Be aware of the dangers when you prepare for winter outdoor recreation

I’ve talked about ways to prevent falling through the ice, but there are other dastardly things that can befall you during winter outdoor recreation.

You don’t want to be stricken with hypothermia, which is a condition that occurs when your body can’t maintain a normal body temperature due to exposure to severe cold. It doesn’t have to be 30 below. It can be cool, but if you become wet, hypothermia can set in. It comes on slowly. Of course, if you fall through the ice, it can attack in mere minutes.

Hypothermia happens when your body heat escapes through your clothing faster than your body can regenerate new body heat. The most important way to stave off the threat of hypothermia is to wear layers of warm clothing to trap the body’s heat.

Hypothermia occurs when the body’s temperature falls below 95 degrees from its normal average of 98.6 degrees. Usually, hypothermia’s onset is signaled by a deterioration of coordination or other motor or physical abilities. Often, a decreasing of mental acuity is symptomatic. Other symptoms include slow breathing, extreme tiredness, shivering, cold and pale skin and slurred speech. Hypothermia can lead to death.

People most susceptible to hypothermia are the elderly, the very young, people with mental disorders, alcohol and drug users and several common medical conditions. Check with your family physician to see if you have an affliction that makes you more prone to hypothermia.

Obviously, at the first sign of hypothermia, get out of the cold. If wet, get dry – fast! Medical attention is warranted. This is no time to try to be a hero. Someone with severe hypothermia is merely minutes away from falling into a coma.

Someone with hypothermia should not be immersed in warm or hot water. The best thing to do is to seek proper medical assistance. There are treatments for severe hypothermia that can only be administered at a hospital.

A second threat is frostbite. Frostbite is skin damage and damage to the skin’s underlying tissues caused by extreme cold. Frostbite is exhibited when the exposed skin becomes hard, pale and cold. The skin lacks sensitivity when it is touched, although you may feel a dull throbbing. When the skin gets warmed again, it gets red and painful, and you may feel tingling and burning. The face, hands, feet, nose and ears are the areas of the body where frostbite most commonly occurs.

Frostbite may cause permanent damage and if severe enough, frostbite can cause amputation of the affected areas.

Frostbite’s first symptom is tingling and that is followed by numbness. If frostbite is suspected, get the victim to a warm place. Apply warm, damp washcloths to the afflicted area or submerse it in warm, not hot, water. If the frostbitten person has to go back out into the freezing temps, it may be better not to warm the area until they can be kept in the warmth for a length of time. Do not administer alcohol as a remedy for frostbite. Again, your best bet is to seek proper, professional medical attention.

The best way to keep from getting frostbitten is to keep your skin dry, wearing loose clothing including footwear, wearing mittens and keeping out of the cold for prolonged periods.

All in all, the best way to keep from becoming afflicted from any of these winter dangers is by administering a healthy dose of common sense. We all have it — we just need to use it more often. As Sgt. Phil Esterhaus used to say at the beginning of every episode of “Hill Street Blues,” “Let’s be careful out there.”