text: explain what is happening when you come in contact with extreme cold that damages you skin, re: hypothermia.?   hypothermia is a dangerous drop in your body's core temperature. frostbite is when your skin/tissue is damaged by cold. basically, the water in your tissue freezes. ice crystals damage/destroy tissue cells, and the cells die. if you get serious enough frostbite the skin turns black - meaning the tissue is dead. which is why fingers and toes need to be amputated... to prevent the spread of gangrene.