noun
Refers to the red, itchy swelling on fingers, toes, or ears caused by exposure to cold. In everyday Japanese, しもやけ is more commonly used for chilblains, while severe tissue-freezing frostbite is often called 凍傷 (とうしょう).
寒い日に外で遊んでいたら、手に霜焼けができた。
After playing outside on a cold day, I got chilblains on my hands.
霜焼けがかゆくてたまらない。
My chilblains are so itchy I can't stand it.
凍傷 refers to severe frostbite with tissue damage, while 霜焼け is the milder, itchy condition of chilblains.
Compound of 霜 (しも, frost) and 焼け (やけ, burning), from the burning sensation caused by the cold.