Many Are Cold; Few Are Frozen
Many of those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are getting hit with a cold spell around now. How severe that may be depends on more precisely where we are, but it’s affecting a lot of people. So, with apologies to our readers in Australia, we’re going to do a special on that today.
Acute cold is, for most people, good for the health:
A Cold Shower A Day Keeps The Doctor Away?
Persistent cold, not so much. Let’s look at the risks, and what can be done about them…
Hypothermia
It kills. Don’t let it kill you or your loved ones.
And, this is really important: it doesn’t care whether you’re on a mountain or not.
In other words: a lot of people understand (correctly!) that hypothermia is a big risk to hikers, climbers, and the like. But if the heating goes out in your house and the temperature drops for long enough before the heating is fixed, you can get hypothermia there too just the same if you’re not careful.
How cold is too cold? It doesn’t even have to be sub-zero. According to the CDC, temperatures of 4℃ (40℉) can be low enough to cause hypothermia if other factors combine:
CDC | Prevent Hypothermia & Frostbite ← you can also see the list of symptoms to watch out for, there!
Skin health
Not generally an existential risk, but we may as well stay healthy as not!
Cold air often means dry air, so use a moisturizer with an oil base (if you don’t care for fancy beauty products, ordinary coconut oil is top-tier).
Bonus if you do it after a warming bath/shower!
Heart health
Cold has a vasconstricting effect; that is to say, it causes the body’s vasculature to shrink, increasing localized blood pressure. If it’s a cold shower as above, that can be very invigorating. If it’s a week of sub-zero temperatures, it can become a problem.
❝Shoveling a little snow off your sidewalk may not seem like hard work. However, […] combined with the fact that the exposure to cold air can constrict blood vessels throughout the body, you’re asking your heart to do a lot more work in conditions that are diminishing the heart’s ability to function at its best.❞
Source: Snow shoveling, cold temperatures combine for perfect storm of heart health hazards
If you have a heart condition, please do not shovel snow. Let someone else do it, or stay put.
And if you are normally able to exercise safely? Unless you’re sure your heart is in good order, exercising in the warmth, not the cold, seems to be the best bet.
See also: Heart Attack: His & Hers (Be Prepared!) ← can you remember which symptoms are for which sex? If not, now’s a good time to refresh that knowledge.
Immune health
We recently discussed how cold weather indirectly increases the risk of respiratory viral infection:
The Cold Truth About Respiratory Infections
So, now’s the time to be extra on-guard about that.
See also: Beyond Supplements: The Real Immune-Boosters!
Balance
Icy weather increases the risk of falling. If you think “having a fall” is something that happens to other/older people, please remember that there’s a first time for everything. Some tips:
- Walk across icy patches with small steps in a flat-footed fashion like a penguin.
- It may not be glamorous, but neither is going A-over-T and breaking (or even just spraining) things.
- Use a handrail if available, even if you don’t think you need to.
You can also check out our previous article about falling (avoiding falling, minimizing the damage of falling, etc):
Fall Special: Some Fall-Themed Advice
Take care!
