on our new found toys –rented bikes this time. The three of us are in a bike gang and having a lot of fun riding around, scaring people. We think we are cool, even if everyone else doesn't.

We did have to visit the doctor this morning. David has a bit of a problem unfortunately. It has been officially confirmed that he has frostbitten hair. His condition is quite advanced, so we have made an emergency appointment for him to see Dan’s doctor on Monday morning.

We would like to say a huge thank you to you all for your kind messages of encouragement and support throughout the expedition; you have helped make it an even more amazing experience. We are landing in London in a few hours time and look forward to seeing you all very soon.

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