MILWAUKEE — Freezing temperatures and long-term power outages can quickly create dangerous health situations.
Even at seemingly routine winter temperatures, the cold can exhaust the body and overwork the heart over time. The indoor risk of hypothermia and frostbite are especially a concern in areas where the infrastructure isn’t built for wintry weather and people aren’t as used to it.
Here are tips from emergency room doctors on how to stay safe.
Doctors diagnose hypothermia based on body temperature and symptoms, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Mild hypothermia — when the body temperature is 89.6 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (32 to 35 degrees Celsius) — can cause shivering, exhaustion, sleepiness, weak pulse and clumsiness.
Moderate hypothermia is when the body temperature is between 82.4 and 89.6 F (28 to 32 C). Symptoms include slurred speech, slowed heart rate, hallucinations and decreased shivering.
At less than 82.4 F (28 C), the body starts shutting down. Signs include loss of reflexes, complete muscle stiffness, fluid in the lungs, coma and death.
If someone is shivering for a long time, it’s time to get ahead of things and get them somewhere warm, said Dr. Ben Weston, an ER doctor who directs health policy for the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management.
If someone is confused or showing more severe signs, call 911 right away, he said.
Some of the most dangerous situations happen when the temperature is low for a long time, even 30 to 40 F (minus-1 to 4 C), but not obviously arctic, Weston said.
In these situations, long-term cold exposure taxes the body, driving up blood pressure and working the heart.
Shivering, a normal response to cold, is a workout for your body, Weston said. Doing so for hours can lead to physical exhaustion — and older adults or people with other health issues are at higher risk.
“That additional stress and strain on the body and energy production can really push people to the limit,” Weston said.
People might not realize they need help, or think to move into a different room or add layers.
“You think you’re going to be OK with a sweatshirt and sweatpants and it kind of creeps up on people,” he said.
Doctors note that it can be hard to tell when you’re dehydrated in cold weather, and being near a heater can further cause dehydration.
Staying hydrated helps the body stay warm, though, so they advise to keep drinking water.
Alcohol impairs the body’s ability to deal with cold, said Dr. Abhi Mehrotra, a University of North Carolina emergency medicine physician. It also can make you feel warmer than you actually are, Weston said, and affect your judgment.
Layering in the cold weather is key to helping the body trap heat.
The North Carolina Department of Emergency Management suggests wearing warm, loose-fitting, lightweight clothing in many layers that are easy to add or remove. It also recommends covering your mouth with scarves to protect the lungs from directly breathing in extremely cold air.
You lose the most heat from your head, hands and feet, Weston said, so make sure to cover those. While some online posts have shown people wearing latex gloves under their winter gloves for extra warmth, Weston said this is not ideal because it traps moisture and isn’t breathable.
Be wary of internet hacks like putting cayenne pepper in your socks. The pepper actually irritates the skin and the tingling it causes can mask frostbite symptoms, Weston said.
Your body loses heat through evaporation, so one of the most important things is to make sure you’re dry at all times. Dry socks are one of the most important things to have on, Weston said.
Weston and Mehrotra recommended finding smaller spaces to contain heat.
That could mean closing all the doors in the house and keeping a heater in one room, as Weston recommends. Mehrotra suggested you could even pitch a tent indoors or get into a sleeping bag to create an even more confined space to trap body heat.
Both said one of the biggest things is to be safe with heat sources. Keep them away from flammable items. Do not use gas stoves, ovens or bring carbon monoxide -emitting heat sources indoors. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that is one of the most common killers of people during cold snaps.
If anyone in the home has symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as nausea and headaches, get outside to fresh air, Mehrotra said.
Young children, older adults and people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are the most at risk when it’s cold, Mehrotra said.
Above all, the doctors said community awareness is key during dangerous cold spells. Many don’t realize they need help until someone asks.
“Check on your neighbors,” Mehrotra said. “You don’t know how people are doing.”
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
